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MY FS FLIGHTS
Flight Score
Know your rotation speed
A typical trainer rotates in the mid-50s of knots - a 172 at around 55 KIAS, climbing out at a Vy in the low 70s, though check your own POH rather than memorising Cessna's numbers - and the transferable rule is that Vr sits just above the stall speed in takeoff configuration. Rotate early because "it felt ready" and the aircraft lifts off inside ground effect, where induced drag is reduced, then climbs out of it into more drag. On a marginal-performance day the result is an aircraft that lifts off and then refuses to climb, sagging back towards the runway.
Read more in Improve Your Take-OffsStart to finish · 22 stages, 21 scored
Events
Events
Events
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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 2,135 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 330 m touchdown sits inside the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
Overall, this aircraft landing had a mix of strengths and areas for improvement.
During the Approach Phase, the descent path was poor as it was above the glideslope limit. This indicates that the aircraft was descending at a steeper rate than necessary, potentially leading to a harder landing. However, the heading alignment and speed were both on target, indicating good control of the aircraft in terms of direction and velocity.
In the Landing Phase, the threshold height was too high, suggesting that the aircraft may have come in too high above the runway. Despite this, the landing flare, which is the controlled increase in pitch just before touchdown, was excellent. This would have helped to cushion the landing and reduce the impact on the landing gear.
During the Touchdown Phase, the touchdown rate was fair, meaning the aircraft may have landed with a slightly harder impact than ideal. The speed was also slightly above target, which could have contributed to this. However, the touchdown distance inside the touchdown zone and the runway touchdown position were both very good, indicating that the pilot was able to land the aircraft in the correct location on the runway.
In the Rollout Phase, the runway alignment was very good, indicating that the pilot was able to keep the aircraft centered on the runway during the rollout after landing.
Overall, while there were some areas for improvement in terms of descent path, threshold height, and touchdown rate, the landing had several strengths including heading alignment, landing flare, touchdown position, and runway alignment. With some adjustments to these areas, future landings could be even smoother and more efficient.
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