Descent Ground Effect Knot 
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. After arriving at the destination airstrip the student entered left downwind for Runway 13, resulting in a right quartering tailwind of about 5 knots.
Fear of Landing
MAY 3, 2024
The prototype lifted off, hovered and flew at a speed of 40 knots before landing. 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 pilot then increased acceleration with a target of seven knots ground speed.
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Pilot Institute
MARCH 26, 2024
Hold this extra power as you enter ground effect. Low-wing aircraft perform better in ground effect because of the wing’s proximity to the ground. High-wing aircraft might need more power or pitch to arrest the descent. Overcorrecting for a high descent rate will cause the aircraft to balloon.
Pilot Institute
MARCH 29, 2024
The stall warning horn sounds at least 5 knots above the actual stall speed. Since you need to fly without triggering the warning, select a target airspeed of about 2 to 5 knots more. Your target airspeed should be 5 knots above the speed that triggers the stall warning horn. Turbulent air will require a larger airspeed margin.
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). No math required.
Chess In the Air
JUNE 24, 2022
This is consistent with Rick’s report, which referenced 9 knots of wind. 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. I was doing about 80 knots and all of a sudden I hit this tremendous sink.
Plane and Pilot
OCTOBER 3, 2024
We routinely taxi at 1200 rpm due to the low spray…[we] can cruise at 10 knots” in displacement mode, something a Goose can’t do. Early on a speed restriction of 130 knots was applied as a flutter issue. This was resolved on the kit version and led to cruising at 50% power and 120 knots, which proved to be the Gweduck’s sweet spot.
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