Go arounds?

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noobJohn

Pre-takeoff checklist
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1) How often do you practice them?
2) How often do you do one in real life?

Confession time, my answers are :

1) Never (did 2 or 3 total in training)
2) I've done exactly 1 since getting my license

I think I need to start practicing them occasionally. Disclaimer, I don't land with hero crosswinds or fly into short fields.
 
I've never practiced them. I've done them plenty of times in training and still do them after I got my license.
 
1. More often than you might think.
2. see #1

If I don't like how I'm set up for the landing, I'll go around.

If there's something on the runway, animal or whatever, go around.

Practicing missed approaches, I'll go around.

I'm practicing emergency procedures, same.

Flying at a busy field with lots of students and traffic, there's lots of opportunity. Student lands, has problems finding the off ramp, tower tells #1 for landing to go around.

Go arounds are proof that you recognize something is wrong or not safe for landing. May not be your fault, either.

No big deal.

Just remmber, every landing is really a go around that you didn't finish.
 
jordane93 said:
I've never practiced them. I've done them plenty of times in training and still do them after I got my license.
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Then why do you have "student pilot" in your signature box? :dunno:


I hope your flying and go arounds are better than your updating skills! :lol:
 
Lots of go arounds going missed on an approach (practicing as well as actual).

For VFR go arounds, besides practicing I once did two in a row for real. It was shortly after getting my PPL and I was flying a rented 182 with my brother-in-law. The wind had picked up and the combination of the gusty crosswind and the new plane threw me off a bit.

I do remember there being a morbid silence in the plane from my brother-in-law as we came in for the third attempt. I wonder what was going through his mind? :lol:
 
A go-around is more common then you might think both in GA and even commercial operations so it doesn't hurt to practice.

I've done exactly 1 since getting my license
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Exactly why you should practice, to keep those skills sharp.
 
I never practice them but did one for real last week. Had to do one at Oshkosh once, that was fun.
 
Practiced a few of them during Private training, haven't done one since. I did tell my PAX last weekend that I might do one if I got down low and didn't like how the approach was going in the 172 (30-deg right crosswind 20G25). It was a bit of a wrestling match coming down final but once I got below the treeline it was gravy, but I hadn't done a significant crosswind landing in years so I was prepared to go-around a few times and/or find another airport.

I don't practice them because there's not much to remember in a 172R (full throttle, raise flaps incrementally), but the more complex the aircraft gets the most the practice of a go-around becomes necessary.
 
My primary destination strip is somewhat short and very narrow with tall trees on three sides. Crosswinds are common so mechanical turbulence from the wind rolling over the trees is usually a factor. If the wind is bad and I don't like my alignment I go around. It may make 3-4 tries hoping to catch the gusts right so I can take it to the ground. Back in town the only reason I'd go around is from close sequencing and some unfamiliar pilot lolly-gagging and taking his time to taxi clear of the runway while I'm on short final. That's unusual.
 
I agree that they're no big deal but I feel I should practice a few just to remind myself it's an option. :) I never feel like I'm far enough out of whack on final to NEED a go around but there may be situations where I should. Not sure if I'm making sense but I appreciate you folks sharing your thoughts.

I wasn't counting missed approaches as go arounds since they happen at a relatively high altitude. My vision of go-around is last minute HOLY-CRAP-THERES-A-???-ON-THE-RUNWAY or some shocking gust of wind that has you drifting off centerline seconds before flare.
 
I never practice them but it seems about 1 in every 10 or so landings I do a go around. Oklahoma has some nasty winds and if I get pushed around a bit on final I'll go around and reset. I only have 75 hours or so... I assume the frequency will go down as I improve.
 
noobJohn said:
1) How often do you practice them?
2) How often do you do one in real life?

Confession time, my answers are :

1) Never (did 2 or 3 total in training)
2) I've done exactly 1 since getting my license

I think I need to start practicing them occasionally. Disclaimer, I don't land with hero crosswinds or fly into short fields.
Click to expand...

Go-Around's should probably be practiced more. It's the hardest easy procedure out there. What I mean by that is it should be soooooo easy and yet they are way more often than not screwed up. That's my experience as a professional pilot working in a crew environment.

I guess the problem is they are usually somewhat unexpected. From there you have to consider there are major changes happening to the plane that have to be managed by the pilot(s). Power, flaps, gear, trajectory, trim, nav systems, and radio duties.

So there you go. It's easy in that it's basically just like taking off from a little bit higher but it's hard in that there's a lot to do in a relatively short amount of time. That's why I think they get screwed up so much.

So, IMO, I'd say 'yes' practice them. In fact, maybe find some way to surprise yourself into doing one. Not sure how you'd do that...maybe if you see a car under you as you fly over the perimeter road you go around, or crossing the fence you look at your watch and go around if the second hand is on the left half, or upper left quadrant if you want to practice fewer of them. I don't know...just spit ball'n here.
 
