CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 8 Issue 1 - 27

SAFETY SPOTLIGHT

THE UPS
& DOWNS
OF DOING
TOUCHAND-GOES
By Air Safety
Institute Staff

I think that teaching touch-and-goes with the mindset that you
are teaching a "very late" go-around, under extremely controlled
circumstances, might be a good approach. Let me explain...
Instill in the student that these should only be practiced with
extreme care, with a CFI, and that the decision to go around should
have been made sooner. Teaching in this manner may at first sound
a little irresponsible, but in reality you're giving a student a realworld scenario that he/she will most likely face while flying solo-
the decision to go around doesn't always present itself in a timely
manner and pilots are prone to making mistakes.
Many of the NTSB accident reports that I've seen classified as
touch-and-go were a decision to go around-way too late (they
were not actually a pre-planned touch-and-go). The drive to try to
make the airplane fly before it was ready led to the accident. Good
experience and skill in performing touch-and-goes-retracting
flaps, throttle manipulation, pitch control, etc.-could have
prevented many of the accidents.
If they are to be practiced, and they should, pre-plan them
diligently!
-Andy Sable
Touch-and-goes are useful in certain scenarios, but I would caveat
that it is dependent on the student, the aircraft, and the airport.
They are a tool in my toolbox, but not with a brand new student,
on a runway less than the 150 percent length of the takeoff run
plus landing over a 50-foot obstacle, or on the first few rides in an
aircraft that requires more attention to identify and verify, then
move flaps and/or gear.
-John Collins

I think they're useful for cramming more takeoffs and landings into one
lesson or flight. I understand that they may not be the safest practice in the
world since you're eating up a lot of runway while quickly adjusting power,
attitude, and configuration. However, at busy airports like Class B and C
(and peak hours at Class D), it's more of a dilemma: either do them while
ATC allows or take a chance at squeezing in only two or three full-stops and
taxiing back.
Will I continue doing touch-and-goes? Probably: unless ASI's statistician,
David Kenny, can convince me that they're statistically unsafe.

WHAT DO
YOU THINK?

I'm not a fan of stop-and-goes...something about sitting idle in the middle of
an active runway doesn't settle well with me.
-Paul Deres

Please share your
observations, and
we'll include them in
a follow-up story in
this newsletter. Email:
cfinewsletter@aopa.org
or post your thoughts in
the "Leave a Comment"
section below.

I loved touch-and-goes while training in a Cessna 152. There was
something addictive about it: the power surge, acceleration, and liftoff!
However, at first it was also somewhat bewildering...until it became an
automatic process-and therein lies a gotcha: Rote reaction does not mean
you're positively and mentally in control. Stepping up to complex airplanes,
I was better off making a full stop landing when practicing takeoffs and
landings. Taxiing back for takeoff gave me a chance to catch my breath and
check the airplane configuration before launching again. It also provided a
chance to think through the "what if the engine fails" scenario.
So I'm no longer a big fan of touch-and-goes outside the CFI-supervised
ones and plenty of runway to work with, because the odds might not be
in our favor if we don't have enough awareness and time to configure our
minds and the airplane before advancing the throttle.
-Machteld Smith

"



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
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com