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2 Answers

Perfecting landings

Asked by: 3447 views General Aviation

Hey guys... I am pretty sure I know the answer to this, but any advise on improving my landings.  I am at my 40hrs, I have done my 10hrs XC and solo time and planning to do my exam next week.  My landings aren't as good and consistant as I want them to be, is this something I need to keep working on or just with time they will get better or should I take a few more lessons with my instructor on them?

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2 Answers



  1. Bill Trussell on Mar 14, 2013

    Congratulations on your achievements thus far. You have reached a point in your training where you should be able to diagnose each of your landings and develop a strategy for inproving your shortcomings for each. Things like drift control and decent rate at touchdown are all things you should be looking to improve and with time it will all come together. Consider that out of your experience thus far (40 hours) only a very small fraction of that time is spent within a few feet on landing. Perhaps 15-20 seconds of every landing is where most of the critical adjustments are made. If you add all of that time up you would be surprised at how little time you have spent in this critical phase of flight. Be patient and provide your own critique of each landing. “what would I change for that landing?” should be answered and then work on that change. When things come together for you it is a great feeling, one that you will remember and will serve you well.

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  2. Wes Beard on Mar 14, 2013

    Are your landing consistently good or consistently bad each time you fly? One day you go fly and make 4-5 landings and think those are really good and the next day they are crap?

    If this is the case, the issue is with your seat height. The height of the seat may be changing from one day to the next. This results in the perception of height and when to flare to change from one flight to the next.

    My advice is to develop a strategy to alway s have the same seat height when you get in. Some people will move the seat all the way down and then count the number of revolutions it takes to move the seat exactly where they like it. Others will get in the seat and place one finger on top of the dash and line the eye up with the finger and the top of the cowling just like you are sighting down the barrel of a gun. Any technique you use to get the seat correct is fine, that is the objective.

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