How to land airplanes

HOW TO LAND AIRPLANES

This tutorial is geared toward the simulator pilot that hasnot had experience in operating aircraft in the landing environment.The intent is to show what factors affect an aircraft in the landingconfiguration, and to give pointers and techniques to make thelanding phase less demanding and more enjoyable.

This tutorial is not intended to be an all inclusive treatiseon aerodynamics and landing operations.

OVERVIEW

We all know the feeling. It doesn't matter what magnificentdecisions you have made, or what incredible techniques you haveemployed during the flight. What counts to your passengers isthe landing. Blow that baby, and all of your previous heroicsare tossed out the window. And yet, this seemingly simple maneuvercan get the best of even the most seasoned veteran pilot.

Let's take a look at what is going on in this phase of aircraftoperations.

In the diagram below are shown the four prime factors thataffect your aircraft in the landing configuration:

THRUST: This is your engine power.

LIFT: The "force" that opposes gravity (weight).It is produced by air flowing in an undisturbed manner over andunder the wing. Available lift at slower speeds can be increasedby the use of flaps.

DRAG: The opposite, naturally, of thrust. It is the resistanceof the body of the aircraft and its surfaces as it moves throughthe air.

WEIGHT: The greater the weight, the more lift required to maintainflight.

CONTROLS AND SURFACES USED DURINGLANDING

We're going to assume that the reader has a basic understandingof how an aircraft is operated and controlled in flight. If thereader has not read the "Howto fly" tutorial, it is recommended that this would bea good time to take a break and refer to that material beforeproceeding.

SLATS: Slats are leading edge extensions that increase theoverall camber of the wing, producing more lift at slower airspeeds.They extend out from the leading edge of the wing, and may bepowered or simply spring loaded so that they extend below certainairspeeds. If you are saying to yourself "Gee, that ratherpoor drawing up above kind of looks like a Cessna 150 trainer.150's got slats?' No, although some STOL (Short Takeoff and Land)single engine aircraft do. Most corporate class jets do, as doesthe majority of the airline fleet. The slats are shown on the"rather poor drawing" just to show their relationshipwith the other control surfaces.

AILERONS: Ailerons control the rolling motion of the aircraft.Like all control surfaces, they become less effective as the airspeedof the aircraft decreases.

FLAPS: The "kissing cousins" of slats. These extendfrom the trailing edge of the wings surface. Like the slats, theyincrease the overall camber of the wing producing more lift atslower airspeeds.

RUDDER: The rudder controls the yaw of the aircraft, the rotationaround the vertical axis.

ELEVATOR: The elevator controls the pitch of the aircraft,nose up or nose down.

THOUGHTS ON THE LANDING PHASE

So, why can't you just "chop the power" and glideon down to the runway? Well, you could if the runway was reallylong. I mean really long. Why? Because a "clean airplane",that is an airplane that is in a cruise configuration, just doesn'twant to stop flying. If you insist on putting it back down onthe ground while it is "clean" you will have very limitedcontrol over where it will touch down. After all, all you cando is glide until the plane loses all of its excess altitude andairspeed.

The whole idea of landing an airplane is to place it whereyou want it on the runway. In order to do this, you as the pilotmust have control over those factors that were shown in the firstillustration: thrust, lift and drag. Mother Nature does Her partby furnishing the fourth item, weight (gravity). You want to havecontrol over all facets of the operation. It's all the OrientalYin and Yang thing. You want to go up- and down. You want to gofaster- and slower and so on.

AXIOM

Power controls altitude, pitch controls airspeed.Trust me on this one. Oh sure, for minor changes in one or theother you can go opposite of this axiom, but for all intents andpurposes, lock this one in your mind. Power controls altitude.Pitch controls airspeed.

In the following discussion, it will be assumed that you donot have an operating manual for the aircraft that you are flying.If you do have a manual, use the "numbers" that arein it.

AIRSPEED

Look at the bottom of the white arc on the airspeed indicator.That speed is the stall speed with power off and flaps down- notvery exact, but a start. Take that airspeed and multiply it by1.3. For example, if the speed at the bottom of the white arcon your Speedwing is 100 knots, then that number times 1.3 yieldsan approach speed of 130 knots. Better yet, take you Speedwingup into the practice area and do some power off stalls with thegear and flaps down. Note the speed where the first indicationof a stall is. Technically this speed is Vso, the stalling speedof the aircraft in a landing configuration. Take this number andmultiply it by 1.3. That will be your approach speed.

Keep in mind that the "multiply by 1.3" is just anapproximation. It will give you a starting off point that maybe adjusted up or down as necessary. Without a aircraft manuallisting definitive airspeeds you will have to do some "Kentuckywindage" for your starting off point. If trial and errorshows the speed to be high or low, adjust as necessary.

