By Jill Tallman
A spot landing contest rewards the pilot who knows how to manage energy and airspeed. The concept is stone simple: Plant the airplane on a designated spot on the runway. If you were that student who put the airplane right where the CFI told you to, here’s your chance to shine. Even if you weren’t that student, you can practice to become proficient before heading out to a competition. Spot landing contests are crowd pleasers at fly-ins, often held to raise money for a worthy cause. To find one, check local airport events or type club get-togethers.
How
• Keep an eye out for events near your airport through postings at the FBO or flight school.
• Brush up on your technique by practicing short-field landings, which emphasize hitting a spot.
• Remember to aim well short of your intended touchdown point.
Resources
The late Sparky Imeson, a renowned mountain flier, knew about the importance of landing on the exact spot at airports where a go-around isn’t possible. This page from his website describes a spot landing technique.
JARGON: ‘Outer marker’
A pilot is coming in for a landing and says he is at the “outer marker.” Where is he? Approximately four to seven miles from the runway threshold, and on the runway’s extended centerline.
On an ILS (instrument landing system) approach, the pilot is flying under instrument flight rules (IFR) and the outer marker usually is the final approach fix. The outer marker is a radio beacon that intersects the glideslope approximately 1,400 feet above the runway. The signal is in Morse code—a group of two dots per second. On the aircraft, the pilot hears a tone and a blue indicative bulb lights up. At locations where terrain prohibits placement of an outer marker, a distance measuring equipment (DME) unit can be used as a part of the ILS to secure the right fix on the localizer.
