Events
Events
Events
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 · 13 stages, 12 scored
Events
Events
Events
Two stabilised approach gates, each with six checks at 1,000 ft and 500 ft above the runway.
The approach, gate by gate
Side view — the last 1,524 m of the approach.
Plan view — the first 1,524 m of the 2,255 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
Touched down 539 m past the threshold — beyond the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
The flight began with the departure roll from runway 21 at EHBK Maastricht Aachen Airport, where the Sirius aircraft took off with a takeoff distance of 200 meters, which is 9% of the runway. The liftoff speed was 66 knots. At the time of departure, the local weather conditions were characterized by a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and a wind speed of 2 knots at 265 degrees, resulting in a crosswind of 2 knots and a headwind of 1 knot.
As the aircraft climbed, it started its enroute climb overhead Ulestraten, a location in the Provincie Limburg, The Netherlands. The climb began at an altitude of 608 feet above sea level and reached 1,272 feet above sea level, an increase of 664 feet in just 1 minute, while covering a distance of 2 nautical miles.
The enroute level cruise started 1 mile southwest of Elsloo, another location in the Provincie Limburg, The Netherlands. This phase of the flight lasted for 2 minutes and covered a distance of 2 nautical miles. Following the cruise, the aircraft began its final approach to runway 21 at EHBK Maastricht Aachen Airport from the northeast, heading at 217.0 degrees at an altitude of 161 feet above ground level.
However, the flight did not end with a smooth landing. A go-around was initiated at an altitude of 475 feet above ground level. The aircraft then made a second attempt at landing on runway 21, which has a length of 2,255 meters. The threshold height was good, but the threshold speed was above the target speed of 61 knots. The touchdown point was 135 meters beyond the touchdown zone, and the touchdown speed was 43 knots, which was considered good. The touchdown rate was also perfect at -29 feet per minute.
Despite the good touchdown speed and rate, the runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 3.9 meters from the centerline. The local weather conditions at the time of landing were characterized by a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and a wind speed of 25 knots at 194 degrees, resulting in a crosswind of 8 knots and a headwind of 24 knots. The total landing distance was 1,041 meters, which is 46% of the runway. The runway rollout alignment was also slightly misaligned by 8.7 meters from the centerline.
In conclusion, the flight was a complex one, with a go-around and a second attempt at landing. Despite some minor issues with alignment, the touchdown speed and rate were good, and the total landing distance was within acceptable limits. The total flight distance was 6 nautical miles, and the flight used 1 kilogram of fuel.
The aircraft, identified as Sirius, successfully landed on runway 21 at EHBK Maastricht Aachen Airport, but with some notable deviations from the target parameters. The final approach was initiated from the north-east, heading 217.0° at 0 nm and 161 ft above ground level (agl). The aircraft's performance during the landing was evaluated, and it was found that the threshold height at 129 ft agl was excessively over the target, indicating that the aircraft touched down higher than desired.
Additionally, the threshold speed was excessively high at 93 kt, which is above the target speed. However, the second landing attempt showed an improvement in threshold height, but the threshold speed was still well above the target at 61 kt. This suggests that the pilot may have been able to adjust their approach to achieve a better touchdown height but struggled to manage the speed.
The touchdown point was 135 m beyond the touchdown zone, which is a deviation from the ideal landing spot. However, the touchdown speed of 43 kt was good, and the touchdown rate of -29 fpm was perfect, indicating a smooth and controlled descent. The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 3.9 m from the centreline, which may have contributed to the deviation from the touchdown zone.
The local weather conditions at the time of the landing were characterized by a temperature of 15 °C and a wind speed of 25 kt at 194°. The crosswind component was 8 kt, while the headwind component was 24 kt. The total landing distance was 1,041 m, which is 46% of the runway length. The runway rollout alignment was also slightly misaligned by 8.7 m from the centreline.
Overall, while the Sirius aircraft demonstrated some areas of improvement, it also showed some deviations from the target parameters. The pilot's ability to adjust their approach and manage the speed and height during the landing was evident, but there is still room for improvement in terms of touchdown point accuracy and runway alignment.
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