CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 10 Issue 3 - 6

TRANSITION SKILLS

We have all heard that a good approach leads
to a good landing. But if the student is busy
trying to get the airplane back on altitude,
airspeed, or heading, he or she is getting "behind
the airplane" instead of being "ahead of the
airplane" by looking at a selected aiming point
and preparing for the transition point from a
stabilized approach to the landing phase. If your
student pilot overshoots the final center line
or flies a dog leg to final it adds to the workload
of the last few seconds of the flight-and for a
low time pilot that can increase the challenge of
getting it right.
Learning to transition an airplane from flight
to landing is a challenging milestone and in
the early hours of one's flying career it is often
misunderstood and incompletely carried out.
THE LANDING FLARE

The purpose of the landing flare is to touch down
on the main tires with the lowest possible descent
rate. But many pilots are landing almost flat and a
bit harder and faster than desired. This can lead to
potential damage to the nose landing gear and the
engine firewall that the nose gear is attached to.
Additionally, excessive brake and tire wear results
from faster, longer landings.

Another name for the landing flare is the "round
out." This suggests the body attitude of the
airplane changes from nose down to nose up for
the touchdown. Airliners land nose high on the
main landing gear and hold the nose off as long as
they can. I remember my private pilot instructor
telling me to "keep holding it off with gradual
elevator back pressure." At the time, as a student
pilot I didn't understand what he meant. It is quite
simple. As the airspeed diminishes, the angle of
attack needs to increase proportionately until
the airplane touches the ground at the stalling
speed. Despite the seeming simplicity of the task
airplanes are being landed flat, without much flare
or round out.
One theory I have regarding the incomplete
landing flare is that people are used to looking out
over the hood of their car. When pilots achieve
enough flare that creates a picture that resembles
looking over the hood of their car, they stop any
further effort at continuing the flare. Now they
simply wait to impact the runway. A correct
landing flare is a gradual and continuous process
until touchdown. It is not one pull on the yoke
or stick, but rather one thousand small pulls,
smoothly, as one instructor has described it. You
are increasing the angle of attack as airspeed is
decreasing to keep the total lift constant, thus
holding the airplane off the ground as you are

working to control the vertical velocity. It is a
gentle and gradual process until the main wheels
are on the ground.
LANDING EXERCISES

I have told students that you can learn to land
an airplane in just a few minutes; the rest of the
time is spent motoring around the airport traffic
pattern. The time spent down close to the runway
is where you learn to be comfortable landing the
airplane. And as most of us fly little airplanes off
and onto long runways designed for business jets
and commercial airliners, let's look at some flying
exercises we might do on or near the runway to
simulate the landing phase of flying-airport
traffic permitting and in coordination with ATC at
towered airports.
The first takeoff exercise does not require prior
approval, although you might advise the tower that
you would like to do slow flight down the runway

WHEN PILOTS ACHIEVE ENOUGH
FLARE THAT CREATES A PICTURE
THAT RESEMBLES LOOKING OVER THE
HOOD OF THEIR CAR, THEY STOP ANY
FURTHER EFFORT AT CONTINUING THE
FLARE. NOW THEY SIMPLY WAIT TO
IMPACT THE RUNWAY.
CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 10 Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of CFI-to-CFI Newsletter - Volume 10 Issue 3
