I'm going to go out "on a limb" here and risk the almost inevitable criticisms and retorts from some here - but, with all due modesty, this is what I've used and what I've taught for nearly 4 decades ... and, if done correctly, will result in consistently good landings in all weather conditions ... but you must understand that a "good" landing is not necessarily the proverbial "greased-on" touchdown ... in fact, trying for such a touchdown may compromise safety. So, with that said, please take the following for whatever you believe it may be worth...
How to Land an Airplane
(This primarily addresses transport category or commuter category airplanes … but the basic premise is applicable to every airplane with wings.)
On short final with wings level and the airplane configured for landing, the airspeed should be at the recommended approach speed – which should be VREF plus any appropriate additive. If VREF speed is not stated, 1.3Vso should be used (where Vso is the calibrated power-off stall speed of the airplane in the landing configuration … usually with a forward CG). However, and importantly, the airspeed flown on the final approach, starting at the Final Approach Fix (FAF), should be above VREF … more specifically, the pilot should add ½ of the headwind component value (… but never less than 5 knots – for safety considerations) … plus all of any wind-gust value reported. As the runway threshold is approached, the added headwind component should be allowed to bleed off while retaining the wind-gust value, such that when crossing the threshold the airspeed should be VREF plus only that wind-gust value. From over the threshold the position toward which the pilot should fly the airplane is a point on the runway surface about 2/3 of the way between the threshold and the painted “aiming point markings” at the 1000 foot point down the runway – we used to call these painted blocks, the “fixed distance markers.” For reference, the pilot should know that the point to which the airplane is actually being flown is that point that does not move “up” or “down” in the windscreen.
The “flare” should be initiated at a point above the runway that will allow a continuously increasing back pressure on the elevator controls to move the nose up to a level flight attitude … and, in case you didn’t already know, the landing attitude I’m describing is the attitude it would take if continued flight down the runway was desired at THAT height above the runway … without accelerating, without decelerating, without climbing, and without descending. This “level flight attitude” should be achieved with the main landing gear between one (1) and five (5) feet above the runway surface (1 foot for the smaller machines and 5 feet for the bigger machines). Yeah, I know. That’s not much height. But, after all, you ARE striving to be a professional … right? The change in the attitude from when you initiate the flare to reaching the flare attitude should take just about 3 seconds (about 2 seconds for the smaller machines and about 4 seconds for the larger machines). Also, the main gear touchdown should occur within the first 3,000 feet OR within the first 1/3 of the runway length, whichever is shorter! If the pilot recognizes that the landing may not occur within these parameters, immediate consideration for executing a “go-around” must be made.
Additionally, in the event a crosswind is present, as the flare altitude is approached, the airplane should be in an “angled” position relative to the runway surface, sometimes called a “crab,” such that a point on the belly of the airplane exactly between the main gear (between the body gear the larger machines) is over the runway centerline and the airplane is tracking to maintain this lateral position. In anticipation of landing, power reduction may begin as early as crossing the threshold, and power reduction should begin no later than achieving the “flare” attitude prior to touchdown. Most pilots start the power reduction AS the flare is initiated … and is the same point any crab alignment with the runway centerline is initiated. The rate of power reduction is entirely up to you (and/or your company) … but once started, power reduction should be continued all the way to the flight idle position. This will reduce the likelihood of having to increase or decrease the rate of back pressure control on the column/stick to continue the flare and subsequently to achieve “level flight” attitude as the power reduction is continued. The power should be in the idle position no later than upon main gear touchdown – simply because with some airplanes equipped with auto-spoiler activation/deactivation, having the throttles physically positioned ahead of the spoiler auto-retract position may initiate spoiler extension when the landing gear contacts the runway surface, and then experience immediate spoiler retraction due to that throttle position … which is certainly not something you want at this point.
