Flight Technique/Master the Landing Approach

The key to a good landing is a good approach

It has long been said that the key to a good landing is a good approach to the runway—that is, one that requires few corrections. Actually, landing is not that hard when the pilot can get the airplane to the runway without having to make a lot of corrections. To do this, the pilot must have the plane come out of the final turn already lined up with the runway. Consistently doing this requires that you keep your turns consistent and start them in the right spot. In short, a successful landing is accomplished through focusing on the setup.

GOOD LANDINGS ARE NO ACCIDENT

If you have ever watched proficient pilots land, you’ve probably noticed how easy they made it look. One reason is that proficient fliers tend to use a 180-degree turn to set up their landings because, compared to two 90-degree turns, a 180 requires fewer inputs and takes up less space, thereby making it easier to see and position, especially in crosswinds. The first step to achieving great landings is learning to perform consistent turns. Second, the final turn must be kept mostly level to avoid the anxiety and excess speed that tends to build up during a descending turn (Figure 1). Once you possess consistent turn inputs and level turns, you can start figuring out where to place your turn to consistently come out of it already lined up with the runway.

GROUND TARGETS: THE SIX PS

There’s an old saying: “Prudent prior planning prevents poor performance.” Believe it or not, proficient pilots don’t strive to make good adjustments to come out of the final turn lined up with the runway. Proficient pilots anticipate where to start the turn so that few, if any, adjustments are needed altogether. In short, half the battle is already won by locating a good target area to start the final turn to come

out on the centerline without making a lot of adjustments.

After determining the direction that you will be landing, walk out to the centerline of your runway and identify a ground reference on the horizon in line with the centerline. Estimate where you think you should start the final turn to come out near the centerline reference, and choose a ground reference target (tree, hill, etc.) to mark that turning point (Figure 2). If there’s a crosswind, you need to consider the effect that the wind will have on the turn and adjust the target (where you start the turn from) accordingly. For example, turning with a crosswind will result in a wider turn, so you’ll need to widen your target (Figure 3); how much will depend on the strength of the crosswind. Turning into (against) a crosswind will tighten the turn, so you’ll need to pick a target a little closer to the centerline (Figure 4).

Plan to initiate the turn when the plane intersects your line of sight with the target, and if the turn doesn’t come out exactly over the centerline reference, adjust your target accordingly. Finding good targets will greatly reduce the number of corrections needed to line up with the runway and afford you the opportunity to start thinking about the proper time to idle the engine and land. Of course, to realize the benefits of using targets, your turns must all be similar—the result of consistent control inputs.

STAYING AHEAD OF THE WIND

While wind is often blamed for causing deviations, the principal effect of wind is helping to exaggerate the deviations and mistakes that pilots can otherwise get away with in calmer conditions. For example, when a crosswind exists, amateur pilots often make the mistake of completing the final turn when the fuselage points at the runway and then trying to input a crab into the wind in response to seeing the airplane get blown off the centerline. The result is a more challenging approach. The correct method is to anticipate the crosswind and over or undershoot the turn a bit so that the required crab angle into the wind is already in place (Figure 5).

THE PRINCIPAL EFFECT OF WIND IS HELPING TO EXAGGERATE THE DEVIATIONS AND MISTAKES THAT PILOTS CAN OTHERWISE GET AWAY WITH IN CALMER CONDITIONS.

FINAL APPROACH

Even the best RC pilots can only approximate the airplane’s position over the ground at a distance, and yet they consistently end up landing on the runway centerline. That’s because proficient pilots perceive how far the runway centerline is from where they are standing and then fly the airplane to that point in front of themselves. In other words, rather than making hit-or-miss estimates of where the airplane is over the ground, proficient pilots keep track of where the airplane is heading in reference to themselves (Figure 6). In most flying environments, the runway centerline is approximately 75 feet in front of where pilots stand, so the objective is to maintain an approach that will bring the airplane 75 feet in front of you. Compare this approach with how people land on the runway when flying a simulator. The runway does not come into view until the last moment, so pilots need to guide the airplane nearly at their virtual self, remembering that the runway was directly in front of their virtual feet when they took off. As a result, the airplane is always close to the runway, and the tiny corrections to perfect the centerline when it comes into view are barely noticeable (Figure 7).

CONTROLLING THE TOUCHDOWN LOCATION

Wind, model type, and other factors influence the angle and length of the landing glide slope, making it difficult to judge when to idle the engine to consistently land near the front end of the runway. The solution is to reduce the throttle and begin a gradual descent prior to the final turn, setting up a lower approach. A lower approach will take the guesswork out of when to fully idle the engine, as the airplane will not have far to go before touching down (Figure 8).

Determining the touchdown location on the runway is easier when standing near the approach end. For example, when you see that the projected touchdown is going to be short of you, you’ll know that you need to extend the approach. A projected touchdown in front

A LOWER APPROACH WILL TAKE THE GUESSWORK OUT OF WHEN TO FULLY IDLE THE ENGINE, AS THE AIRPLANE WILL NOT HAVE FAR TO GO BEFORE TOUCHING DOWN.N

of you will obviously be near the front of the runway, whereas a touchdown well past you will likely overshoot the runway.

Besides not using ground targets and performing a diving final turn to lose altitude, the most common error made during landing is failing to establish a good lineup before becoming distracted with throttle and altitude, leading to an angled approach and a more difficult landing. On the other hand, those who hold off from thinking about the throttle until after they get lined up actually end up having more time to properly manage the throttle due to a less demanding approach. Of course, the landing flare/touchdown will also be much easier when everything leading up to it is easier.

BOTTOM LINE

The ease of your landings will reflect the quality and consistency of the turns that set them up. How close you come to the centerline will reflect how consistently you line up the airplane in front of yourself. Most important, keep the final turn close to level and make sure you’re lined up before you think about idling the engine. As a result, things will seem as if they’re happening slower; you might be surprised to discover that landing starts becoming a lot of fun as well!

A simple 180-degree final turn takes up less space, and it’s easier to predict where it will finish. Keeping the final turn mostly level prevents excess speed and anxiety from building up prior to landing.

With consideration for the wind’s effect on your average turn, estimate where you will need to start the final turn from to come out over the extended centerline reference, and pick a ground reference to mark that turning point.

FIGURE 4 Start the final turn when the airplane intersects your line of sight with the target. If the airplane does not exit the turn over the centerline reference, change where you start the turn rather than fooling with it the next time.

FIGURE 3 When turning with a crosswind, plan to start the final turn wide to accommodate a wider turn.

When turning into a crosswind, plan to start the final turn closer to the runway centerline as the turn will be more compact.

FIGURE 6 Rather than trying to estimate the plane’s position over the ground, proficient fliers observe how far the runway centerline is in front of where they are standing—for example, 75 feet— and then maintain an approach that brings the airplane 75 feet in front of themselves.

FIGURE 5 When turning with a crosswind, overshoot the final turn a bit to establish a crab into the wind. Actual flight path when the fuselage is mistakenly pointed at the runway in a crosswind

When turning into a crosswind, exit the final turn a bit early to establish a crab into the wind.

FIGURE 8 Reducing power and altitude prior to the final turn sets up a lower approach, which makes judging when to idle the engine a lot easier.

The runway typically does not come into view until the last moment when practicing on a simulator, so pilots must guide the airplane toward themselves, remembering that the runway was directly in front of their virtual self when they took off. FIGURE 7