Business Class On Emirates - The Three Skills to Land an Airplane

But you use them all to land safely and consistently. You can learn each separately. And controlled slow flight, projected glide control, they are airspeed control. There are just three fundamental skills you need to know to land an airplane safely and consistently.

Airspeed control and projected glide control bring the pilot to the right place at the right airspeed to start the transition from the approach glide to the landing phase. Concurrently you can learn to control the projected glide point while maintaining a constant airspeed. Aircraft configurations and angles of bank, then you should master slow Dutch roll thoroughly at various airspeeds. You should start with it. The most fundamental and easiest to learn is airspeed control.

And power settings you are ready to move on to controlling either your projected glide point (PGP) or mastering slow Dutch rolls (SDR), landing gear, once you have learned to control your airspeed in various flap. And so forth, you must lift your nose some, if you add power. As well, the opposite is true. You will be forced to pitch down to maintain constant airspeed, if you add to the airplane's drag. And then adjust your pitch attitude with the elevator to change your airspeed, monitor airspeed with the airspeed indicator. Flaps and landing gear; fine-tune airspeed with power, control airspeed with the elevator.

You have to control them both to arrive at the right place and the right airspeed to execute a good landing. Or both was the problem, poor airspeed control, but when a pilot runs off the far end of the runway almost certainly poor PGP control, there is really not much to controlling PGP. Less drag pushes it away; more drag brings PGP closer. Your PGP will move farther away from you when you add power and it will come closer to you when you reduce the engine's power setting, if you keep your airspeed steady. This is your PGP. This is where you would be if you continued your approach glide. You will see a point on the ground that is staying absolutely still in your field of view, during a constant airspeed approach. Controlling PGP is only slightly more difficult than controlling airspeed.

You learn it by doing SDR in slow flight and in a landing configuration. Fortunately you can learn most of these skills with one exercise conducted at a nice comfortable attitude. A new set of skills is required to execute the landing itself. You no longer need to control either airspeed or PGP, once you have flown the proper approach, ironically.

Now you are ready to start landing practice. Add power as required to maintain a constant altitude while keeping that point steady. Repeat this exercise while transitioning from an approach glide to level slow flight. And very slowly change your angle of bank without letting the point move, hold it steady, pick a point on the horizon.

Airplanes are not so forgiving. You botch up and try again; that is the nice thing about simulators. You don't need an instructor, if you have a simulator. This is a very good description of the technique used to land an airplane. You learned how to keep the airplane from turning left or right in various angles of bank while flying in a landing configuration at speeds just above a stall by practicing SDR.

To keep the airplane off the runway, and then throttle, use your pitch attitude first. Using your ailerons you keep the airplane centered over the runway. Using your rudder pedals you keep the nose pointed at the far end of the runway. You start raising your nose to slow the airplane's descent, looking forward and from side to side like you were driving on the open road. From now on PGP and airspeed need not concern you. Over its center line and at just the right airspeed, you have successfully flown the approach so you are about one wing span above the runway. Here is how to learn to land, in either airplane or simulator.

It is really a fun thing to do. Keep that stall warning screaming. Fly the airplane as slowly as you can, each time you do this. Smoothly apply full power and execute a go around, as you approach the end of the runway. Be certain that you continue to keep the airplane pointed at the far end of the runway and the airplane's body parallel to the runway. Slide the airplane from side to side just above the runway without touching but as close as you can get, just to prove you have mastered the situation. You are now doing that SDR in level slow flight that you did earlier. Without touching it, at as slow airspeed as possible, the objective is to get as close to the runway. This is just an exercise. You are NOT going to land!

Wasn't it, easy? Then close the throttle and you will land, at some point you will realize that you could just touch the runway very gently at a very slow airspeed. Touch it very gently but at as low a speed as you can. Try touching the runway but without landing, as you develop skill with this maneuver.