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I practice go rounds so that I have more options if I feel things are not working out.
I practice landings in closed traffic at least once a month.
I practice a go around at least once each time I practice landings.
I have never done a go around other than to practice.
 
OkieAviator said:
I never practice them but it seems about 1 in every 10 or so landings I do a go around. Oklahoma has some nasty winds and if I get pushed around a bit on final I'll go around and reset. I only have 75 hours or so... I assume the frequency will go down as I improve.
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I agree. The only caveat for me is that despite the Oklahoma winds, I'm usually landing somewhere with a 75-100 x 3,500ft+ runway, so even a bit of a misalignment over the numbers can be salvaged pretty easily at 60kts without needing a go around. The key is knowing when it's not smart to try and salvage the landing. :lol:
 
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Dunno recall how many I did in training but it was closer to multiple dozens, then single digits. CFI used to call them on good approaches as well as crap ones, maybe he just liked going round or maybe I sucked at flying. Real life I've only done a couple but when it counts it counts for realsies. You don't choose not to fly in hero crosswinds, hero crosswinds choose you. And you'll fly into a short field when she asks you to. Have fun.
noobJohn said:
1) How often do you practice them?
2) How often do you do one in real life?

Confession time, my answers are :

1) Never (did 2 or 3 total in training)
2) I've done exactly 1 since getting my license

I think I need to start practicing them occasionally. Disclaimer, I don't land with hero crosswinds or fly into short fields.
Click to expand...
 
noobJohn said:
1) How often do you practice them?
2) How often do you do one in real life?

Confession time, my answers are :

1) Never (did 2 or 3 total in training)
2) I've done exactly 1 since getting my license

I think I need to start practicing them occasionally. Disclaimer, I don't land with hero crosswinds or fly into short fields.
Click to expand...

I never practice them.
I was asked to go around by the tower a couple months back as I was crossing the numbers.

I had to do it once at the point of flare because I realized those brown spots on the runway were a flock of geese.

 
I don't usually practice them specifically, but I do them from time to time. There's no harm in it if there's anything about the approach you don't like, and it's better than trying to salvage a bad one all the way to the last minute.
 
Got my license last Tuesday, did a go around yesterday "for real". Flying into a new field, 3800x60 runway. As I'm on final, I notice a lot of white spots on the runway (that's snow for you southerners...lol). Decided to break it off and overfly the runway to see if they were drifts, or hard packed from plowing. Could tell they were hard packed, did a trip around the pattern and landed with no incident.
 
I've done several (student pilot). After my first really bad landing where my CFI took over so I wouldn't kill us both, I have kept go arounds foremost in my thoughts during every landing. And we've practiced a few where he would randomly tell me to go around even when I was set up nicely for the landing.

A few times we had birds on the runway. Never close enough to centerline to be a great threat, but if the CFI hadn't assured me that all was well (or if I had been alone) I probably would have gone around for the birds.
 
Did one yesterday.

Student arriving right in front of us from his solo cross country spent too much time on the runway.

It didn't help that the airport was a fricken' madhouse yesterday afternoon.
 
the strip I hangar at has trees and the mechanical turbulence others have described is very real. Although I don't practice them - it doesn't take much for me to go full power and try again - especially on the shorter runway.

I think the hardest part of a go-around id deciding when to start. Wait too long and you will have your very own NTSB report ...
 
brian];1676333 said:
the strip I hangar at has trees and the mechanical turbulence others have described is very real. Although I don't practice them - it doesn't take much for me to go full power and try again - especially on the shorter runway.

I think the hardest part of a go-around id deciding when to start. Wait too long and you will have your very own NTSB report ...
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There are a few deciding points I use to a go around. 200' if I do not have the approach stable and within parameters, go around from there. If I am 1/3rd of the way down the runway and not on, unless it is a long runway, I go around.
Once the wheels are on the ground, my go around window closes when I get on the brakes. Once I start shedding energy to the ground, I'm committed to stay on the ground.
 
It puzzles me how anyone could possibly "forget" that this is an option. Unless you are out of gas or on fire there is no reason to feel committed to land. You are, after all, completely safe in a perfectly functioning aircraft so if anything is not right about the approach you can just remain airborne. It's like docking a boat, you wouldn't run it up on the rocks just because you missed the pier, you'd back off and come back again.
 
OkieAviator said:
I never practice them but it seems about 1 in every 10 or so landings I do a go around. Oklahoma has some nasty winds and if I get pushed around a bit on final I'll go around and reset. I only have 75 hours or so... I assume the frequency will go down as I improve.
Click to expand...

I just cleared 600 hours, and it blows hard here as well. I practice them and do them for real. My CFI back in 2007 would call for the go-around right after greasing the mains on pavement ... in a 152 ... DA 5500 ... MTOW in summer.

