Normal & Crosswind Approach & Landing - Lesson 1

just like a normal takeoff and climb a normal approach in landing is a skill that is used during normal situations with calm winds direct headwinds or crosswinds no obstacles on the final approach and a long hard surfaced runway at this point in your training we are going to focus on the key parts to a landing the approach the round out the touchdown and the after landing roll landings will take some time to master so this lesson will introduce you to the basic ideas behind a stabilized approach in landing a successful landing begins with a proper stabilized approach toward the runway during the approach you will be slowing down reducing power adding flaps and descending to begin the final approach first pick out your touchdown point and aiming point the touchdown point is quite literally a point along the runway where the airplane will touch down this point should be past the threshold but still within the first third of the runway in a normal landing the airplane will float down the runway before it actually touches down so you the pilot need to pick a second point the aiming point approximately 400 feet in front of the touchdown point which you will use in your approach the aiming point is where you would impact the runway if you did not pitch up for the round out and land in a common aiming point used as something easily visible like the runway numbers or the beginning of a runway stripe now that you've got your aiming point picked out you need to fly directly towards it ideally you should make your approach at a 3 degree descent angle that's the descent angle that lines you up with the various approach path light systems used on some runways for reference if you were at an altitude of 1,000 feet above the ground you should be roughly 3 miles away from the runway when you start your approach when it is time to start your descent for the approach reduce power let the airplane begin to slow down and lower the nose the power setting and intended airspeed can vary depending on how far away from the runway you are but in the final moments of your approach you should be flying at around 65 knots sent 1500 rpm to hold that 3 degree descent angle additionally you will most likely have full flaps unless conditions advise otherwise picking a reference point for your pitch attitude will vary from person to person some popular references you can try are to place your aiming point a fists height above the glare shield or have your aiming point line up with a set height on the compass find a reference it works for you and then use pitch and power to keep your aiming point lined up with that reference as you are approaching the runway it is important that you are maintaining a constant approach path this concept called a stabilized approach refers to you keeping a constant descent angle constant airspeed and maintaining centerline with the runway anticipating what the airplane will do and making minor Corrections is the best way to maintain your stabilized approach the majority of these tasks can be handled by carefully observing the runway first and foremost your aiming point should stay at the same point in the windshield above your nose you can back this up with maintaining your perspective of the runway in the same shape the left and right edges of the runway should stay at the same angles and until you're quite close to the runway your perception of the distance between the beginning and end of the runway should stay the same in a perfect world the aiming point would not move in your field of vision and therefore the pitch would not need to be changed however turbulence and wind will make the aiming point appear to move therefore when the aiming point moves up in your view the airplane is getting low you may also notice that the shape of the runway has changed the sides of the runway will be angled inward more and the distance between the beginning and end of the runway will appear to decrease other times you may get indications that you are too high this can be seen by your aiming point moving lower in your view the sides of the runway being angled more vertically and an apparent increase in the distance between the beginning and end of the runway all four forces lift weight thrust and drag affect the descent angle if all of these forces stay the same on a zero wind day the pitch and power would remain steady all the way down to the runway anytime something changes no matter how small another factor will change as a result for example if you found yourself low you would need to increase pitch attitude to get back on the correct glide path however pitching up would make the plane slow down since you don't want to slow down you must also add power to maintain your airspeed the opposite would be true if you were too high pitching down will allow you to once again fly straight towards your aiming point but doing that alone will result in an increase in airspeed therefore you must also decrease power both air speed and pitch are vitally important and as such you should be coordinating your pitch and power changes together if you change one you should anticipate changing the other before moving on let's take a moment to discuss the other scenario you may experience in your approach Wendie days usually coincide with gusty wind this can be troublesome when the wind gusts suddenly go away and then you're left with less wind flowing over your wings to help keep the plane from stalling it is recommended to fly at a faster airspeed thereby adding a safety buffer the recommended procedure is to take half of the gust factor and add that to your approach speed if the wind is at 15 knots gusting to 25 that means that the gust factor is 10 knots half of the gust factor would be 5 knots so if the normal approach speed is 65 knots you would fly at 70 knots in this scenario the round-out also commonly known as the flare is the portion of the landing where you transition from your descent towards the runway into a nose up attitude ready to touchdown in the end the round out is what makes for a good landing this is probably the hardest part of the landing to master but you'll soon realize it's much easier to tackle if you just know where to look as the airplane flies over the runway threshold you should begin to transition your vision from the aiming point out towards the end of the runway while looking toward the end of the runway the pilot can better judge the height above the ground by using peripheral vision a good indication of when to begin the transition is when objects begin to blur speed tends to blur your vision on objects that are close so when you see this begin to happen slowly start to move your eyes farther and farther down the runway and the blurriness will disappear