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Contents

Touch and Go
(Flounder and Flee) (Bumps and Circuits)
20% of the training accidents involve touch and go operations. I have likened such operations as learning to drive by going around the same block over and over. It is not that I don't or won't perform touch and go operations as part of my instruction. I find such flying not of the 'real' world. As any of my students can confirm, I do as many landings to the left pattern as to the right. The go-around, no-flap approach, short approach and other variations are a standard part of such lessons. However, I do not want my students to do identical consecutive landings over and over. It is not conducive to improvement proportionate to the money spent.

Instead, I want my soloed student to practice the departure and arrival procedures between airports. This is the real world of flying. I want them to land, taxi, stop and runup at other airports. I want all the phases of checklists and flying procedures to be practiced. Touch and go operations correspond to learning piano by practicing only the scales.

One experienced instructor does not do any touch and go landings with primary students. If such landings are to be practiced the student must be competent in the aircraft operation, cockpit responsibilities are divided and assigned, the runway length is 200% of aircraft requirements and the go-around option always applies as part of the ATC clearance. Complex aircraft should not be used in doing touch and go landings.

Over-Shoot landings
About 100 aircraft a year run off the end of a runway. These landings are caused by excessive speed on approach, poor glide path control, failure to transition to landing attitude and improper braking. Contributing to these is the failure of the pilot to anticipate the effects of a calm to quartering tail wind or runway conditions. The runway behind you is as useful as the altitude above you.

The Undershoot Landing
An undershoot landing is far more likely to be a serious accident than the overshoot because the impact forces are more likely to be greater and under even less control. As with the overshoot, the undershoot landing is the result of poor pattern techniques. There as many causes of poor patterns as there are pilots but inherent to the poor pattern will be a multitude of excesses. Too far, too close, too long, too short, too soon, too late, too much, too little, etc. The unfamiliar pilot will suffer from 'runway fixation'. He will become apprehensive about the continued existence of the runway, every few seconds he will tip, turn, or twist both the aircraft and himself to ascertain that the runway is still on the ground.

The problem occurs when the pattern results in an approach that is below the configuration and airspeed glide path. There is a proper correction procedure. This means a full power application and a locked yoke to maintain approach speed for so long as it takes to make the glide slope intercept. However, all too often the pilot's perception of the problem is that a partial power adjustment is all that is required. A touch of power and a slight up-pitch of the nose fixes everything, for a moment that is. There has been a decrease of airspeed by a couple of knots. The sink rate increases and in a few seconds we are below the desired glide path. Another touch of power, more pitch-up, lower airspeed and we are again sinking faster below the glide path. We have entered the constantly deceleration approach regimen. One more time and we are behind the power curve. This means that there is insufficient power available to overcome existing drag without lowering the nose. Without altitude sufficient to allow lowering the nose an uncontrolled contact with the ground is bound to follow. This kind of accident is most likely to happen to the low-time-in-type pilot with a high performance aircraft at an unfamiliar airport.

The essence of avoiding the undershoot landing involves establishing, maintaining, or correcting to the proper glide path at the correct airspeed for the configuration. Essential to this is an appropriate pattern. Never let your airspeed fall below the selected approach airspeed. Make all from below intercepts of the glide path with full power applications while holding approach airspeed. On interception only power need be reduced to hold the glide path. Power is your glide path control. Once established more power will make the approach more shallow, less power will make the approach steeper.

Land and Hold Short
The LAHSO were initiated by the FAA in an effort to increase airport capacity. LAHSO exists only when there are intersecting runways, a control tower, 1500' ceiling, three-mile visibility, good braking and no tailwind. The burden for a successful procedure rests with the pilot. Lower ceilings are allowed if there are visual approach indicators such as PAPI. Night operations require visual vertical guidance, with electronic slopes grand-fathered in for one year. (Long past.)

When an airport has intersecting runways, ATC may approve you for a LAHOS approach. This approach requires that the pilot be acutely aware of his own and his aircraft's capability. If there is any doubt because of a calm, tailwind or night condition, decline he clearance. Failure to decline means that you are expected to land and meet all ATC restrictions. You can always make a go-around but you may need to answer some questions afterwards.

Communications in LAHSO operations can cause problems. I, personally, was called to the tower for the first time in 25 years for missing a "cancel take off" clearance during a LAHSO operation. Neither I nor the other pilot in my plane heard the cancellation. ATC tapes had the cancellation repeated four times. Cause seemed to be a very sensitive volume control where a small change made the difference between off and too loud. This situation occurred on the other end of the LAHSO but the potential for a collision existed and exists in every LAHSO.

