That's also how we pilots tend to think of the perfect landing. It feels great. A perfect end to a perfect flight. The problem is that not every landing is done under perfectly normal circumstances. What if something imperfect pops up in the midst of a perfectly normal approach? What if an animal wanders onto the runway just as you cross the numbers? What if the flaps refuse to extend?
Conditions also may be less than perfect. Suppose the wind is gusting from the left at 12 knots, or the runway is short, narrow, wet, and bounded by obstacles. Would you still be able to execute a perfect approach and landing, or has your practice prepared you only for near-perfect conditions?
About that practice - do you conduct it exclusively at your home airport, where you've worn a groove in the traffic pattern from so many perfectly executed full-stop and touch-and-go landings that you could fly them in your sleep?
Just as we tend to focus our practice on perfecting normal flying, we tend to separate practice missions from our everyday flying missions. We go to the airport one day to practice takeoffs and landings so that we're proficient for the flight we're planning the next day. There's certainly nothing wrong with practice missions, but don't waste an opportunity to get even more practice on the flight you have planned. Why not treat real flying time as valuable practice and learning time? Of course that's not possible in every circumstance - an unsuspecting passenger wouldn't appreciate an impromptu simulated loss-of-power emergency approach. But if you think back on the flying you've done over the last year, you probably can come up with dozens of opportunities to have practiced a technique or procedure in the course of normal flying.
The place to begin is with approaches and landings. When possible, make each one a training exercise. The runway may be 6,000 feet long and 150 feet wide, but who's to say you can't scope out about a third of that real estate and consider it to be the available runway? Before entering the terminal area review short-field landing procedures for the airplane, including flap configuration, power, airspeed, and maximum-performance braking. Then fly the approach and landing as if it's the real short-field deal.
On the next takeoff, mentally transform that long, dry stretch of active runway into a field rendered soggy by the previous day's downpour. A wet runway, especially a wet grass runway, can dramatically extend the normal takeoff roll by slowing the airplane's normal rate of acceleration to liftoff speed. The object of soft-field takeoff procedures is to minimize the additional drag by raising the nosewheel off the runway surface as soon as possible, followed shortly by the main gear. You fly just off the surface in ground effect until you have accelerated to the desired climb speed.
It feels like an extreme maneuver because of the strong pull required on the yoke and the abnormally high angle of attack so early in the takeoff roll. You say you don't plan to operate out of any grass strips, much less wet grass strips? Doesn't matter. Practicing soft-field takeoffs is a great way to develop a heightened sense of "feel" for the airplane and to refine your touch on the controls. It takes finesse to maintain just the right pitch attitude to keep the nosewheel off without over-rotating and to know when to relax back pressure after the main wheels lift off to keep the airplane flying in ground effect until it's safe to climb. You may never need to use the procedure under actual conditions, but practicing it adds to your overall mastery of the airplane.
Crosswinds are a different story. We can avoid soft fields, but we can't always avoid crosswinds. Crosswind technique is not an optional skill. Why not take every opportunity to practice by asking the tower controller for the crosswind runway instead of the active, into-the-wind runway or by seeking out a crosswind condition at your nontowered airport, provided there is no conflicting traffic?
Plenty of other opportunities exist to elevate normal flights into practice and training flights. Establish an imaginary displaced threshold that you must land beyond. Declare your flaps inoperative and make a no-flaps landing. Purposely make a high approach so you'll have to cross-control and slip down to the proper glidepath. Follow a phantom B-747 and use wake turbulence avoidance techniques to prevent an upset. Keep your speed up on the initial approach in front of a make-believe turboprop or S-turn to increase spacing behind the Piper Cub that isn't really there. Use less-than-full throttle to simulate the additional drag of a wet grass runway or power-robbing high density altitude conditions.
Of course, you should never practice any procedure that might compromise anyone's safety including yours, your passengers', or that of other aircraft. And to get the most out of your efforts, begin with a visit with your instructor to brush up on little-used techniques before practicing them on your own.
In the right circumstances, turning normal procedures into practice opportunities will pay long-term dividends. Avoid the normal in favor of the unusual or the unexpected. To perfect your skills, practice for less-than-perfect situations.
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