As an aside, doing practice power off stalls in the landingconfiguration is excellent practice. You should do this with anyairplane that you are not familiar with before you practice landings.When doing your stalls, notice how the ailerons, the rudder andthe elevator become decreasingly effective as you approach thestall. This is important, and critical information to you as apilot. This "mushiness" will be your first indicationof an impending stall without your ever having to look at theairspeed indicator.

ALTITUDE

How high? Well, figure that you should be about 2,000 feetabove the ground when you are about five miles out from the endof the runway. This is not a hard and fast number, just an approximation.

ANGLE OF APPROACH

OK, what angle to use for landing on the runway? If you hada chance to go up with an instructor, he would give this inputto you until you had a clear mental picture of where your airplaneshould be during the approach to a landing. Unfortunately, ina simulator every flight is a solo flight, including your firstone.

One way to solve this dilemma is to set up the simulator forpractice landings at a runway that has an ILS (Instrument LandingSystem). Tune in the appropriate frequency and watch the GlideSlope indicator as you practice your approaches. If the "bar"goes up, you are too low, if the "bar" goes down, youare too high. Get a mental picture of how this approach anglelooks with relationship to your altitude and distance from therunway.

Another way is to go to an airport that has a runway with VASI(Visual Approach Slope Indicator). There are a variety of styles,but in essence if the far lights are red and the near lights arewhite, you are on "glide path". What this is tellingyou is that you are going to land short of the far (red) lights,and beyond the near (white) lights. The aiming point is generallythe first third of the runway, but this can vary greatly withthe length of the landing surface. If the near lights turn red,you will undershoot and land short. If the far lights turn white,you will overshoot and land long.

Generally speaking, the approach angle will be between 2.7degrees and 4.0 degrees, with 3 degrees considered as the "average".

GEAR AND FLAPS

The landing gear should be extended by the time you are fivemiles out from the runway. On an instrument approach, this isusually done at the Final Approach Fix. The gear does not createthat much drag quite frankly. Lower it early in the game and haveit out of the way. By the same token, lower your "first notch"of flaps just before gear extension. If you are operating a fixedgear aircraft, lower the first notch of flaps when five milesout from the runway. Make certain that you are in the appropriateairspeed range for gear and flap operation. Once again, if youare in doubt about this, please refer to the "Howto fly" tutorial.

POWER SETTINGS

For this example, we will use an approach speed of 100 knots,and assume that the airplane has three flap settings. During yourapproach, adjust the aircraft's pitch as necessary (using elevatorinput) to maintain your target airspeed of 100 knots.

LET'S FLY AN APPROACH

Let's say that you are more than five miles out from the runway.Reduce power and maintain an altitude of about 2,000 feet abovethe ground. Allow the airspeed to decrease until you are in theflap operating range (the white arc) on the airspeed indicator.Maintain this speed and altitude until you are about five milesaway from the end of the runway. At the five mile point loweryour first notch of flaps, then your gear if so equipped. Startyour descent towards the runway, using the visual angle that youhave pictured in your mind. Remember, this "visual angle"is the one that you have acquired from your practice approachesin the step above, "ANGLE OF APPROAC '. How's the airspeed?Too fast? If you are going too fast, bring the nose up with theelevator to slow down. Too slow? Lower the nose.

How about altitude? Too high? Decrease your power. Too low?Add power.

Continue the approach, adjusting pitch and power as necessaryto stay on your "angle of approach", your "glidepath". Maintaining your airspeed, and your approach angle,lower your second notch of flaps when about two miles out. Beprepared to add a little power, as you have now increased yourdrag. In addition, flaps normally will pitch the nose upwards.Be prepared to bring the nose down as the flaps extend downward.This increased drag will lower your airspeed. Adjust your pitchas necessary to maintain the target of 100 knots.

How's the runway looking? What do you think? Are you goingto land short? Long? Don't have a clue? Here's a tip that mostpilots use in every visual landing. Pick out a spot on the aircraftthat you can see as you are looking at your touchdown point onthe runway. The spot you pick can be the propeller spinner, aspot on the brow, a spot on the center post, whatever will workfor you. (In actual practice, a dead bug on the windshield isan ideal choice.)

Watch this spot in reference to your touchdown point on therunway. If your spot is moving away from the touchdown point,down the runway away from you, then you will land beyond yourtouchdown point. If your spot is moving towards you from the touchdownpoint then you will land short. In order for this system to work,you must be maintaining a constant airspeed on the approach.

When you are about 1-1/2 to 2 miles out from the end of therunway, lower your flaps another notch. This increase in dragwill require an increase in power to compensate. Also, as before,the nose will pitch up slightly as the flaps extend. Adjust yourpitch attitude as necessary to maintain 100 knots.

