Fix Your Landings With These 3 Tips

Landing an airplane is one of the most demanding skills in flight training. Many new pilots struggle with certain aspects, not because they lack skill, but because some key details are often not clearly communicated by instructors.

One crucial thing is understanding the difference between a round out and a flare during landing. 

Watch the video to go in depth on each of these 3 landing tips.

3 Landing Tips

Understanding Landing Procedures

Mastering Landings: Learning to land a plane is one of the toughest skills you’ll face in your initial pilot training. Your ability to execute a smooth landing not only affects safety but also builds your confidence as a pilot.

Round Out and Flare: Understanding the difference between these two is crucial. The round out is when you bring the plane to a level position above the runway to stop descending.

After the round out, you transition to the flare, where you raise the nose slowly while the plane gets closer to the ground. This ensures that your main wheels touch down first.

Eye Placement: Your eye placement during landing plays a significant role. As you start your descent, you naturally look at the ground.

However, during the round out and flare, you should look down the runway. This helps you judge the sink rate and adjust your controls accordingly.

Timing the Round Out: Knowing when to round out is key. It should be close to the ground but not too low or too high. The exact point varies depending on your aircraft.

Discuss specific visual clues with your instructor to judge the right height for the round out accurately.

Practice and Tips: Consistent practice and understanding these crucial elements can significantly improve your landings. Talk to your instructor about any difficulties and get their tips tailored to your specific needs and aircraft.

Understanding the Difference Between Leveling Off and Touching Down

Leveling Off Before Landing

When you’re descending for a landing, your aim is to stop the aircraft from further descent. You need to level the plane, making it parallel to the runway. This part is when you stop the descent and keep the plane flying level for a short time, aligning it with the runway.

Touching Down

After leveling off, the next step is touching down. Here, you start pulling the nose of the plane up. This ensures that the main wheels touch the runway first. While the plane continues to descend, you keep pulling the nose up until the wheels make contact with the ground.

Proper Vision Placement During Landing

Transitioning Focal Points

When you’re coming in for a landing, it’s important to know where to look. At first, your eyes might naturally focus on the ground straight ahead of the airplane.

As you begin to round out, you need to move your focus gradually. Instead of looking directly in front of the plane, shift your vision to the far end of the runway. This change helps you better judge your descent rate.

Watching the end of the runway can also keep you aware of the airplane’s movements, such as whether it’s holding altitude, sinking, or climbing, which helps prevent a sudden rise or “ballooning.”

Judging Sink Rate with Peripheral Vision

To accurately judge how fast you’re sinking during landing, you need to use your peripheral vision.

By focusing on the far end of the runway, you can use the sides of your vision to notice the airplane’s descent. This skill is important to avoid landing too roughly or bouncing.

You won’t be able to judge your sink rate effectively if you keep your focus only on what’s directly in front of the aircraft. By keeping an eye on the runway’s end and using your peripheral vision, you can adjust your actions to ensure a smooth landing.

Timing the Round Out Correctly

Entering Ground Effect

When you start to round out, you enter what’s known as ground effect. This is a type of cushion of air created between the wings and the ground. It usually happens when you are within one wingspan above the ground.

Pay attention to how your plane feels in this phase. The controls might feel different, or you may notice the plane starts to float a bit. It’s essential to recognize this feeling so you can smoothly transition to the flare.

Using Visual Cues

Your eyes play a big role here. As you start to round out, shift your focus. Instead of looking straight down, look all the way down the runway. This helps you judge how high you are and how fast you’re descending.

Using the size of the runway or its place in your peripheral vision helps too. By consistently shifting your gaze in this way, you’ll get a better sense of when to start pulling up and rounding out.