ยป Cover story ON THE N Why is it that putting an airplane exactly where we want it can be so difficult-or at least seems incredibly difficult? That's easy to answer: The approach to the landing and the landing itself embody every aspect of every one of our flying skills. Almost everything we know about flying is compressed into that single two- or three-minute period of time. During the entire maneuver, we're dealing with a variety of speeds, control configurations, and altitudes-all of which can be complicated by Mother Nature. Yet, we are expected to fly out of the air to alight on a given spot, or close to it. To land with precision in every landing seems difficult-because it is difficult. 28 / FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORGhttp://FLIGHTTRAINING.AOPA.ORG