“Low and slow” is hangar-flying lingo that means different things to different people. To many pilots, “low and slow” suggests naughty behavior. Someone might say, “He got low and slow,” to explain how a stall-spin accident occurred, or what led to someone mushing an airplane onto the ground a few yards short of a runway during a landing. Such accidents on final approach often stem from low-and-slow flying known as being “on the back side of the power curve.” Buzzing is another abuse of low-and-slow flying—often, a fatal abuse if it distracts the pilot from the flying. But some low-and-slow flying is moderate, safe, and the right technique for a given situation. It might be quite some time before you need the skill. But when you do, it will be there, and you will prevail. Here are five reasons to love low and slow:
1. The airport traffic pattern
Most flying in the pattern is routine and well-rehearsed, done with oft-practiced power settings, airspeeds, and configurations. But situations may arise that change the usual rules around a bit. There you are, flying the downwind leg at a nontowered airport, just the way you’ve always done it since first solo. But today a preceding aircraft is flying a longer final than usual, or lands and is taking its sweet time to clear the runway. What to do? It’s tempting and common for pilots to just extend downwind, courteously giving the slowpoke extra time to get off. Give yourself a good grade for etiquette. But the downside is that it can set up a chain reaction, requiring any traffic following you to mimic your maneuvering. Meanwhile, your extended downwind places you at risk of being unable to glide back to the runway in the event of engine trouble. Watching for the other aircraft to get down and off can distract you from adding carb heat, or extending the landing gear in a retractable.
A better solution is simply to slow down a few extra knots. Making this adjustment will be a breeze after all that dual practice flying at truly critical airspeeds. Chances are, when the runway becomes available for your use, you’ll be much closer to it than if you had extended downwind at cruise speed or slightly below. This same idea will work at a tower-controlled airport too, with the only difference being that the local controller may be the one to tell you when to turn base, then clear you to land. An added benefit is that if you’re closer in when your base leg is called, you won’t be asked to “keep your speed up on final,” a request that makes it difficult for you to fly a stabilized final approach.
2. Soft-field or rough-field takeoff
Your goal is to get airborne at the minimum possible airspeed, sparing the landing gear a savage pounding and avoiding potential directional control problems associated with rolling on rough ground. Nor do you want to settle back onto the ground after liftoff. So get off the ground quickly, but not too quickly. Then level off while still safely in ground effect, and accelerate to climb speed. Most pilots can recite that definition of a soft-field takeoff. But what it really means is that the initial airborne phase is flown at a speed barely capable of supporting the aircraft in flight, and incapable of producing a climb. That’s a delicate piece of flying and is the essence of high-quality low and slow.
Flight instructors sometimes borrow that first phase of a soft-field takeoff for another training drill. Above a suitably long runway, flying along slowly in ground effect for a sustained interval helps to train pilots to keep an aircraft properly positioned above the centerline in crosswind conditions. It can also help a pilot practice roundouts and flares for landing.
3. Climb at VX
With or without a configuration change a climb at the best angle of climb speedcan call for a pilot to maintain a climb at considerably reduced airspeed to achieve the necessary climb performance. A Vx climb is sometimes a dangerous maneuver, which is why we practice it in pilot training. But it's certainly less dangerous than hitting a mountain.
Success at a VX climb means being in control of the aircraft when it is at a high nose attitude and a slow airspeed. But if you’ve practiced power-on stalls in the past, which you likely have if you are practicing VX climbs, you know there is ample room here before a stall occurs. That should give you the confidence to fly the designated VX airspeed exactly, and gain the safe altitude you need.
4. Go around
Going around often involves incorporating such techniques as the VX climb. The go-around is a maneuver in which the surprise factor claims more victims than it should, as pilot errors of directional control or misconfiguration rack up too many aircraft. A balked landing, or go around, may require touching down first if the need to abort came late. Maintain directional control! Next, accelerating to climb airspeed just above the ground (similar to that soft-field takeoff) may be necessary before the VX climb can commence. There may also be maneuvering needed to avoid the hazard that caused the abort. This may mean executing a quick “sidestep” type of maneuver before the end of the runway is reached.
5. In-flight emergencies
Sometimes some good low-and-slow flying can keep a bad situation from getting worse. An off-airport precautionary landing with power available, perhaps caused by low fuel or deteriorating weather, makes the best of a bad situation. Make it better by performing a low pass to inspect the chosen landing spot. Take advantage of that opportunity to note the surface winds.
After an engine failure in flight, best-glide airspeed employs near-minimum drag to provide the best chance of reaching your touchdown spot. Think back to the training drills again for a moment: Remember how any unnecessary control inputs induced a lot of slip and slop into those slow-speed maneuvers? Think about that and minimize your yoke-waggling now, flying your power-off glide cleanly to a safe emergency landing.
In any intentional low-and-slow flying, stall avoidance is a foremost concern and is enhanced by the sensory education you received in those long drills. As previously mentioned, another hazard is the “behind the power curve” situation. It’s typically encountered on a final approach. Seeing that he is getting too low, the pilot mistakenly adds back yoke pressure to stretch the glide. But the effect of this increased angle of attack and its induced drag is more sink, not more lift. The aircraft lands short. But a pilot who is razor sharp in low-speed maneuvering won’t fall into the trap. It’s another reason to love low and slow.
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