if you do not change where you are looking your landing will probably be firm you cannot get a good feeling for your height above the runway when you're looking too close that being said you should begin your round out when you believe the airplane is about 10 to 20 feet off the ground the round out is accomplished by smoothly reducing the throttle to idle and then slowly pitching up to your final touchdown attitude the angle of attack should be increasing at a rate that allows the plane to continue to descend until just inches above the ground this puts the pitch attitude near the V Y pitch attitude where the tip of the airplanes nose is lined up with the horizon because power is usually brought to idle just prior to pitching up the increase in back pressure will further slow the airplane down this will reduce the airplanes lift requiring the pilot to increase the back pressure even more what makes the landing challenging is the proper timing of the increasing angle of attack and decreasing airspeed if the angle of attack has increased too quickly the airplane will float excessively down the runway before finally touching down however if the angle of attack has increased too slowly the airplane will impact the runway relatively hard similarly if the airspeed is decreased too much before the airplane settles onto the runway the airplane may run out of lift resulting in a hard landing if you plan correctly you'll be able to get the airplane into its V Y pitch attitude right as the plane descends to just inches off the ground and you'll get a nice soft landing on the main wheels once the main wheels touch the runway back pressure on the yoke should be increased in order to keep the nose wheel from slamming into the ground many pilots when starting out have this mindset that as soon as the main wheels touch down the landing is over this is absolutely false the pilot needs to maintain control of the plane until it has exited the runway and comes to a complete stop after touchdown the airspeed will continue to decrease and the nose will eventually make contact with the ground allowing the pilot to steer the airplane with the nose wheel maintain runway centreline and aircraft control as you continue to slow down until it is safe to turn off the runway as we explained with crosswind takeoffs crosswind landings are executed anytime the wind is not directly parallel with the runway the majority of the approach and landing procedure is identical with just a few differences crosswind landings are slightly more difficult than crosswind takeoffs because of the control inputs required remember in crosswind takeoffs control inputs are changed due to an increase in airspeed but the same is true for landings but just the opposite when it comes to crosswind landings there are two techniques used the crab method and the wing low or side slip method during the majority of the final approach the pilot should crab into the wind in order to keep a constant ground track aligned with the runway centerline the nose of the airplane will be pointed into the wind which means that if the airplane were to touch down like this it would be crooked and could cause damage to the landing gear or in extreme cases even flip the airplane over to make the airplane line up at the runway pilots will use the wing low or side slip method the pilot should apply rudder to align the nose or longitudinal axis of the airplane with the centreline of the runway using the rudder will cause the airplane to drift off centerline so a bank will have to be used to keep the airplane on the proper ground track over the runway centreline experienced pilots will wait until right before touchdown to input the side slip but newer pilots should start the side slip earlier on in the approach this allows the pilot to make small corrective control inputs to ensure that the airplane is aligned with the runway during the entire approach and landing preventing a side load here's an example of a crosswind landing if there is a left crosswind on landing while on final approach the airplanes nose will crab pointing into the wind to begin the side slip just enough right rudder should be added to align the nose width and runway centreline and left aileron should be applied to avoid drifting off the more the airplane is drifting the more aileron is required but when more aileron is applied the airplane tends to turn so more rudder will be required to prevent the turn and keep the airplanes nose aligned with the runway typically as the airplane descends on final the winds will decrease resulting in a decrease in control inputs as a result of the decreased crosswind slowly reduce your inputs to ensure that the airplane is still flying the proper ground track and the longitudinal axis is aligned with the runway there are times when the crosswind is too great for the pilot to safely land the airplane if aileron is applied to keep the ground track and the pilot is simultaneously applying full rudder to maintain the heading then the airplane should not touch down this indicates that there is no rudder left and a side loaded landing would result round out for a crosswind landing is just like that of a normal landing the only difference is that the crosswind correction that has been applied is now increased during the round out why is it increased well it's the opposite of what we did during takeoff where the controls became more effective as the airspeed increased during landing the controls become less effective as the airspeed decreases therefore during the round out the control inputs must gradually increase just enough to keep the airplanes longitudinal axis aligned with the runway and on centerline the wings should never become leveled during a crosswind round out if the pilot mistakenly levels the wings the airplane will drift while touching down on the runway the pilot should maintain the correction throughout the touchdown which will make the upwind wheel touch down first yes you only land on one main wheel as the airspeed and momentum of the airplane decreases the downwind wheel will settle onto the runway just like a normal landing maintained back pressure to keep the nose wheel from slamming onto the runway directional control must be maintained using the rudder and ailerons as the airplane speed decreases the relative cross wind component increases making the airplane want to weathervane or turn into the wind the crosswind correction should continue to be applied and as the airplane slows down the ailerons should be added more and more into the wind the more you slow the more correction you need to add until finally you've brought the yoke into a full deflection toward the wind when you've reached a safe speed exit the runway and complete the after landing checklist

