with 1300 revs set and nailed it. And this was a right floater of a trainer plane too. I guess that the key was the thousands of hours.
I have seen pilots of varying experience, including thousands of hours, who would benefit from skills improvement.
Engine RPM is not a number which can be correct or incorrect on final approach. For a light GA aircraft, I like to see the throttle closed on short final, I don't care about the RPM, as long as there is some. I accept that some pilots might like to carry power into the flare, but watching a tach to determine if you're carrying the right amount of power on final is just wrong!
As I mentored this morning, engine power is not a flight control. Engine power is managed by the pilot strategically to control the place where the plane will land - it is not used tactically. By "place" I mean the airport (the strategy), not the location on the runway to the nearest ten feet (the tactic).
"Cycling" the throttle is distracting, don't do it in GA planes. If you need to adjust your landing tactic, to assure that you make the runway, or don't overshoot it, change the power setting, then leave it alone, and focus your attention on using the
flight controls to fly the plane - the throttle is not a flight control.
Any GA plane will float if you enter the flare much too fast. 5 knots too fast is not going to cause a "float", but 10+ knots too fast will. It's up to the pilot to apply their skills, and knowledge of the aircraft type (read the flight manual) to know the optimum speed for approach and fly that speed. Then the plane won't float, it will just flare, when flown properly. If you're "at one" with the plane, you won't need to watch an ASI to know that speed is correct, you just will. In the mean time, know and fly the correct speed for the aircraft, configuration and weight.
For myself, excepting occasional practice zero flap landings,
every landing I fly will be flown at the maximum landing flap setting. I have never regretted using full flaps for a landing.