Short / Soft Landings

BoDEAN

New Member
Any tips on teaching these two landings?
With the soft field, I teach idle, during flare, add about 50-100 rpm once you feel the sink rate. I know the AFH teaches keeping power in throughout the whole landing.

As for shorts, what do you teach?
 
Well, I haven't actually gotten an opportunity to teach one (other than to my CFI instructor!), but for me the key was to get stabilized on final as soon as possible only making minor adjustments to pitch/power to keep my reference "spot" in the same place in my windshield while maintaining a stabilized speed.

Dave
 
For short I teach my students to fly a slower approach than normal. In a 172 we usually fly about a 65kt final (normal landings). For the short field, it might be somewhere around 60kts, depending on weight. This will eliminate some floating.

Also, I will often ask the student to pick their point and then try to land 100' before their point. They usally end up floating anywhere from 100'-300' past the point where they are aiming and land within PTS standards of the point they picked.

I don't use this with all of my students. You'll know who it will work for after you fly with them a while. Sometimes I'll go up with someone else's students to work problems with their landings. The biggest ones I see are coming in too fast and not flying a stablized approach. If you can get them to slow down within a safe margin and still realize they are going to float a little, the short field landing won't be such a beast. (Man, was it ever for me!)
 
I teach that airspeed management on final is of paramount importance for a short field landing. We fly a slower than normal final, full flaps, and begin reducing power at around 200AGL to counter the float when we enter ground effect. I also have students aim for a spot short of their intended target.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I teach that airspeed management on final is of paramount importance for a short field landing. We fly a slower than normal final, full flaps, and begin reducing power at around 200AGL to counter the float when we enter ground effect. I also have students aim for a spot short of their intended target.

[/ QUOTE ]

Agree. Like any landing, having the aircraft stabilized on final, pitch/power/trim, is important. Then the stud can concentrate on the particular landing he's trying to accomplish. For min-run landings, I have the stud aim for the overrun short of the numbers, or for runways with no overrun, aim for a point about 1-2 "numbers" lengths short of the approach end. Of course, for runways with powerlines or other obstructions, the initial training will be done pushing the aimpoint down the runway, and once they get the hang of it, then seeing what can be done to work with the "short-field with obstructions" techniques. Power management, same as pscraig described above
 
For short field landings, I've been telling them to come in at 60 (C-172) with full flaps and some power. After clearing the obstacle, I have them take the power out and then put some in again if they need it before landing. It seems to teach them that the power is there (hopefully) if they ever flare too high or are coming in too low.
 
Hey Mike D,
You made me remember a rifle company commander I had once, Capt. James Brown (no kidding). This guy was about 5'5", and a former Force Recon type. Sounded like Jimmy Stewart when he talked, always had a dip of Copenhagen in his mouth and called EVERY one of his Marines 'Stud'.
grin.gif


Just a though....rambling...
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
called EVERY one of his Marines 'Stud'.

[/ QUOTE ]

Even if it was a girl?

[/ QUOTE ]

There are no women in a Marine Corps rifle company....or even in the Battalion - maybe one or two at regimental headquarters, but they can't deploy with us.

It was tough going to a unit with women. I didn't even know how to act around a female Marine - very odd!!
 
Back
Top