CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 8 Issue 1 - 26
SAFETY SPOTLIGHT
THERE'S A DECIDED RIFT WITHIN THE FLIGHT
INSTRUCTION COMMUNITY ON THE ADVISABILITY
OF TEACHING TOUCH-AND-GOES TO PRIMARY
students. While it's our impression that more CFIs
do it than not, those who don't are firm in their
convictions. We even know some flight schools that
prohibit their instructors from teaching touchand-goes as a matter of policy, and whose rental
contracts ban students from attempting them solo.
There are compelling arguments against. The
touch-and-go is not a normal flight maneuver,
something you can routinely anticipate having to
do when going cross-country or practicing airwork.
Most particularly, it is not a go-around, which is
best initiated before the wheels touch down. Once
an airplane has settled onto the ground-which by
definition means that it's slowed to the point that
the wings no longer produce enough lift to counter
gravity-it's usually safer to stay there, even if
wildlife, a vehicle, or another aircraft strays onto the
runway. The distance required to get airborne again
isn't necessarily shorter than the distance needed
to stop, and lower velocity equals less damage if the
attempted evasive maneuver doesn't work out.
Touch-and-goes also teach the student the
dubious practice of reconfiguring the aircraft
while it's in motion-at a pretty significant speed
on a fairly narrow strip of pavement. If that
student's not familiar enough with the cockpit
to pass the blindfold test, eyes inside the cockpit
readily lead to runway excursions. Confusion
between adjacent controls can lead and has led to
unintended gear retractions. For that reason Tom
Turner, a prominent instructor with the American
Bonanza Society and noted safety commentator,
flatly recommends against doing touch-and-goes
in retractable-gear airplanes. (Even those with
manually operated flaps that can't be mistaken
for the gear selector aren't immune to hurried
students grabbing the wrong handle in the heat
of the moment.) Similarly, the added potential
for confusion with the additional engine and
prop controls and the desirability of confirming
symmetric thrust before beginning the takeoff roll
tends to discourage schools from conducting touchand-goes in twins.
Accident data validate those concerns. A quick
search of ASI's Accident Database for reports that
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 8 Issue 1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol14issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol13issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol12issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol11issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol10issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/flashcards_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol9issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol8issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol7issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol6issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol5issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/flashcards_201310
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol4issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol3issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol3issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol3issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue4
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_vol2issue1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_201011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/aopa/cfi_201009
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