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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 · 11 stages, 10 scored
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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.
The approach, gate by gate
Side view — the last 938 m of the approach.
Plan view — the full 938 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 477 m touchdown sits inside the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
This flight was conducted in a Curtiss JN-4D aircraft, a biplane designed for training and recreational purposes. The aircraft taxied from the parking area to the runway, a distance of less than 1 nautical mile, in under a minute.
Upon reaching the runway, the aircraft began its departure roll from runway 26 at LRPW Gheorghe Valentin Bibescu. The takeoff distance was 124 meters, which accounted for 17% of the runway's length. The aircraft lifted off at a speed of 48 knots. At the time of takeoff, the local weather conditions were characterized by a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and a gentle headwind of 2 knots from a direction of 269 degrees.
After taking off, the aircraft entered a level cruise, flying overhead LRPW Gheorghe Valentin Bibescu in Prahova, Romania. This phase of the flight lasted for 4 minutes and covered a distance of 3 nautical miles.
As the aircraft approached the end of its flight, it began its final approach to runway 27 at LRPW Gheorghe Valentin Bibescu. The approach was made from the east, with the aircraft heading 248 degrees at an altitude of 497 feet above ground level and a distance of 2 nautical miles from the runway.
The landing was conducted on runway 27, which had a length of 938 meters. The threshold height was good, but the threshold speed was excessively high at 63 knots. As a result, the touchdown point was very long, using more than 50% of the available runway. The touchdown speed was also fast at 42 knots, but the touchdown rate was smooth at -100 feet per minute. However, the runway touchdown position was excessively misaligned by 31.6 meters from the centerline. The local weather conditions remained the same as during takeoff, with a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius and a gentle headwind of 2 knots from a direction of 269 degrees.
In total, the flight covered a distance of 5 nautical miles and lasted for 9 minutes, consuming 5 kilograms of fuel.
The Curtiss JN-4D aircraft successfully landed on runway 27 at LRPW Gheorghe Valentin Bibescu, but the landing was not without its issues. The pilot's final approach to the runway from the east, heading 248.0° at 2 nautical miles and 497 feet above ground level (agl), was a good start. However, upon landing, the pilot encountered some problems.
One of the main issues was the excessively high threshold speed of 63 knots, which is higher than the recommended speed for landing. This could have put additional stress on the aircraft and potentially made the landing more difficult. Additionally, the touchdown point was very long, using more than 50% of the available runway. This indicates that the pilot may have been unable to slow the aircraft down quickly enough, resulting in a longer than necessary landing roll.
The touchdown speed of 42 knots was also faster than recommended, which could have made the landing more challenging. However, the touchdown rate was smooth, at -100 feet per minute (fpm), which is a good sign. Unfortunately, the runway touchdown position was excessively misaligned by 31.6 meters from the centerline, which could have made the landing more difficult and potentially caused issues with the aircraft's stability.
The local weather conditions at the time of the landing were relatively calm, with a temperature of 15°C and a wind speed of 2 knots at 269°. The crosswind was negligible, at 0 knots, and the headwind was 2 knots, which was relatively light. Overall, while the landing was not perfect, the pilot was able to bring the aircraft safely to the ground, albeit with some issues.
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