Checkride is this week

A

ATLShaun

Filing Flight Plan
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Feb 4, 2015
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Shaun
I am fighting being long on my short field landings and thats the only piece I am worried about. It just will not click for me and I end up too fast and float too often.

Help.
 
Good luck on your checkride! Perhaps you can go up with another insructor. Fresh set of eyes doesn't hurt
 
The short field is all about airspeed. Hit the right airspeed before starting the decent and hold it all the way down. Starting the decent and then trying to slow down to short field approach speed is not going to work out well.

Also best tip I received on hitting my target is to aim about 75-100 ft short. Flare above that point and, if the approach speed is right, wheels touch down right on the target. If I tried to hit my target (instead of somethig short) I was always floating too long and pushing the 200ft cutoff for the PTS.

Anyway, that's my two cents. Good luck!
 
Good luck on the check ride, relax fly to the numbers ,you should be fine.
 
RocketFlyer has it right. Slow down a little and it will be much easier.
 
jordane93 said:
Good luck on your checkride! Perhaps you can go up with another insructor. Fresh set of eyes doesn't hurt
Click to expand...

Fresh set can indeed hurt. If a student is that close to checkride, you really don't want your head messed up with someone who has totally different standards, and suddenly tells you actually your short fields are fine but your soft fields are all over the place and you cannot divert if your life depends on it, even when they are all within PTS.

As someone who had to change my instructor just before my checkride, I would say this is the worst advice you can give.

To the OP, remember the PTS is quite lax about short field ops, on a typical trainer you can be 10kts fast and still be within PTS.
 
defiantly do a mock checkride if you're able. Helps put all the pieces together flying with someone new.
 
I would also suggest aiming at a point before your touchdown point. For example, if your aiming point is the numbers aim for the very beginning of the runway.

Good luck!
 
Good landings are slow landings. Get comfortable at the low-speed end of the airspeed indicator. Calculate 1.2 Vso and be at that speed coming over the fence. You cannot afford to be fast.

A trick I used back in the day (if the terrain approaching the threshold had no obstructions) was to make my aiming point 50-100 feet short of the threshold. Inertia in the flare would take me over the runway surface.

Bob Gardner
 
oregonboy109 said:
I would also suggest aiming at a point before your touchdown point. For example, if your aiming point is the numbers aim for the very beginning of the runway.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

This is what I did as well. Still botched some of them, but also had some very impressive ones. My biggest concern when practicing short-field landings on gusty or variable days (when I was aiming for the beginning of the runway) was if I lost some of the headwind component that was helping me keep that slow airspeed on final I might not make it to the runway...
 
My DPE made me touchdown within the first 1000 feet. That's a lot of room for error.

He knew I flew out of a 2400 foot strip though, so there was no doubt I could do a short field landing. So maybe he was lax on me.
 
MotoFlier said:
Well how did it go??
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My ride was Tuesday and I passed. Honestly it was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.

I would HIGHLY recommend the DPE, Randy Haralson, to anyone in the GA, SC, NC, TN vicinity. He could not have been more fair or easier to deal with. In general, a great guy.
 
bobmrg said:
Good landings are slow landings. Get comfortable at the low-speed end of the airspeed indicator. Calculate 1.2 Vso and be at that speed coming over the fence. You cannot afford to be fast.

A trick I used back in the day (if the terrain approaching the threshold had no obstructions) was to make my aiming point 50-100 feet short of the threshold. Inertia in the flare would take me over the runway surface.

Bob Gardner
Click to expand...
Sorry for bringing this up, but I have always used 1.3 Vs0... Not that it's a big deal, especially at the speeds we are talking here. I just always thought everything was predicated on 1.3 Vs0.
 
Kritchlow said:
Sorry for bringing this up, but I have always used 1.3 Vs0... Not that it's a big deal, especially at the speeds we are talking here. I just always thought everything was predicated on 1.3 Vs0.
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1.3 should be your standard approach speed. 1.2 on a short field will help you nail that landing spot.
 
Shawn said:
1.3 should be your standard approach speed. 1.2 on a short field will help you nail that landing spot.
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Okay... Never heard to use 1.2, but never too old to learn something new. We always did fly short fields a bit slower (but never less than 1.3) when I instructed on an 1800 foot strip. Now I just use Vapp!!!

Thanks for the info!!
 
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ATLShaun said:
My ride was Tuesday and I passed. Honestly it was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life.

I would HIGHLY recommend the DPE, Randy Haralson, to anyone in the GA, SC, NC, TN vicinity. He could not have been more fair or easier to deal with. In general, a great guy.
Click to expand...

Congratulations!!!
 
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