Pilot Institute

NOVEMBER 2, 2024

Key Takeaways Power-off stalls mimic a stall during the flight’s approach and landing phase. When the aircraft is in a high-drag configuration, a stall at a low altitude can be quite dangerous. On final approach, it can be the difference between recovering and crashing. Why Practice Power-off Stalls?

Descent

Pilot's Life Blog

JUNE 18, 2025

A power-off 180 is a critical maneuver that simulates an engine failure on final approach, requiring pilots to glide the aircraft and execute a precise 180-degree turn to a safe landing spot. Maintain the proper approach speed to maximize glide distance, typically the best glide speed for your aircraft.

Pilot

Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 5, 2025

When learning how to land a Piper Seminole, it is crucial to understand the role of each engine in the approach and landing phases. Pilots must be proficient in managing engine power, especially during the approach, where power settings and speed management are critical to a smooth and safe landing.

Descent

Pilot Institute

APRIL 12, 2025

The reaction in the form of increased thrust allows the aircraft to overcome drag and accelerate or climb. Rudder The rudder is the panel on the vertical part of the aircrafts tail. This is where the rudder comes in. If you press the left pedal, the rudder turns to the left. It provides yaw control.

Torque

Pilot Institute

MAY 8, 2025

You’re on your final approach and suddenly realize your landing gear isnt down. During certain phases of flight, you may retract the landing gear to reduce drag and improve climb performance. Later, as you approach your destination, you’ll need to extend the gear again for landing. But how does this happen?

Air Traffic Control

Flying Magazine

JUNE 30, 2025

Ailerons are actuated by pushrods that run through the wing struts, reducing aerodynamic drag and giving the responsive ailerons a solid feel. On takeoff, the NX fuselage is already level rather than in the high-drag, nose high position. The pushrod ailerons are solid and quick, and nicely harmonized with the elevator and rudder.

Gross Weight

AV Web

JANUARY 22, 2025

Most accounts point outcorrectlyhow decisions about spacing and glide path management, and even whether it was wise to hold the pick-up game contest in winds that caused cancellation of a larger, planned STOL Drag event, may have contributed to this crash. Yet all indications are he succumbed to a simple stall on final approach.

Final Approach

Plane and Pilot

JULY 1, 2025

The pilot applied right rudder in an attempt to correct this, resulting in a ground loop. The student turned early onto the base leg of the airport traffic pattern, then turned onto final approach, resulting in the airplane being high and fast. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.

Density Altitude

Northstar VFR

JULY 21, 2024

More right rudder!!” The airplane rudder is one of the most misunderstood of the primary flight controls. Yet the rudder is one of the most important and one of the most under-utilized. The rudder’s most important function is controlling the yaw of the aircraft, which moves the nose of the plane left and right.

Rudder

Aerotime

NOVEMBER 22, 2024

This is the result of the flight crew performing a full and free movement check to ensure that all flight control surfaces (ailerons, rudder, elevators) are working correctly and the aircraft is fit to fly before taking to the air. Part two will soon be available on AeroTime. Be sure to keep a good look out for it.

Cabin Crew

Flying Magazine

MAY 14, 2024

However, as the 1980s approached, so did the end of the T-37’s projected life cycle, and military leaders determined a more modern replacement was needed. It fulfilled primary trainer duties for more than 20 years and was modified to serve as a light ground attack aircraft in the form of the A-37 Dragonfly. As outlined in a U.S.

Horizontal Stabilizer

Air Facts

JANUARY 13, 2025

Theres no Purple Heart for shooting an instrument approach to minimums without looking at an MFD. Landing a Cirrus on a 3000-foot runway is perfectly doable, but not if you land fast and long because the brakes will not save you from a bad approach. No rudder trim. The engine runs hot.

Airplanes

Pilot Institute

MARCH 29, 2024

Common mistakes include neglecting clearing turns, delaying stall recovery, and misusing the rudder. Drag : The aerodynamic force opposing the aircraft’s forward motion. This increases lift but comes at the cost of increased induced drag. Pilots must counteract the additional drag with more thrust to maintain altitude.

Lift

Pilot Institute

JULY 12, 2024

Key Takeaways Start by setting up your approach correctly to ensure you arrive at the threshold perfectly every time. Perfect the approach phase by managing the aircraft’s energy and using references to improve positioning throughout the pattern. Flying the Approach Haphazard approaches are very likely to lead to haphazard landings.

