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MY FS FLIGHTS
Flight Score
Keep the approach speed on target
Every knot above Vref is stored kinetic energy, and energy stored at the threshold must be dissipated in ground effect before the aeroplane will stop flying. Because kinetic energy scales with the square of speed, the excess you must dissipate grows fast. At a 45-knot approach, five knots hot is over a tenth more speed and roughly a quarter more energy to get rid of in ground effect. This is why the fix is never in the flare. It was decided three miles earlier, on final, at the airspeed indicator.
Read more in VRef ExplainedStart to finish · 22 stages, 20 scored
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The threshold, the flare and the hold-off. The approach that led to it is the stabilisation gates below.
One stabilised approach gate: five checks where the approach path is 500 ft above the runway. The 1,000 ft gate was not assessed, because the approach did not join final that far out.
Side view — the last 1,524 m of the approach.
Plan view — the first 1,524 m of the 2,130 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
Touched down 794 m past the threshold — beyond the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
The flight began with a taxiing period from the parking to the runway, which took 5 minutes and covered a distance of 1 nautical mile. The aircraft, a TBM 930, then departed from runway 03 at GMME Rabat-Salé Airport in Morocco. The takeoff distance was 579 meters, which accounted for 17% of the runway. The liftoff speed was 96 knots.
As the aircraft climbed to a higher altitude, it encountered local weather conditions of 20°C temperature and a wind speed of 2 knots at 230°. The crosswind was 1 knot, while the tailwind was 2 knots. The enroute climb started 1 mile northeast of GMME Rabat-Salé Airport and reached an altitude of 27,432 feet above sea level, an increase of 26,177 feet in 17 minutes, covering a distance of 40 nautical miles.
The enroute level cruise began 30 miles northwest of GMMY Kenitra Air Base in Morocco and lasted for 100 minutes, covering a distance of 479 nautical miles. The aircraft then started its enroute descent 7 miles north of Quintanar de la Sierra in Spain, descending from 27,972 feet to 17,213 feet in 7 minutes, covering a distance of 35 nautical miles.
The aircraft continued to experience various enroute level cruises and descents, including a brief level cruise 3 miles north of Samaniego in Spain, a descent 4 miles north of Samaniego, and a level cruise 6 miles south of Elburgo in Spain. The final descent started 4 miles southwest of LEAR Zalduendo ULM Araya in Spain, descending from 14,204 feet to 1,590 feet in 12 minutes, covering a distance of 32 nautical miles.
The final approach to runway 30 at LEBB Bilbao Airport in Spain was made from the southeast, heading 296.0° at 4 nautical miles and 1,457 feet above ground level. The landing on runway 30 was made with a touchdown point 361 meters beyond the touchdown zone, at a speed of 84 knots, which was too fast. The touchdown rate was smooth at -105 feet per minute, and the runway touchdown alignment was perfect.
The local weather conditions at the time of landing were 20°C temperature and a wind speed of 3 knots at 219°, with a crosswind of 3 knots and a headwind of 1 knot. The total landing distance was 1,150 meters, accounting for 54% of the runway. The runway rollout alignment was also perfect. The taxiing period from the runway to the parking took 4 minutes and covered less than 1 nautical mile.
In total, the flight covered a distance of 607 nautical miles, taking 149 minutes, and used 226 kilograms of fuel.
The TBM 930 aircraft successfully landed at LEBB Bilbao Airport, achieving an overall score of 82.8%. The final approach to runway 30 was initiated from the south east, with a heading of 296.0° at a distance of 4 nautical miles and an altitude of 1,457 feet above ground level (agl).
Upon landing, the aircraft touched down 361 meters beyond the designated touchdown zone, which is a significant deviation from the target. The touchdown speed of 84 knots was also found to be too fast, indicating that the pilot may have been unable to fully arrest the aircraft's descent before touchdown. However, the touchdown rate was smooth, with a rate of -105 feet per minute (fpm), which suggests that the pilot was able to maintain control of the aircraft during the landing.
The threshold height at 65 feet agl was above the target, indicating that the aircraft may have been slightly high on final approach. Additionally, the threshold speed was excessively high at 111 knots, which could have contributed to the aircraft's slow descent and subsequent touchdown beyond the designated zone.
The local weather conditions at the time of landing were favorable, with a temperature of 20°C and a wind speed of 3 knots from 219°. The crosswind component was 3 knots, while the headwind component was 1 knot. These conditions would not have significantly impacted the aircraft's performance during the landing.
The total landing distance was 1,150 meters, which is 54% of the runway length. This is a relatively long landing distance, indicating that the aircraft may have been unable to fully utilize the available runway length. However, the runway rollout alignment was perfect, suggesting that the pilot was able to maintain control of the aircraft during the rollout phase.
Overall, while the landing was successful, there are several areas for improvement, including reducing the touchdown speed and improving the threshold height and speed. With further practice and refinement, the pilot should be able to achieve a more precise and controlled landing.
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