PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Why is landing the bloody plane so hard?!
Old 7th Mar 2015, 13:03
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9 lives
 
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For a tricycle type, arrive configured, at the right speed (+-5 knots), aligned with the runway, over the threshold, at an altitude low enough, that a landing is possible on that runway (so low if it's short, a little higher if you have lots of room). A stabilized approach is nice for that, but not vital, as long as you get to that point in space and are stable there.

Keep the alignment with the centerline. When the aircraft is a few feet up, gently remove the last of any power you might have been carrying, correcting any pitch change with pitch control. Then, evenly apply nose up pitch control, at a rate not great enough to result in any climb, but enough to keep you thinking you're not descending. After you touch, keep the plane on the runway centerline, and keep steadily applying the nose up control input, until it reaches the control stop, then hold that until you park the plane.

Note that taildraggers may, and floatplanes and very certainly flying boats on the water, will have variations to this technique.
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