Insights

Good flight instructors want students to enjoy flight training and have the enthusiasm that accelerates the training process and ensures satisfactory completion and certification. Then they can truly enjoy the freedom, beauty, and self-esteem that flying generates. Landings and testing, however, are two areas in which student frustration usually occurs.

Stage-one flight instruction consists of the training requirements that precede solo flight—a momentous, never-forgotten occasion when the airplane lifts off the runway with only the student pilot on board. The instruction given during this stage is not something the instructor has dreamed up. It is mandated by Section 61.97 of the federal aviation regulations.

Toward the end of that stage, all requirements for solo flight have been accomplished with the exception of landings. Now, all flight time occurs in the traffic pattern, and this is when the frustration level increases. In fact, at this point, most students are not too receptive to learning because they are obsessed with the task of getting the airplane onto the runway in an acceptable manner. That’s OK and perfectly normal, but there are things that will help this transition.

Proper vision management is first and foremost. If nervous or uptight, tunnel vision occurs and landings become nearly impossible. Staring at the touchdown spot too long will result in a hard landing; staring at the far end of the runway too early will result in a high level-off. Students must relax and evaluate a sight picture, not a specific point.

Look at something that’s directly ahead of you across the room. Keep your eyes on that feature and ask yourself what you see that’s well to the right, left, above, and below that object. Yes, your eyes are pointed at a specific object, but you can evaluate everything that’s in your field of vision—also called a sight picture. This is what you must be able to observe and comprehend when landing an airplane.

Airplanes have six types of motion: forward, lateral, and vertical linear motion, as well as rolling, pitching, and yawing motion. You cannot properly evaluate airplane motion unless you are relaxed and use a sight picture that’s formed by the windshield frame and the nose cowl. To concentrate on only the feature that your eyes are pointed toward is a huge mistake.

On final approach your eyes are pointed at the touchdown spot in order to evaluate the sight picture and glidepath management. Do your eyes move? Yes. At short intervals, you’ll momentarily check airspeed and surrounding airspace for traffic.

When it’s obvious that you’ll land near the desired touchdown spot, change your sight picture to the far end of the runway and pay particular attention to the edges of the runway that are visible in bottom of the sight picture. When those edges start to widen more rapidly, it’s flare time.

As you increase pitch attitude during the flare, you will lose sight of the end of the runway—another huge mistake. Some pilots will raise in their seat so they can always see over the nose, and that, too, is incorrect. Just before you lose sight of the end of the runway, move your sight picture to the left of the nose cowl and continue flaring until you establish the proper landing attitude. By moving your eyes in that manner, you will not lose the perceptions generated by the previous sight picture, and you’ll quickly master landings.

I once thought that student frustration was a triangle: landing, testing, and meteorology. Meteorology is no longer a factor because of the incredible weather resources that are now available in print and on the Internet. Testing, however, is another matter.

When you were in high school, what would you think if a teacher gave you the final exam for a course one month before the exam was to be taken? Nice, yes? Well, that’s the way it is in flight training. The FAA publishes a series of practical test standards (PTS) for every certificate and rating. That’s the test, the whole test, and nothing but the test.

So, why become frustrated? Your instructor will not send you to the FAA for testing until you have demonstrated the proper knowledge and competency. If you are not confident with some element, be honest, tell your instructor, and spend more time eliminating that concern. With the proper confidence level, you’ll do well.

Caution! If prior to the checkride you’re not feeling well or you have a personal problem with family, school, or business, cancel the checkride. You must be healthy, rested, and distraction-free whenever you fly an airplane.

Relax, study the PTS—be sure to include the special emphasis areas that are listed near the front of the publication—and do what you’ve been taught. It’s just that simple.