As you pull the throttle(s) back, you will notice the nose getting heavier – don’t let the nose move down. You will notice the necessity to continually, but slightly, increase the back pressure on the elevator controls … initially to move the nose from the position in which you have been holding it while approaching the flare initiation point, up to that level flight position (more on that in a moment), and once that attitude has been achieved, you will notice the necessity to continue that back pressure increase – no longer to move the nose up – but now, since the level flight attitude has been reached, in order to maintain that level flight attitude as the airspeed decreases – and the more the airspeed decreases, the more back pressure will be required to keep that level flight attitude. Of course you would recognize that because you have been reducing the throttle(s) position AND you’ve been raising the pitch attitude, the airspeed will be decreasing. Because you will have been reducing the power (maybe to idle) the airspeed will continue to decelerate, and the airplane will continue to descend, going from just above the runway to ON the runway. When performed precisely and accurately, the touchdown will occur exactly AS the airplane reaches that level flight attitude. BUT, and very importantly – humans are rarely perfect – and performing this task to that degree of accuracy is not regularly accomplished – but it IS accomplished – and the more you practice doing this, the more you will be successful in doing it perfectly. Your touchdown should be firm but not hard. The kinetic energy of the airplane should be moving in the right direction, and the nose should be able to be flown to the runway rather quickly as the attitude will not be unnecessarily high to arrest an unwanted high sink rate. You should be over the center of the runway, with the controls already properly positioned for the landing run. Also, you should be acutely aware of the fact that the longer the power is maintained above the idle position, the farther down the runway it will be that the main gear will actually touch the runway surface.
If you had been carrying a crab angle to counter a crosswind, the crab should be removed in exactly the same time as the flare takes – i.e., approximately 3 seconds – and should be done AS the airplane is being flared. This is done by applying pressure to the rudder pedal to pressure (do not "kick") the nose around to line up the airplane centerline with the centerline of the runway while simultaneously increasing the back pressure on the control column to flare. As you probably know, because of the forward sweep of the upwind wing when removing the “crab” will tend to make that wing rise, it may be necessary to counter with some “into-the-wind” aileron to counter that … but, unless the wind is quite strong, you won’t be in the air long enough to have the wind blow you downwind off the centerline. Of course, if the wind IS quite strong, you may have to add a bit more aileron to slightly (very slightly) dip the up-wind wing into that wind.
I probably do not need to say that once all the landing gear are on the ground and the airplane is tracking down the runway, immediately ensure the throttle(s) is(are) in idle, extend ground spoilers, apply appropriate wheel brakes, and use reverse thrust as your operations manual dictates.
Let me offer a quick “aside” … if I was your instructor … for practice … I would probably have you “fly down the runway … at THAT flare altitude … no climb, no descent, no acceleration, no deceleration;” and I’d tell you that “we’ll go around at the end of the runway.” If there had been a crosswind present, I would have you keep the crab angle you established and tell you to fly down the runway with no climb, no descent, no faster, no slower, keeping that point on the belly of the airplane exactly over the runway centerline – and to do that with whatever crab angle you need to do it. Of course, with or without a crosswind present … you’d have to add a bit of power – since you likely would have had the throttles back, but I would allow you to do that since we wouldn’t be landing anyway. I’d have you do this exercise as many times as was necessary to get you comfortable with the timing as to when to initiate the flare, how quickly to flare, and to what attitude you need to stop the flare with the main gear just off the runway surface – and the key point would be to have you use whatever cues made sense to YOU to accomplish all these things. This would enable you to recognize and become familiar with your position … know how to recognize when to start the flare … and get comfortable with how quickly you need to adjust the elevator controls to achieve the flare you desire … and, perhaps most importantly, have you recognize what attitude you should have at the end of the flare … using whatever cues are important and understandable … to YOU – and again, the attitude we are discussing is called the LEVEL FLIGHT ATTITUDE – which is THE attitude from which all airplanes should be landed – and I mean ALL airplanes! One more thing ... this exercise can be successfully accomplished in most higher level simulators ... and because of the inevitable deficiencies (regardless of how minor) that exist in the simulated environment, there may be some slight modification required to the cues you will use when landing the airplane as opposed to the simulator - and if it is necessary, go ahead and make that/those adjustment(s) ... with the practice you've had in the simulator, it should be a reasonably easy adjustment to your recognition processes.
Clearly, while I stand by what I’ve said here, and I’ve practiced it throughout my career, as you probably have heard me say, over and over, all of the above is my opinion, and does not reflect the position of any other individual, any company, any enterprise, or any agency … despite whatever desire I may have to the contrary.
Last edited by AirRabbit; 27th Feb 2014 at 20:30.