Having trouble with your landings? Of course you are. It’s one of the hardest parts of learning to fly. We asked 10 experts to weigh in on what makes a great landing. Apply a thing or two noted here and your landings will surely improve
Over the numbers on final approach, after the runway fills your field of view, switch your focus from the runway numbers to look at the far end of the runway—the horizon. If the horizon moves slowly then you should change to the flare (the stall) attitude slowly. If the horizon moves quickly then you must make a quick transition. Once the transition is made, hold it. Be patient. Your airspeed will bleed off and a full-stall touchdown is assured. The full-stall touchdown is the safest—you won’t balloon, you won’t bounce, and you will touch down with the airplane prepared to be a ground machine.
—Arlynn McMahon, 2009 National CFI of the year
I can tell pilots are surprised when I admit that the techniques I use to make a greaser in the 777 are very similar to landing smaller GA aircraft. Resist the temptation to cut the power prior to beginning your flare. If you have a nice, stabilized power-on approach going toward the runway, then you are still on that approach until the flare is begun. Cutting the power early results in a sudden loss of airspeed, a high sink rate—or both—usually ending in a hard and uncontrolled touchdown. As the approach ends, the landing flare begins. And only then should the power be reduced as needed (usually idle) to touchdown. As we say at the airline, “Speed is life!”
—Bob Schmelzer, Boeing 777 captain and check airman, designated pilot examiner, and Flight Training columnist
Precision is so critical in aircraft carrier operations that angle of attack is measured in tenths of degrees—and pilots are expected to fly within a tenth of a degree. It’s hard to force yourself to be that precise in civilian flying because you’ve usually got thousands of feet of extra runway. But being precise eliminates variables—and eliminating variables is the key to consistency. Pilots who don’t develop a baseline for precise, consistent approaches tend to operate in a very broad range. And that makes it difficult for them to recognize when one or more of those variables become unsafe.
—Harry “Hairball” Hirschman, former U.S. Navy F/A-18 pilot, ATP, and CFI
The reason short-field landings can be so difficult is because there are so many variables. Just as with any other landing, everything boils down to proper timing of the flare and power reduction. If you come over the fence high and fast you can still make a good short-field landing if you pull the power at the right time. Determining the proper timing of the power reduction can be extremely difficult. To reduce the guesswork of doing so, make your approaches as repeatable as possible. This means being at the same part of the approach at the same airspeed, and altitude. Use that picture to make finite adjustments to the timing of the power reduction to nail your point.
— Sherman Carll, winner of the spot landing contest and best overall pilot at the 2010 National Intercollegiate Flying Association competition
I once had a student the day before her single-pilot jet type rating checkride forget how to land the airplane. I even used the old instructor technique of me flying the pattern and transferring control to her once on final to avoid fatigue. On her eleventh attempt she greased it. She then turned to me and said, “I know what I was doing wrong. I wasn’t looking down the runway while holding the plane off.” Three more tries and she was good to go. The next day, she aced her checkride.
—Jeffrey Robert Moss, 2010 National CFI of the year
Every basic presolo maneuver a student practices in preparation to land is done without being physically close to a solid visual reference. Yet landing involves maneuvering physically close to a solid visual reference. The best preparation for landing begins by tracking the runway centerline a few feet off the ground at approach speed. Now you can actually see the need for coordinated use of the flight controls, see how easy it is to over-control the airplane, and see how well you correct for wind drift. Once you master this simple maneuver, you are only one lesson away from successfully landing any airplane by yourself.
—Rod Machado, author, speaker, longtime CFI, and Flight Training columnist
Nail the approach speed and keep it from 500 feet on down. Always correct toward the centerline. Never, ever touch down on the nosewheel (in a tricycle-gear airplane). Go easy on the brakes. Airplanes flew for decades before they were equipped with brakes. If you bounce and elect not to do a go-around, simply “re-land” the airplane, bearing in mind that you may need a shot of power to keep the speed. A good landing isn’t always necessarily a smooth one.
—J.J. Greenway, AOPA Air Safety Foundation Chief CFI
Consistent procedures lead to more stable approaches and better landings. I recently watched a client reduce power and apply flaps on downwind much later than I’ve taught him to do. He ended up high on final. After correcting by reducing power, he ended up low and slow and made a terrible landing. But on the next attempt, by reducing power and setting flaps abeam the numbers on downwind, he flew a stable approach and made an excellent landing. I don’t know why pilots invent new procedures when the traditional ones work so well.
—Max Trescott, 2008 National CFI of the year
Short-field approaches and landings can be tough to master. As an examiner, an instructor, and in my own flying I see the key to success in these as a stabilized approach. A few knots fast, and they will go by it; a few knots slow, and they end up short or having to add power. Make your next short-field landing practice count by making sure the approach speed is correct and you have a stable approach all the way down.
—Jason Blair, director of the National Association of Flight Instructors and a designated pilot examiner
The most common error we see in landing is attempting to transition to a flare while at too high of an airspeed. This inevitably results in either a protracted fight to maintain runway alignment a few feet above the ground, while the airplane slows to landing speed and uses up runway—or an attempt to plant the airplane on the ground while it still wants to fly, resulting in a porpoise. Diligently keeping the proper speed on both final approach and into the flare is our number one tip for making landings that your passengers will appreciate!
—John and Martha King, owners of King Schools and nationally recognized authorities on flight training
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