Flight Training - June 2013 - 39

and the degree to which the upwind
wheel touches first will depend on the
strength of the wind. If full rudder deflection is not enough, find another runway.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? You’re too high.
DIAGNOSIS: Running off the end of the
runway is hazardous to your renter’s
insurance premium, and the overworked
mechanic will sigh despondently when he
has to order more brake pads and tires.
Not to be confused with coming in too
fast, coming in above the correct glideslope doesn’t carry the risk of ballooning
or floating as long as you are at the right
speed.
So what can you do? You actually have
a few options and can exercise a little
creativity here.
Reducing power sooner would be the
first go-to solution in most trainers.
Deploying more flaps will help by
allowing a steeper angle of descent while
maintaining the correct airspeed.
Slips are a tradition in flapless aircraft,
and can be used in a pinch (or just for fun)
in many aircraft with flaps. Check your
pilot’s operating handbook to see if you
can slip with flaps deployed, or if there’s
a limitation (some Cessnas, for example,
should not be slipped with full flaps).
Ultimately, if some combination of
these solutions doesn’t put you in a safe
position to land, go around. Next time, try
starting the descent sooner or widening
the pattern.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? You’re too low.
DIAGNOSIS: Again, the airport bums will
make fun of you if you show up with tree
leaves in your landing gear. Darn bums!
All kidding aside, it should be evident
that too low is obviously dangerous and
should not be taken lightly.
What should you do?
If you have power, add it. If you’re
slipping, quit it. If you have flaps down,
it’s probably best not to touch them. The
problem with flaps is that they don’t just
add drag for a steeper descent; most flap
designs also contribute lift. If you’re too
slow to fly reliably without that extra lift,

when you retract the flaps you will sink.
You will continue to sink until the airplane speeds up enough to recover the lost
lift. If you had that much extra altitude to
spare, you would not be having this problem in the first place. Ask your instructor
and consult your POH for best practice in
the trainer you are using.
Next time around, keep your pattern
tighter by flying downwind closer and
turning base sooner. You could also wait to
start your descent until later, carry more
power, and not deploy as many degrees
of flaps—or add them later in the pattern.
By the way, you can expect these sort of
changes as a matter of course when you
have a strong headwind on base or final.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? You’re flaring too

high.

DIAGNOSIS: It’s hard to appreciate a
perfect landing when it comes a foot or
so too high. If you’ve ever seen an aircraft
being lifted in order to switch from
wheels to floats or skis, imagine that lift
accidentally dropping the airplane from
a few feet up. That’s essentially what is
happening when the wings quit flying,
but the wheels aren’t able to take over
just yet.
What should you do differently next
time? Opinions and techniques vary
widely on this subject, ranging from
where your eyes should be focused to
exercises intended to teach you what
flare height looks like. Some things to try
include looking farther down the runway
or focusing more on your peripheral
vision. Some exercises include sitting in
the pilot seat while your instructor holds
the tail down in the flare attitude, or
doing low passes down the runway with
the help of your instructor.
Other causes of problems in this area
can include adapting to a wider runway,
a sloped runway, or different lighting
(landing into the sun or in haze). In these
cases, generally you just need a little
practice under the new conditions.
Of course, it is also possible you need
to relax. At least one student literally
had to be reminded to breathe on final
approach because her fingernails were

turning blue. You may be imagining what
it would be like to run the propeller or
the nosewheel into the runway, and the
image causes you to unconsciously pull
up. If those kinds of mental images are
tripping you up, make a point of picturing
what you do want rather than picturing
what you don’t want.
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM? You’re flaring too

low.

DIAGNOSIS: Your speed, alignment, crosswind correction, and glideslope may all be
setting you up for a beautiful touchdown,
but if you don’t take the final step and use
your leftover speed to stop your descent
smoothly, the runway will stop your
descent suddenly.
What should you do differently next
time? The same exercises for fixing the
high flare will help here, too. Once you
know what flare height looks like, every
time you think the airplane is going to
touch down, pull up slightly and don’t let
it touch. Keep pulling up smoothly until
there is no more “up” to pull. Squeeze
every last bit of lift you can from the
wings as you skim the runway surface. If
you are slow and low enough and you feel
it out gradually, then your pitch should
not be high enough to hit the tail before
the wheels touch.
Practice doesn’t make perfect.
Perfect practice makes perfect. Every
time you make a mistake, ask yourself
what exactly went wrong. Then ask
yourself what exactly you can do to fix
the problem. The real trick is to stay
focused on that fix as the minutes on
crosswind and downwind tick by, so that
you don’t find yourself mindlessly following bad habits as your brain reacts to
various cues (i.e. being abeam the numbers, the instructor unconsciously leans
left, et cetera). The suggestions here
don’t cover everything, but they should
at least give you an outline for how to
approach your own problem solving.
Keep trying solutions, and you’ll be off
that plateau in no time.
Rebecca Gibson is a flight instructor who lives in
Tennessee.
JUNE 2013 FLIGHT TRAINING

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Flight Training - June 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Flight Training - June 2013
