Pilot Institute

MARCH 26, 2024

As you approach the airport, monitor UNICOM for landing or departing traffic. Another performance factor is the approach speed. The slower the approach, the shorter the landing distance. Many aircraft have specific recommended normal and short-field approach speeds. It will allow you to fine-tune your approach.

NOTAMs

Fear of Landing

MAY 3, 2024

Once stable in ground effect, the pilot shut down EPU1 (left-side outboard) to simulate the performance in the case of an engine failure. The second pilot put on protective gear and approached the aircraft with a “high-voltage trained hook man” to shut down the electrical systems.

Descent

Air Facts

MARCH 26, 2025

But as I banked into my final approach, my heart sank. I did the worst thing possible and tried to lose altitude by steepening my approach. Time seemed to freeze as I floated in ground effect. I had fully cut power and had flaps at twenty, but I was still far too high. I knew I should go-around, but panic gripped me.

Knot

Pilot Institute

MARCH 29, 2024

As the aircraft approaches the target airspeed, add power to ensure you don’t slow down past it. Flying Too Fast Students are often wary of approaching the stall speed. Pilots must maintain tight control over their airspeed on approach to avoid floating. You’ll have to accelerate to V x while staying within ground effect.

Lift

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

This broad scope approach is ultimately needed to help keep our friends, created in the image of God, alive. This approach gives perspective on all factors, including those that might otherwise be ignored or unrecognized. An incomplete summary description of FASF is whether the airplane made it out of ground effect.

General Aviation

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

Not Cool, Man After transitioning across multiple sectors of Boston Center's vast airspace, the home stretch found us on with Boston Approach under a crisp, blue New Hampshire sky. Rolling out on final approach, I was surprised to see another airplane stopped right at the runway threshold. It was only half full of parked aircraft.

Runway

CockPit Conversation

JANUARY 30, 2023

The plane is gathering speed, but the pines on the shore are rapidly approaching. Was he really going to tell me how hard it was to pull that Beaver off the water and then get enough speed in ground effect to clear the trees? To which Bob adds, “Yeah, but maybe he wasn’t a total coward!” I was in suspense.

Ground Effect

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

Approaching Rifle The last six minutes of Shmulik’s flight are plotted on the following map. For each data point you can see the time stamp, the altitude MSL, the Ground Speed in kt, and the Vertical Velocity in feet per minute (fpm). Shmulik flew quite fast at ground speeds between 100 and 130 kt, carrying a lot of extra energy.

Pilot

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. Resist pulling back, instead letting it accelerate in ground effect (or should we say water effect) for a few seconds.

Airplanes