AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2012 - 94

worse, and then turned your attention back to getting down, firmly and under control, on the centerline, and pointing in the right direction. That was all that mattered. And you did a masterful job. Interesting to reflect on just how much of your decision making occurred on an unconscious level. Now that you have time to do a post-mortem on your decisions, think about why you did what you did. You’ll find yourself recalling your earliest days of primary flight training, and the introductory lessons on basic aircraft control. In those days of presolo innocence you learned that on a windy day,

Now, about the flaps (and why you didn’t use them—or if you did, why you should consider not using them next time). Flaps, as the old knowledge test question stresses, steepen your approach, increasing the angle of attack—and therefore, drag—without requiring a power or airspeed change. But that’s the enemy of maximizing control at approach airspeeds. There’s the added concern about a possible go-around, and the sink that abruptly retracting flaps could cause. Still, some pilots opt for partial flaps at times like this, despite understanding the reasons to avoid them. Some

It’s not really an ugly landing; it just seems that way to a layperson who expected a ballet and got a wrestling match instead.
when conditions are changing rapidly, instantaneous and accurate aircraft responses to your control inputs are essential. There are two ways to get a big response from the aircraft. One is to fly at a normal approach airspeed and configuration, decelerating as usual, and applying bigger and bigger control deflections to maintain control in the capricious winds. Even if the wind doesn’t beat you when you run out of control authority in that scenario, forget about accuracy with that method. Remember from your days practicing slow flight how drastically responsiveness to control pressures decays as airspeed is reduced, and how the drag induced by aileron deflection interferes with precision? There you sit, stomping on pedals and slapping the yoke back and forth, just to maintain the status quo—let alone correct any error. Wind shear or turbulence could induce a mush, a stall, or a drop-in. Far better idea: Keep your speed up, for the added control that efficient airflow over ailerons, elevator, and rudder provides. Hold the pitch attitude lower than normal, right to touchdown. Then, rather than letting aerodynamic braking bring down the nosewheel in good time, lower it yourself, and let the pavement do deceleration’s dirty work. It’s not really an ugly landing; it just seems that way to a layperson who expected a ballet and got a wrestling match instead.
AOPA PILOT •

who don’t practice no-flap landings in calm conditions cite bad memories of prolonged floats down the runway caused by their being reticent to use enough back-elevator to slow down with flaps up before entering ground effect. But a long float is unlikely on a day like this, when groundspeed is probably going to be pretty low in the strong (mostly) headwind. The low groundspeed is your ally in another way: The ground roll will be short, reducing the time during which your aircraft decelerates through the poor-controllability airspeed range. On reaching taxi speed, use full control deflections to keep the upwind wing down—and the tail, too, once you taxi off the runway turn, and encounter any tailwind component during ground operations. Flatter, faster, better? A word about takeoffs in this kind of near-gale weather: First, there should be a good reason for going—and there’s no claiming the element of surprise that may serve to mollify some of those passengers who got to witness your landing under these conditions. Assuming there is a good reason—such as, you are an air taxi pilot departing on a revenue flight with the boss watching from the office window—the same attention to the detail of avoiding excessive angle of attack applies here, too. Accelerate promptly

94 • FEBRUARY 2012

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AOPA Pilot Magazine - February 2012

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