Unless you fully understand and accept the pilot responsibilities for either asking for or accepting a LAHSO clearance. Pilots bear full accountability for knowledge related to aircraft performance and the vertical guidance parameters. Electronic and visual guidance procedures waste up to 1000' of useable runway. Current airport information is required as to useable runway lengths and surface condition.

The pilot must have current knowledge of his aircraft capability and limitations referenced to airport conditions. Any lack of knowledge or information will be weighed against the pilot. The pilot has the final responsibility for accepting a LAHSO clearance. The common option of a go-around exists but the need for a go-around is going to be referenced by the FAA against the pilot's acceptance of the clearance. Rejection of the LAHSO clearance may be the best choice even if it delays your arrival. The land mines that exist in LAHSO operations would make non-acceptance of the LAHSO clearance the best way to go. Still, you can expect that with the increase in traffic, ATC will be throwing the LAHSO ball into your court.

Hard Landing
There are actually two different kinds of hard landings. The most common one is when the approach speed is higher than 1.3 Vso. At the higher speed and a corresponding higher descent rate and a delayed flare the ground contact results in severe stress to the aircraft structure. The landing gear, designed to absorb this impact by flexing or compression will reflex with sufficient force to make the aircraft airborne again. Now the aircraft is in the air, slow and unable to develop enough lift to prevent the second kind of hard landing unless the go-around is promptly and properly initiated. Without the go-around the aircraft will fall through any ground effect and give a series of bounces, each one of which is made worse by the pilot reaction delay. The go-around is always the best salvage procedure.

The second type of hard landing is where either in a slip or in a flare the airspeed is allowed to fall below the 55-knot short field landing speed. Getting slow greatly increases the sink rate of the aircraft. The instinctive reaction in this case is to keep from falling. The instinctive control movement is to pull the nose up. Nose up makes the airplane go slower and fall faster. Raising the nose again just makes it worse. The ONLY correction for being slow on a landing approach prior to flare is to GO-AROUND WITH FULL POWER. Hold the nose level.. The slower you are the closer you want to be to the ground. Being close to the ground gives you the power and acceleration benefits of ground effect that will not be available to you further above the surface.

Since this type of situation is occurring behind-the-power-curve and at a high angle of attack, it may be that you will be unable to accomplish the maneuver without lowering the nose. This lowering may well result in ground contact. Some hard landings cannot be prevented beyond a certain point regardless of power. I saw such a landing by a B-25 in India during All airline pilot training, commercial pilot training, air force pilot training, fighter pilot training, pilot training schools, flight training schools, flight attendant training, helicopter flight training, accelerated flight training, airline flight training, flight training florida, flight attendant training schools, instrument flight training, cpl flight flying school training training, flight training simulator, flight training academy, atp flight training, helicopter flight training schools, california flight training, professional flight training, data flight training, orlando flight training, corporate flight attendant training, flight nurse training, warrant officer flight training, flight training device, lufthansa flight training, flight training san diego, alien alien flight flight training, military pilot training, sport pilot training and private pilot training.

Power-off Accuracy Landing
During the flight test the examiner can be expected to pull the power and advise you to make a power off landing within 200 feet of a specific point on the ground. Since you are always expecting such an event it comes as no surprise. You already know the wind, don't you. You quickly determine whether to make a 90-degree, 180-degree, or 360-degree approach with adjustments a required. You also know from practice the amount of trim  that , with the power off, will give you a glide speed of 60 knots, hands-off. Just as in any constant power approach, the power-off approach speed is for a trimmed 60 knots.

At a constant glide speed, you will be able to sight over the nose to the runway and determine whether you are high or low. You have done this many times with 1500 rpm. Power off is no different. It is your intention not to apply any flaps until you know you will reach the field.   Your no-flap approach will be relatively flat and high/low somewhat more difficult to assess. Every time the runway threshold passes under the nose as you fly 60 knots, you will apply a notch of flaps. Only the straight-in approach or final limits your ability to adjust base for being low or high. If your anxiety has kept you too high go into an extreme slip at 60 knots indicated to get down.

Never dive for the runway. As you know, you can extend your glide distance by removing flaps. Don't do this below 400 feet unless you are over a paved two mile runway or having an emergency. Get your maximum flaps-for-wind conditions in before 200 feet AGL. You will need the altitude to assure complete control in the round-out, flare, and touchdown. Don't sacrifice a good landing in your desire to hit a touchdown point. At 60 knots you will still have 200 feet of float within five feet of the ground. Use it. Always practice using ground effect in every landing. You never know when you will need the skill and experience.

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