Advice for a struggling student
Dear Rod:
I'm a student pilot who has arrived at the limits of his patience with landings. I'm having a terrible time learning to land the airplane. My instructor is patient with me, but I'm just not getting it. My total flight time is 25 hours, and I'm flying a Cessna 172. Do you have any suggestions that might help?
No Name Please
Well, you haven't given me much information to work with here. Here's some very general advice that complements the many other landing strategies I've written about in this column over the past 10 years. It's based on the premise that the landing flare is made easier when you take enough time to establish your rate of closure with the runway. Let's establish some agreement first.
Would you agree that if you were instructed to catch a fast-pitched baseball, it would be more difficult to catch it while standing close to the pitcher as compared to standing farther away? Sure you would. The farther away you are, the more time your brain has to perform the mental calculations necessary to connect your hand with the ball. You'd probably also agree that it's easier to catch the ball if it's thrown directly toward you instead of having to run and catch it, right? It's difficult to argue that catching while running is easier than catching while stationary, considering that your movement is just another variable for which you have to compensate.
Here's an idea that may help you better approach and land your airplane. The more time you have to observe the runway on final approach without the airplane pitching up, down, right, and left, the easier it is for your brain to compute your rate of closure and your height above the runway. If you can better predict these two things, then landings will be a snap instead of a landing that snaps something.
When you're having trouble learning to land, the objective for you and your instructor should be to arrive on final approach at least a runway's length from the threshold (preferably much farther out, if possible) at an altitude that allows a descent with minimal power changes. From this position, your objective is quite clear: Establish the proper nose-down pitch for the airspeed desired, trim the airplane for this attitude, and use your controls to keep the wings level and the nose pointed straight ahead (no wind assumed here).
Now let the trimmed airplane do as much of the flying as possible. After all, it flies better than you do. Your sole objective is to keep the runway picture steady in the windscreen during your approach to it. Why? So your brain can do what it already does best, and that's making estimations about closure raters and heights. Jumble the picture by wandering all over final approach and your brain can't make these calculations. Fly a long enough final approach without the runway moving all over the windscreen and the landing flare should become much easier to accomplish. This is no great revelation, but it's one that pilots seem to miss, much like the runway they're trying to land on.
Finally, I sometimes have to remind students to use what they know. A landing is nothing but a wings-level, constant heading, power-off (or reduced) descent with a nose-up pitch at the appropriate time. This is why I often spend more time with students practicing straight-ahead, wings-level descents. When they can keep those wings perfectly level, the airplane pitched downward to a precise degree below the horizon, and not let the airplane wander away, they'll be landing on their own in a short time. Of course, there's much more to learn about landings and it takes several additional hours to cover all the essentials.
So now you have another strategy to help you with your landings.
When to descend?
Dear Rod:
I'm an instrument-rated private pilot working on my commercial certificate. My instructor and I were having a discussion about when to begin the descent for landing in the traffic pattern. Jim wants me to start my descent on the downwind leg and trim the airplane for the speed I'll use on base leg. I've always been under the impression that it's best to wait until you're turning toward the runway to begin the descent. What say you on the subject?
Tammy J.
Greetings Tammy J.:
The FAA sides with your instructor on this issue, while I side with you.
The Airplane Flying Handbook suggests that you should begin your descent from traffic pattern altitude when abeam the approach end of the runway while on the downwind leg. Now, this is a fine procedure for making power-off accuracy landings and operating in a traffic pattern that's hosting one or two additional airplanes, at most. This may not, however, be the best procedure to use when operating at an airport that's even moderately busy, because it exposes you and others to unnecessary risk.
Here's another way to think about this issue. Descending on the downwind leg assumes that all traffic pattern variables are working for you, rather than against you. For instance, not everyone enters the pattern at the midfield point, nor do they enter at the recommended traffic pattern altitude. It's not unusual to find pilots entering downwind too low, too high, and/or too far into the downwind leg. A descent from abeam the runway threshold on the downwind leg increases your chance of descending onto one of these airplanes-or having one of them descend on you. Waiting until you turn base to descend provides you with an excellent opportunity to see and avoid any machine that's below you.
Descending on the downwind leg can also make it much more difficult for a following airplane to keep you in sight. Sure, there are many variables at play here, but it's hard to argue that airplanes descending directly ahead of you and dropping below the top of your panel makes them easier to see, right?
If there's an airplane ahead of you on base leg and you've just begun your downwind descent, you put yourself in a situation where you may (not always, but sometimes) have to maneuver at lower altitudes and even lower airspeeds farther from the runway to maintain your spacing. It's much better to be higher and doing S-turns with power reduced than doing S-turns at a lower altitude with power on. Think about it. You're low and slow and most likely beyond gliding distance from the runway. How can this possibly be advantageous to you?
Yes, each situation is different and needs to be sized up on its own merits, but generally speaking, your overall risk is increased by descending on the downwind leg compared to delaying the descent until turning base leg at the appropriate location.
I always have a lot of respect for the FAA's position on these issues. After all, they speak from many years of collective experience and we should consider their words carefully. But I'm not sure the recommendation to descend on the downwind leg was meant as a "one size fits all" solution, especially for moderately busy airports. Now you at least have another way of thinking about the issue.
How fast to taxi?
Dear Rod,
Is it true that we don't taxi faster than we can walk?
Richard
Greetings Richard:
It's true only if you want to irritate a lot of other people at the airport. There's no hard and fast (or even hard and slow) rule for how fast to taxi, other than to taxi slow enough to keep good control of the airplane and to see and avoid obstructions. It's perfectly reasonable to taxi faster than you can walk when airplane control and obstructions aren't at play.
How fast? You just have to use a little common sense here. This is a situation where you need a flight instructor to show you what's a reasonable and unreasonable taxi speed for the airplane you're operating
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker. A pilot since 1970 and a CFI since 1973, he has flown more than 8,000 hours and is part owner of a Cessna P210. Visit his Web site.
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