Descent

Pilot Institute

MAY 4, 2024

It only takes a 10% increase in approach speed to increase the landing roll by 20%. These obstacles frequently affect the approach and missed approach paths. Plan your approach path carefully to eliminate large pitch and power changes. Full flaps are generally used since they lower approach speed and increase drag.

Weight-Shift-Control

Airspeed Junkie

AUGUST 2, 2024

This system includes modes for: roll pitch heading vertical speed altitude hold approach These modes allow for a steady rate of descent, ascent, and consistent speed and altitude ranges. The control yoke and rudder pedals offer precise control, contributing to the ease of flying.

Knot

Jetwhine

JANUARY 17, 2024

You’d think pilot problems would be all about stick-and-rudder skills here,” he said. Steering happens through coordinated use of brakeless rudder pedals augmented by a handbrake, which looks like it was swiped from a 10-speed bike, attached to the control stick. Hold full right rudder and gently grab the handbrake.

Knot

Pilot Institute

APRIL 5, 2024

Learn to avoid common mistakes during approach, roundout, touchdown, and rollout. We have two main challenges when performing crosswind landings: Staying aligned with the extended centerline on the approach. Staying Aligned on the Approach Crosswinds try to “push” the aircraft off the approach course.

Crosswind

Plane and Pilot

MAY 28, 2025

The next item on the list was a thorough walkaround to ensure the floats, water rudders, and cables were all in operational order. Rather than using a combination of power and rudder to steer the aircraft on the ground, I was more so relying on power and heel brakes to get to where I was going. Ah, a Cub after all, I thought.

Rudder

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 9, 2024

We learn all about aerodynamics, thrust, drag, lift, and gravity, study flight manuals, emergency procedures, and FARs, take oral exams and check rides, and constantly review everything we can find about flying. But to an even greater degree than the sea, it is terribly unforgiving of any carelessness, incapacity or neglect.”

Runway

Vintage Aviation News

AUGUST 29, 2024

As we approached Hanoi, Lead wagged his wings, signaling us to maneuver into a fingertip formation. Lead banked and wagged his rudder, signaling us to maneuver back into a spread formation. It felt like we were dragging an 18-wheeler truck! We flew directly over the target, roughly 10,000 ft. What’s wrong, old girl?

Drag

Photographic Logbook

AUGUST 11, 2023

No one wants the skin of their airplane to resemble a dimpled golf ball, Pollyanna commentary about drag reduction aside. Within moments of departing Pickens County, we were on with Atlanta Approach and, shortly thereafter, handed off to McCollum Tower at Cobb County. RNAV-34 approach procedure at Pickens County Airport.

Descent

Pilot Institute

OCTOBER 12, 2024

Poor Control Feel When the aircraft approaches a stall, the boundary layer separates from the wing. This requires rudder input to maintain directional control. While takeoff flaps improve performance, they also add unwanted drag. Furthermore, you must immediately remove one notch of the flaps to reduce the wing’s drag.

Stability

Flight Training Central

JANUARY 15, 2024

Once the brakes are released as the airplane accelerates, adjust the airplane’s pitch to attain minimum drag and maximum acceleration. Taxi the aircraft into position, centered on the runway with the nosewheel straight, as close to the approach end as possible.Hold the brakes, preventing any movement of the aircraft.

Density Altitude

Plane and Pilot

JANUARY 7, 2025

She flew like a big, lumbering Cub of sorts, complete with a wooden rudder bar, tall wooden stick, and instruments that seemed like they were straight out of World War One. Plus, the NX can actually do a few things the conventional-gear XCub cant, mainly because it can attain a high angle of attack before the tailskid drags.

Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

OCTOBER 3, 2024

But it was apparent the smallest Grumman flying boat was too small and full of quirks—the cabin door won’t open if the flaps are down, for example—to justify something approaching a direct copy. The airfoil is a Harry Riblett shape, giving modernized flow separation on the leading edge for a soft stall yet with good lift and drag performance.

Airplanes

Plane and Pilot

DECEMBER 16, 2024

With the F2, the rudder and vertical stabilizer are changed, with the rudder becoming a much smaller surface than before. You can sit there with full back stick, full aileron one way and full rudder the other, and its perfectly controllable. You might ask what happens with crosswind landings when you take away rudder authority.

Rudder