Channel: ERAU SpecialVFR

Views: 767,641

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Id: DxbcyBjFiSg

Length: 15min 36sec (936 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 24 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Flying_pharmacist]

I'm a firm believer in pitch for airspeed and power for altitude/descent rate. It simplifies the approach tremendously when you can get set up & configured (flaps/gear/trim) and just make slight power adjustments to control your approach path. Your airspeed won't vary, just your descent rate.

[u/Flapaflapa]

Power for energy in, pitch to choose what to do with it.

https://www.avweb.com/news/pelican/182148-1.html

[u/R_Mpage]

Student Pilot here - I have seen instructional videos like the one above that seem to advocate pitch for altitude and throttle for speed, but I have seen others that teach to use pitch for speed and throttle for altitude during landing. For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlLwxj8fxlY

Which is the best method to focus on as a student?

thanks

[u/Ulramar]

Pitch for airspeed and power for altitude. On approach you're already really slow, usually around 1.3 Vso. That's not really a great time to be pitching up and trading what little airspeed you have for altitude.

Instead, hold a constant airspeed by holding a constant pitch, and if you're below the glideslope, you increase your power which slows your descent. You probably won't climb, but your descent rate will decrease and the glideslope will meet you. If you're too high, don't dive for the glideslope! That extra airspeed won't do you any good once you float past your aimpoint. Instead, continue holding a constant airspeed with pitch, and decrease your power. Your descent rate will increase and you'll meet the glideslope.

EDIT: In reality you're doing a mix of both, both power and pitch are relatively interchangable, and a mix of both will lead to smoother approaches. However while you're still learning, just pitch for airspeed and use power to maintain glideslope.

[u/lavid2002]

It's both :/
But if you have to pick one it't pitch for airspeed, throttle for descent.

[u/mustang__1]

Has anybody mentioned energy? It's all energy, man.

High and fast, chop power. Low and slow, add power. High and slow, pitch down. Low and fast, pitch up.

[u/ItalianFlyer]

Pitch for airspeed and power for glidepath works incredibly well in light piston aircraft. As such i'm not vocally against teaching it in that context. It's just also important to know that it stops working the moment you fly things with more inertia, like a heavy turboprop or jet. When you also factor in the spool time in those type of aircraft, then it no longer becomes valid, at which point it becomes more a "pitch for glidepath, power for energy". That said as many have pointed out the relationship between the two still exists and is still useful. I know I pitched up slightly in the jet, so I expect my airspeed to eventually decay, therefore I add a touch of power to avoid that from happening. But it is a proactive measure, if you wait to actually see the change before you do something about it (which you can do in a piston single), it's going to be too late and you'll be all over the place.