Plane and Pilot

JULY 1, 2025

A witness reported that they saw the airplane lift off from the runway and remain in ground effect until it crossed the departure end of the runway. 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.

Density Altitude

Flight Training Central

DECEMBER 4, 2023

The major difference between the two is that a degree of power is used throughout the level-off and touchdown for the soft-field landing so as to control the descent rate all the way to touch down. This allows the airspeed to slowly dissipate while the airplane is flown just above the surface in ground effect.

Approach

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

An incomplete summary description of FASF is whether the airplane made it out of ground effect. This descent used the same technique that (would have) had value in many of the NTSB accidents involving engine failure after takeoff. That phenomenon is best named Failure to Achieve Sustained Flight (FASF).

General Aviation

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

Under normal circumstances Shmulik would have had sufficient altitude to delay the landing by several minutes: his glider’s minimum descent rate in still air was just 100 fpm. Even a more typical descent rate of 200 fpm would have allowed Shmulik to hold for about 5-7 minutes before he would have had to proceed with the landing.

Pilot