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MY FS FLIGHTS
Flight Score
Shorten the long landing
Ground effect becomes significant below about one wingspan of height. A Cessna 172, with a 36 ft span, enters ground effect at flare height - the float it feels in the hold-off is ground effect arriving on cue. An A320, with a span around 117 ft, has been in ground effect since before the threshold and there is no sudden cushion to feel, only a gradual reduction in induced drag that lengthens any float you allow.
Read more in Flare TimingStart to finish · 18 stages, 16 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 2,190 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 412 m touchdown sits inside the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
The flight began with the aircraft taxiing from the parking area to the runway at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, taking 7 minutes and covering a distance of 2 nautical miles. The departure roll took place on runway 22, with the aircraft lifting off at a speed of 155 knots. The local weather conditions at the time of takeoff were characterized by a temperature of 11 degrees Celsius, with a wind speed of 18 knots blowing from a direction of 290 degrees.
The crosswind component was 17 knots, while the headwind component was 8 knots. As the aircraft took off, it began its enroute climb, which started 1 mile east of Richfield, Minnesota. The climb took the aircraft from an altitude of 1,839 feet above sea level to 36,802 feet, an increase of 34,963 feet, in 14 minutes and covering a distance of 157 nautical miles.
Following the initial climb, the aircraft entered a level cruise phase, which started 2 miles south east of Muscoda, Wisconsin. This phase lasted for 16 minutes and covered a distance of 490 nautical miles. The aircraft then began its enroute descent, which started 7 miles east of Reader, West Virginia. The descent took the aircraft from an altitude of 37,101 feet to 532 feet, a decrease of 36,569 feet, in 17 minutes and covering a distance of 169 nautical miles.
The aircraft then began another climb, which started overhead Washington, D.C. This climb took the aircraft from an altitude of 522 feet to 2,856 feet, an increase of 2,334 feet, in 2 minutes and covering a distance of 4 nautical miles. The aircraft then entered another level cruise phase, which started 1 mile north of Alexandria, Virginia. This phase lasted for 7 minutes and covered a distance of 15 nautical miles.
The final descent phase began 1 mile east of Great Falls, Virginia, and took the aircraft from an altitude of 3,057 feet to 184 feet, a decrease of 2,872 feet, in 4 minutes and covering a distance of 13 nautical miles. The aircraft then began its final approach to runway 19 at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, heading 176.0 degrees at an altitude of 160 feet above ground level.
The landing took place on runway 19, with the aircraft touching down at a speed of 139 knots. The touchdown distance was 413 meters, which was considered good. However, the touchdown speed was a little fast, and the touchdown rate was fair at -282 feet per minute. The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 4.0 meters from the centerline.
The local weather conditions at the time of landing were characterized by a temperature of 27 degrees Celsius, with a wind speed of 18 knots blowing from a direction of 210 degrees. The crosswind component was 10 knots, while the headwind component was 15 knots. The total landing distance was 1,024 meters, which was 47% of the runway length. The runway rollout alignment was perfect.
The final phase of the flight involved taxiing to the parking area from the runway, which took 1 minute and covered a distance of less than 1 nautical mile. The total flight distance was 852 nautical miles, and the flight duration was 67 minutes. The aircraft used a total of 4,958 kilograms of fuel during the flight.
The Airbus A320 successfully landed at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, scoring a high 99.2% on its final approach. The aircraft was approaching runway 19 from the north, heading 176.0° at an altitude of 160 feet above ground level (agl) and 0 nautical miles from the runway. The landing was executed on a runway with a length of 2,190 meters, providing ample space for the aircraft to touch down safely.
The threshold height was reported as good, indicating that the aircraft was at the correct height as it approached the runway. However, the threshold speed was above the target speed, coming in at 146 knots. This may have been due to the aircraft's speed being influenced by the wind conditions, which were moderate at the time of landing. The wind was blowing at 18 knots from a direction of 210°, resulting in a crosswind of 10 knots and a headwind of 15 knots.
The touchdown distance was good, measuring 413 meters, which is within the acceptable range for an aircraft of this size. However, the touchdown speed was a little fast at 139 knots, which may have contributed to a slightly higher touchdown rate of -282 feet per minute (fpm). This rate is considered fair, but it may indicate that the aircraft could have been slowed down more effectively during the landing roll.
The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 4 meters from the centerline, which may have been due to the aircraft's alignment being affected by the wind conditions. Despite this, the runway rollout alignment was perfect, indicating that the aircraft's brakes were applied effectively to bring it to a stop.
Overall, the landing was successful, with the aircraft coming to a stop within 47% of the runway length. The total landing distance was 1,024 meters, which is a reasonable distance for an aircraft of this size. The high score of 99.2% indicates that the pilots executed the landing safely and effectively, despite the challenging wind conditions.
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