There is no specific requirement, by regulation or practical test task, to teach students pilots to perform touch-and-go procedures. Conscientious instructors include in their curriculum things they believe are important for students to know, or that will be needed to operate in the local training environment. Touch and goes are such a non-compulsory extra.
In order to expedite takeoff and landing practice at a busy airport, flight schools frequently resort to combining the takeoff maneuver with a landing rollout, thereby eliminating the need to exit the runway, taxi back, and wait for a gap in landing traffic. Staying in the flow lets the student perform more liftoffs and touchdowns in a given time.
If possible, I prefer to begin takeoff and landing practice by doing full-stop landings and taxiing back to take off, even if it means flying a few miles to a quiet auxiliary field. I find the extra minute or two on the ground to be helpful for critiquing and feedback.
Once the student has been familiarized with the full, changing metamorphosis of an inert aircraft gathering lift and taking flight, and with the vagaries of transforming a flying airplane into a taxiing one, it’s possible to compress them into a touch-and-go sequence. However, aborted approaches, go-arounds from a botched landing attempt, and crosswind correction must all be mastered as distinct operations before introducing touch and goes.
In fact, I first introduce traffic patterns and approaches without actually landing, ending final approach with a go-around and climbing back to reenter the downwind. It eases the student’s mind to know that every attempt does not have to end with an actual landing.
Separate the tasks. A good touch and go maintains the standalone integrity of taking off and landing. You should divide the touch and go into a landing, with all that’s required to call it successful—a stable approach, a flare from the glide into level flight, holding off to effect a slow touchdown on the main gear, followed by a modicum of deceleration, perhaps allowing the nosegear to touch. Then, we can leave the landing as a done deal, reposition the flaps, add power, and retrim without looking away from the runway. The airplane is still rolling at high speed, so flight controls must be combined with ground directional-control techniques to maintain runway alignment: keep the nosewheel light, use rudder to stay straight, and use aileron to keep wings level and/or fight lateral drift.
At this point, we’ve entered the takeoff phase of the touch and go. The nose is raised to a proper takeoff attitude and the airplane allowed to lift off as it gathers airspeed; avoid yanking the airplane off the ground or driving it down the runway to climbout speed. The liftoff comes at slightly above clean stall speed and acceleration continues toward VY while countering p-factor and adjusting crab angle for any crosswind.
If the runway is too short to allow for a few seconds of rolling along before taking off, it shouldn’t be used for touch-and-go practice. Not every student will nail every landing on target; there has to be enough room to permit a touchdown anywhere in the first third of the runway, clean up, and lift off to climb out with a generous obstacle clearance, foibles notwithstanding.
“Cleared for the option” means the control tower is maintaining enough separation to allow a full-stop landing if needed—the other options being a touch and go, a go around, or a stop and go. Always keep the controller advised, avoiding any surprises. If you are planning to land long (beyond the normal touchdown zone), make a stop and go, do a low approach only, practice an engine failure on takeoff, or do anything else out of the ordinary, make sure the tower understands and approves.
What to watch for. Errors frequently seen when teaching touch and goes are applying partial throttle, then fiddling with trim, carb heat, or cowl flaps—perhaps even forgetting to put in the rest of the power after finishing the clean-up work. The objective is to quickly place the aircraft in a takeoff configuration, using nothing less than takeoff power, flaps, and trim. Partial power application only wastes additional runway. Another common error is forgetting to bring up the flaps, causing a premature liftoff—often followed by dumping the flaps abruptly, which then results in a firm resumption of the takeoff roll.
Concentrating excessively on resetting trim distracts from aircraft control; a rote adjustment—a predetermined number of twists of the trim control—should take the place of looking at an indicator. Fine-tuning the trim can be done after liftoff. Wheelbarrowing on the nosegear, with the main wheels in the air, can result from a delayed rotation to takeoff attitude, or more likely, a hurried landing followed by quick power application. Emphasize that the airplane is still partially flying. Directional control can be lost if the pilot is relying on the traction afforded by having all three wheels in contact, when they really aren’t.
Touch and goes require a faster thought sequence to stay ahead of the aircraft and therefore may have to be deferred until a student has demonstrated the ability to make his or her own decisions in approach, landing, taxi, and takeoff tasks. If inconsistent performance is observed, revisit the individual portions to correct any faults leading to control problems in the touch-and-go transition.
Touch and goes are a useful tool but a challenge all their own. Give the student the ability to perform one, and you’ve added another arrow to his or her quiver.
