Pilot Institute

JULY 12, 2024

Flying the Approach Haphazard approaches are very likely to lead to haphazard landings. You can only begin improving the touchdown if you’ve mastered positioning your aircraft above the runway threshold correctly. The easiest way to achieve this is by flying a stabilized approach. Hold a constant pitch angle.

Descent 52

Descent Weight-Shift-Control Crosswind Runway 52

Flight Training Central

DECEMBER 4, 2023

The final approach speed for a soft field approach and landing should be the same as is used for a short field technique to minimuze float once you enter ground effect. If gusty conditions are present, increase final approach airspeed by one half the gust factor.

Approach 52

Approach Ground Effect Final Approach Airplanes 52

Air Facts

MARCH 26, 2025

Those familiar phrases more right rudder, watch your airspeed, flare, flare, flare! But as I banked into my final approach, my heart sank. The main gear struck the runway with surprising force, causing me to balloon far above the runway. Arriving at the runway with too much energy will lead to a long flare.

Knot 52

Knot Runway Pilot Tail 52

Aerotime

JULY 19, 2024

The primary flight controls on the DC-10 (ailerons, rudder, elevators, spoilers) were all operated by hydraulic pressure and the first officer was quick to realize that his controls were unresponsive to his inputs. During the final approach, Haynes noted a high sink rate alarm from the aircraft’s ground proximity warning syst em (GPWS).

Runway 301

Runway Horizontal Stabilizer Airline Airlines 301

AV Web

JANUARY 22, 2025

The airplane came to rest about 1600 feet from the Runway 31 threshold and about 250 feet right of the extended centerline. Yet all indications are he succumbed to a simple stall on final approach. Sixty-six percent of the downwind-to-base stalls and a full 80 percent of base-to-final stalls resulted in death.

Final Approach 52

Final Approach Airplanes Drag Crosswind 52

Photographic Logbook

JANUARY 25, 2025

When bay ice consistently thickens to over 12 inches, a team of dedicated volunteers collaborates with the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to open the Alton Bay Ice Runway. Over the years, its coveted status as the only FAA-authorized ice runway in the continental United States has endeared it to aviators seeking novelty.

Runway 68

Runway Airplanes Threshold Approach 68

Pilot Institute

APRIL 5, 2024

When the wind is blowing across the runway instead of along it, things get more challenging. However, the wind rarely aligns perfectly with the runway. We have two main challenges when performing crosswind landings: Staying aligned with the extended centerline on the approach. A runway excursion can quickly follow.

Crosswind 52

Crosswind Longitudinal Axis Aileron Rudder 52

Air Facts

OCTOBER 7, 2024

With scores of planes arriving and departing en masse, Saufley’s was like a spiraling beehive, with T-34s entering a circular pattern in trail at 1,200 feet, letting down to 800 feet abeam the runway, and finally entering the downwind leg at 500 feet.

Cockpit 98

Cockpit Rudder Tail Indicated Airspeed 98

Air Facts

SEPTEMBER 9, 2024

On downwind, ATC had me at 3,000 feet going over the departure end of the crossing runway. Turning final, I was still way, way high. I could see that the spot on the ground in the windshield that was not moving was short of the runway. Optimum” glide was not the issue here, and a visual AOA indicator would have had no value.

General Aviation 98

General Aviation Pilot Approach Airplanes 98

Chess In the Air

JUNE 24, 2022

I was listening intently to the ASOS for wind or gusts, letting it repeat 5 or 6 times with the exact same report: 9 kts straight down the runway; no gusts. That was the runway we would use to land. It’s worth noting that Shmulik had a close call in the past: a jet pulled onto the runway in front of him with no radio call.

Pilot 52

Pilot AGL Wind Shear Runway 52

Pilot's Life Blog

JANUARY 5, 2025

Learning how to land a Piper Seminole means becoming comfortable with these avionics, which help guide the aircraft through the landing procedure, ensuring optimal approach speeds and alignment with the runway. The aircrafts landing gear is retractable, which must be extended during the final approach.

Descent 52

Descent Final Approach Approach Runway 52

Plane and Pilot

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

The jaunty vertical fin and rudder enhance the fuselage lines, fitted with a fixed trim tab and aft position light. Ducking the head, we slid the canopy closed into a central overhead latch then applied two extra latches at each forward corner With the backup fuel pump on, we took to the runway.

Knot 94

Knot Rudder Airplanes Gross Weight 94