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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 · 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.
The approach, gate by gate
Side view — the last 5,000 ft of the approach.
Plan view — the first 5,000 ft of the 6,077 ft runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 860 ft touchdown sits inside 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 7 minutes and covered a distance of 2 nautical miles. The aircraft, a TBM 930, then departed from runway 18 at Colonel James Jabara Airport, with a takeoff distance of 1,896 feet, which accounted for 31% of the runway. The liftoff speed was 103 knots.
As the aircraft took off, it encountered local weather conditions of 91°F temperature and a wind speed of 11 knots at 179°. The crosswind was minimal at 1 knot, while the headwind was 11 knots. The enroute climb started 1 mile south of the airport, where the aircraft climbed from an altitude of 2,110 feet above sea level to 3,897 feet, an increase of 1,786 feet in just 2 minutes, covering a distance of 5 nautical miles.
The enroute level cruise began 2 miles southeast of Lake Chelan Airport and lasted for 6 minutes, covering a distance of 8 nautical miles. The aircraft then started its enroute descent 2 miles southwest of Whitewater, Kansas, where it descended from 4,117 feet to 2,459 feet, a decrease of 1,658 feet in 2 minutes, covering a distance of 8 nautical miles.
The final approach to runway 18 at Colonel James Jabara Airport was made from the north, with a heading of 187.0° at 3 nautical miles and 1,053 feet above ground level. The landing on the runway was successful, with a touchdown distance of 855 feet, which was 23% of the runway length. However, the touchdown speed was slightly high at 78 knots, and the touchdown rate was firm at -309 feet per minute.
The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 25 feet from the centerline. The local weather conditions at the time of landing were 90°F temperature and a wind speed of 11 knots at 179°, with a minimal crosswind of 1 knot and a headwind of 11 knots. The total landing distance was 1,411 feet, and the runway rollout alignment was very good.
The final taxiing period from the runway to the parking took less than 1 minute and covered a distance of less than 1 nautical mile. The total flight distance was 27 nautical miles, and the flight duration was 18 minutes, with a fuel consumption of 119 pounds.
The TBM 930 aircraft successfully landed at Colonel James Jabara Airport (KAAO) with a score of 91.2%. The final approach was initiated from the north, heading 187.0° at a distance of 3 nautical miles and an altitude of 1,053 feet above ground level (agl). The aircraft touched down on runway 18, which has a length of 6,077 feet.
The threshold height was reported as good, but the threshold speed was excessively high at 92 knots. This indicates that the pilot may have been able to improve the landing by reducing the speed before touchdown. The touchdown distance was good at 855 feet, which is a reasonable distance considering the runway length. However, the touchdown speed of 78 knots was faster than ideal, resulting in a firm touchdown rate of -309 feet per minute (fpm).
The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 25 feet from the centreline, which may have been due to a slight deviation in the approach or during the landing roll. The local weather conditions at the time of landing were hot, with a temperature of 90°F, and a moderate headwind of 11 knots from 179°. The crosswind component was minimal at 1 knot, which did not significantly impact the landing.
The total landing distance was 1,411 feet, which is 23% of the runway length. This is a reasonable distance, considering the aircraft's weight and the runway conditions. The runway rollout alignment was very good, indicating that the pilot maintained control of the aircraft during the landing roll and was able to align with the runway centreline.
Overall, the landing was successful, but there are areas for improvement, such as reducing the threshold speed and touchdown speed to achieve a smoother touchdown.
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