The Tiger does GREAT in high wind, especially if you have 400+ hours in the same plane. My max has been 29G32 direct. That being said I was absolutely humbled trying to land at Austin Exec last fall. Solo flight from El Paso, about 12 gallons of fuel (down from 51 useable) remaining ... no luggage ... I was LIGHT. Back to back go arounds. Everytime I prepared to flare, it felt like shear and I would begin dropping like a rock that required FULL power to arrest. In high wind, I treat every approach as a "look and see" getting over the runway and determining if its going to happen safely or not.
 
People "forget" all sorts of things when flying airplanes. They "forget" to calculate weight and balance, they "forget" to carry enough fuel, they "forget" about angle of attack, they "forget" to lower the landing gear, etc....

I started the thread because it occurred to me that I almost never go around. We are creatures of habit. My mindset is to fly the plane and land it where I choose on the runway. That's all well and good but, as you say, you don't have to land. I suspect I'm a little more committed to landings than I should be. I'm gonna practice the occasional go around in the future. :yesnod:

Silvaire said:
It puzzles me how anyone could possibly "forget" that this is an option. Unless you are out of gas or on fire there is no reason to feel committed to land. You are, after all, completely safe in a perfectly functioning aircraft so if anything is not right about the approach you can just remain airborne. It's like docking a boat, you wouldn't run it up on the rocks just because you missed the pier, you'd back off and come back again.
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Practice them every 6months

Haven't done one in the wild in a very long time.
 
I go around pretty frequently. But that's mostly a function of towers thinking I'm slower than I am and sequencing me behind some tribe of Indian nation and it not working out. Come to think of it, I go missed way more often in a Piaggio than any other plane I've flown and its 99% of the time for the reason just stated.

My final approach speed is 120kts and many tower controllers just aren't expecting that from a prop I guess.
 
I wouldn't say I did a ton of them in training, I think I handled them well from the beginning so we just spaced them out so I got some in but didn't overdo it.

since ppl I think I've done 4, and ALL of those started right after I said to a pilot friend of mine "you know, since ppl I haven't had to go around once!". so 1) eman1200 is pretty good at go-arounds and 2) eman1200 needs to STFU sometimes.
 
When you're as good at setting up the approach as I am, you don't need to schedule go around practice, it schedules itself :goofy:
 
Practicing go arounds/missed approaches will get you out of the mindset of landing expectancy.
 
Skyscraper said:
When you're as good at setting up the approach as I am, you don't need to schedule go around practice, it schedules itself :goofy:
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Not all go-arounds are the pilot's fault.

Palo Alto was a zoo yesterday. When you sequence a 90 knot Diamond close behind a 55 knot 152, you can guess what's coming next.

I've gone around for slow student pilots, birds on short final or on the runway, other critters (except for one squirrel I made into a speed bump by the taxiway turnoff), opposite direction traffic (Watsonville), wind shear (reported and unreported), and of course the run-of-the-mill bad approach errors.
 
danhagan said:
I just cleared 600 hours, and it blows hard here as well. I practice them and do them for real. My CFI back in 2007 would call for the go-around right after greasing the mains on pavement ... in a 152 ... DA 5500 ... MTOW in summer.

The Tiger does GREAT in high wind, especially if you have 400+ hours in the same plane. My max has been 29G32 direct. That being said I was absolutely humbled trying to land at Austin Exec last fall. Solo flight from El Paso, about 12 gallons of fuel (down from 51 useable) remaining ... no luggage ... I was LIGHT. Back to back go arounds. Everytime I prepared to flare, it felt like shear and I would begin dropping like a rock that required FULL power to arrest. In high wind, I treat every approach as a "look and see" getting over the runway and determining if its going to happen safely or not.
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why is direct wind a problem? 29 knots headwind with 3 knots for a gust factor aint bad and makes for a very slow and short landing

due to runway orientation kedc almost always has a crosswind.
 
Geico266 said:
Then why do you have "student pilot" in your signature box? :dunno:


I hope your flying and go arounds are better than your updating skills! :lol:
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Perhaps that is just a reference to the fact that regardless of certificate level or hours in the log book we all are and will always will be students of the aviation art.
 
noobJohn said:
1) How often do you practice them?
2) How often do you do one in real life?

Confession time, my answers are :

1) Never (did 2 or 3 total in training)
2) I've done exactly 1 since getting my license

I think I need to start practicing them occasionally. Disclaimer, I don't land with hero crosswinds or fly into short fields.
Click to expand...

I don't know that I've practiced them since ppl other than when getting checked out at a new school.

I've only done a handful real ones but I did do one last Friday when my approach was a bit long due to a fast pattern speed. I made the decision to go around while still a couple hundred feet AGL even though I probably could have made the landing and stopped in time. Being at an unfamiliar airport on a shorter runway than I am used to made the decision really easy.
 
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