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There is no specific requirement, by regulation or practical test task, to teach students pilots to perform touch-and-go procedures. Conscientious instructors include in their curriculum things they believe are important for students to know, or that will be needed to operate in the local training environment. Touch and goes are such a non-compulsory extra.
In order to expedite takeoff and landing practice at a busy airport, flight schools frequently resort to combining the takeoff maneuver with a landing rollout, thereby eliminating the need to exit the runway, taxi back, and wait for a gap in landing traffic. Staying in the flow lets the student perform more liftoffs and touchdowns in a given time.
If possible, I prefer to begin takeoff and landing practice by doing full-stop landings and taxiing back to take off, even if it means flying a few miles to a quiet auxiliary field. I find the extra minute or two on the ground to be helpful for critiquing and feedback.
Once the student has been familiarized with the full, changing metamorphosis of an inert aircraft gathering lift and taking flight, and with the vagaries of transforming a flying airplane into a taxiing one, it’s possible to compress them into a touch-and-go sequence. However, aborted approaches, go-arounds from a botched landing attempt, and crosswind correction must all be mastered as distinct operations before introducing touch and goes.
In fact, I first introduce traffic patterns and approaches without actually landing, ending final approach with a go-around and climbing back to reenter the downwind. It eases the student’s mind to know that every attempt does not have to end with an actual landing.
Separate the tasks. A good touch and go maintains the standalone integrity of taking off and landing. You should divide the touch and go into a landing, with all that’s required to call it successful—a stable approach, a flare from the glide into level flight, holding off to effect a slow touchdown on the main gear, followed by a modicum of deceleration, perhaps allowing the nosegear to touch. Then, we can leave the landing as a done deal, reposition the flaps, add power, and retrim without looking away from the runway. The airplane is still rolling at high speed, so flight controls must be combined with ground directional-control techniques to maintain runway alignment: keep the nosewheel light, use rudder to stay straight, and use aileron to keep wings level and/or fight lateral drift.
At this point, we’ve entered the takeoff phase of the touch and go. The nose is raised to a proper takeoff attitude and the airplane allowed to lift off as it gathers airspeed; avoid yanking the airplane off the ground or driving it down the runway to climbout speed. The liftoff comes at slightly above clean stall speed and acceleration continues toward VY while countering p-factor and adjusting crab angle for any crosswind.
If the runway is too short to allow for a few seconds of rolling along before taking off, it shouldn’t be used for touch-and-go practice. Not every student will nail every landing on target; there has to be enough room to permit a touchdown anywhere in the first third of the runway, clean up, and lift off to climb out with a generous obstacle clearance, foibles notwithstanding.
“Cleared for the option” means the control tower is maintaining enough separation to allow a full-stop landing if needed—the other options being a touch and go, a go around, or a stop and go. Always keep the controller advised, avoiding any surprises. If you are planning to land long (beyond the normal touchdown zone), make a stop and go, do a low approach only, practice an engine failure on takeoff, or do anything else out of the ordinary, make sure the tower understands and approves.
What to watch for. Errors frequently seen when teaching touch and goes are applying partial throttle, then fiddling with trim, carb heat, or cowl flaps—perhaps even forgetting to put in the rest of the power after finishing the clean-up work. The objective is to quickly place the aircraft in a takeoff configuration, using nothing less than takeoff power, flaps, and trim. Partial power application only wastes additional runway. Another common error is forgetting to bring up the flaps, causing a premature liftoff—often followed by dumping the flaps abruptly, which then results in a firm resumption of the takeoff roll.
Concentrating excessively on resetting trim distracts from aircraft control; a rote adjustment—a predetermined number of twists of the trim control—should take the place of looking at an indicator. Fine-tuning the trim can be done after liftoff. Wheelbarrowing on the nosegear, with the main wheels in the air, can result from a delayed rotation to takeoff attitude, or more likely, a hurried landing followed by quick power application. Emphasize that the airplane is still partially flying. Directional control can be lost if the pilot is relying on the traction afforded by having all three wheels in contact, when they really aren’t.
Touch and goes require a faster thought sequence to stay ahead of the aircraft and therefore may have to be deferred until a student has demonstrated the ability to make his or her own decisions in approach, landing, taxi, and takeoff tasks. If inconsistent performance is observed, revisit the individual portions to correct any faults leading to control problems in the touch-and-go transition.
Touch and goes are a useful tool but a challenge all their own. Give the student the ability to perform one, and you’ve added another arrow to his or her quiver.
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