Learning to Land

[Colonel]

I've mentioned before that I do as little
ab initio training as possible ... but I do
a little.

One of the things that beginner pilots really
struggle with is the landing, and that's because
it demands more precision than any other
maneuver.

Was out with an ab initio student that hadn't
flown in a while, and of course we flew some
circuits. 

But instead of bouncing it off the runway we
did my "hover" trick:  with absolutely no help
from me, he was to position the aircraft one
foot above the runway, and drive it down the
runway centerline with some power on to NOT
touch down.

This allows the student to spend a lot of time
learning NOT to overcontrol in pitch, and to
use the rudders for directional control.  Ailerons
alone are just not going to cut it.

After a few "hover" low approaches (which some
weirdo from COPA once told me were an illegal
airshow, but who cares what COPA thinks) without
touching down, he got some really beautiful landings
merely by not bumping up the power after the
flare.

I teach people to [b]freeze the controls![/b] at six
inches above the runway in the landing attitude,
and with the power off, the drag of the aircraft
decreases the airspeed, lift decreases, and we
touch down oh-so-gently, mains first in a nosewheel
aircraft.

Less is more. 

One of the most important things a pilot has to
learn, is to figure out [i]when he has to do something[/i]
in an airplane, and [i]when he doesn't[/i].

I go flying with some pilots, and they are working
hard.  They are frantic.  They are stressed.  They
are pumping on the control yoke, elevators flapping
up and down, like it's some kind of goddamned
exercise equipment they drunkenly ordered one
night from the shopping channel.

[b]DON'T DO THAT[/b].  Pump on the control column like
it's some kind of tricep exercise machine, I mean.
You can order crap from the shopping channel if you
want. 

Trust me on this:  LET GO OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS
and the airplane will start to fly so nice and smoothly.

Why are you torturing the airplane and trying to make
your passengers barf, with your attempt to initiate
a PIO?

Don't do that.  Less is more.

Watch a really great stick fly an airplane sometime.
He will be miles ahead of the aircraft.  His hands will
never be a blur, and he will make the airplane move
so gently and smoothly and gradually.

Try to fly like that.

[Fendermandan]

As mr MzeroA.com says "not too shabby". ;)

[Barneydhc82]

Stirring the pot with both hands and feet can lead to some interesting gyrations.  A friend with a passion for restoring old aircraft and a once-was-an-instructor, asked me to fly him to another airport so that he could pick up his antique.

He had previous experience in Grumman AA1As so I let him do the take-off.  The hands and feet were a blur as he pumped and basked the controls and we came awfully close to being a pile of scrap alongside the runway before I could snatch the controls away from him.  If you have ever flown the little beast it is incredibly responsive and requires only a light input to get results.

We continued on to retrieve his aircraft and I again gave him control with a warning to use light pressures only on landing.  Now you would think that a guy with his experience would have learned a lesson but not him.  On short final the hands and feet again became a blur and I took control very quickly. 

Needless to say he hasn't flown my a/c since.