When the landing is "assured", lower the balanceof your flaps. As you cross the runway threshold slowly bringyour power all of the way back to the stops. Slowly pull backof the wheel as the aircraft settles toward the runway. In anideal situation the aircraft will stall just as the main wheelstouch the runway. Once the main gear touches down hold the wheelback and allow the nose gear to settle down on its own. Once allof the wheels are down let the elevator control return to theneutral position. Using your rudder pedals steer down the middleof the runway as the airspeed dissipates.

When you are comfortable with the aircraft's situation, andonly when you are comfortable, reach over and visually identifythe flap lever. When you are positive that you do indeed havethe flap lever, and not the gear, raise the flaps to the fullyretracted position. This will allow maximum weight transfer tothe wheels for better braking. This phase of aircraft operationcan be delicate, as your machine is transitioning from being aflying machine to a ground machine

And there you have it! You have just completed the perfectlanding. Well, probably not quite. Landing airplanes is like ridinga bicycle. No one can really "teach" you how to do it,even if you are in an airplane with an instructor at your side.The instructor can give you all kinds of advice and input, butthe "feel" is an acquired thing. It boils down to practice,practice, practice. Even then, things don't always go right. Goout and watch the airliners land, or "enjoy" the experiencefrom onboard. How many are "greasers"? Probably lessthan 50%.

LANDING IN ADVERSE CONDITIONS

SNOW AND ICE ON THE RUNWAY

Surprisingly, snow on the runway, assuming that it isn't toodeep, is not that large of a hindrance. Your braking will be reasonablyeffective as long as you do not lock them up and start skidding.As far as ice is concerned, only attempt a landing if the runwayis "long", and there is no crosswind. You can land ona runway that is covered with solid glare ice if you are gentlewith the controls and use minimum braking, allowing the aircraftto slow down on its own.

CROSSWINDS

For crosswind landing techniques, see the tutorial Crosswindlanding techniques.

GUSTY WIND CONDITIONS

In these conditions be prepared for turbulence as you get closerto the runway. Take the gust "factor" and add it toyour approach speed. If, for example, the wind is at 20 knotswith gusts to 30 knots, add the gust factor of 10 knots to yournormal approach speed of 100 knots for a final speed of 110 knots.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In this discussion we have been doing "straight in"approaches. In practice, this is not normally done in VFR conditions.In fact, let me say "Don't do it". When you make a straightin approach you are letting yourself in for a cornucopia of problemsranging from a possible mid-air collision to a botched landing.

Most mid-air collisions that occur at airports happen whenone or both of the aircraft involved are making a straight inapproach. Usually, but not always, they involve a high wing aircraftfrom below, and a low wing aircraft from above.

Also, it is extremely difficult to judge your distance whenyou make a straight in approach. Consider this: from an altitudeof 2,000 feet above the ground, a runway that is 3,000 feet longand 50 feet wide looks the same as a 6,000 foot x 100 foot runwaydoes from 4,000 feet above the ground.

There is also the "courtesy" to the other aircraftthat may be in the traffic pattern at your landing airport. Thoseaircraft, if present, are flying prescribed patterns around therunway. If you arrive on a straight in you will be disruptingthe old apple cart big time.

Lastly, the FAA strongly discourages the use of straight inapproaches. While the practice is not illegal nor in violationof any FAR's (Federal Aviation Regulations), it is discussed indepth in the Airman's Information Manual- as close to a FAR asyou can get.

So, fly a (traffic) pattern.

In the above example, you may enter the pattern at any of thefour legs, including the final leg if you fly over the airport.Normally, the pattern is joined on the crosswind or downwind legsat 850 to 1,000 feet above the airport elevation. Do not fly thepattern too closely to the runway. By doing so you will have tomake sharper turns and more rapid altitude changes. Try to flythe pattern so that you will end up with about a three mile finalfrom your base leg. As you become more proficient you may choseto tighten this distance up a bit.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Most landings are botched because of two things: excess airspeedand/or a bad approach. If you are going too fast the odds of yourhaving a decent touchdown are minimal. If your approach is notconsistent you will have no basis of reference for the visualclues as you descend towards the runway.

And, lastly, landing an airplane requires strong visual cluesto the brain. Most simulators do not present this informationvery well to the pilot as he nears the surface. For an expandedexplanation of this phenomenon go to thislink.

So there you go. How to land an airplane in one easy lesson.I hope that this information has been helpful to you. If you seeany errors, or if something was not covered in the depth thatyou would like, please contact me, and I will make the correctionsor additions as necessary.

Happy flying!

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