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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 · 20 stages, 18 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 7,404 ft runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 1,595 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 4 minutes and covered a distance of 1 nautical mile. The aircraft, a Cessna CJ4 Citation, then departed from runway 33 at KLSF Lawson Army Air Field, a military airfield located at Fort Benning in Alabama. The takeoff distance was 1,899 feet, which is 20% of the runway length. The liftoff speed was 149 knots.
The local weather conditions at the time of departure were characterized by a temperature of 61°F and a wind speed of 2 knots from a direction of 270°. The crosswind component was 2 knots, while the headwind component was 1 knot. The aircraft began its enroute climb 1 mile northwest of KLSF, rising from an altitude of 1,229 feet above sea level to 12,564 feet above sea level, an increase of 11,335 feet, in just 5 minutes and covering a distance of 22 nautical miles.
Following the initial climb, the aircraft entered a level cruise phase, which started 7 miles southeast of Valley, Alabama, and lasted for 23 minutes. During this period, the aircraft covered a distance of 128 nautical miles. The enroute descent phase began 5 miles southwest of Trenton, Georgia, where the aircraft descended from an altitude of 15,274 feet above sea level to 3,802 feet above sea level, a decrease of 11,472 feet, in 8 minutes and covering a distance of 36 nautical miles.
The aircraft then entered another level cruise phase, which started 5 miles northeast of Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee, and lasted for 5 minutes, covering a distance of 2 nautical miles. The final descent phase began 3 miles east of Soddy-Daisy, where the aircraft descended from an altitude of 3,791 feet above sea level to 1,964 feet above sea level, a decrease of 1,827 feet, in 3 minutes and covering a distance of 9 nautical miles.
The final approach to runway 20 at KCHA Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Lovell Field) was made from the north, with the aircraft heading 197.0° at an altitude of 1,277 feet above ground level and a distance of 4 nautical miles from the runway. The landing was made on runway 20, which has a length of 7,404 feet. The threshold height was good, but the threshold speed was too high at 116 knots.
The touchdown point was 180 feet beyond the touchdown zone, and the touchdown speed was 102 knots, which was fast. However, the touchdown rate was smooth at -129 feet per minute. The runway touchdown alignment was very good, and the runway rollout alignment was perfect. The local weather conditions at the time of landing were characterized by a temperature of 59°F and a wind speed of 2 knots from a direction of 270°, with a crosswind component of 2 knots and a headwind component of 1 knot.
The total landing distance was 2,858 feet, which is 39% of the runway length. The 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 203 nautical miles, and the flight duration was 52 minutes. Notably, the aircraft used 0 pounds of fuel during the flight.
The Cessna CJ4 Citation successfully landed at KCHA Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Lovell Field) with a score of 96.8%. The aircraft approached the runway from the north, heading 197.0° at a distance of 4 nautical miles and an altitude of 1,277 feet above ground level (agl). The final approach was executed with a good threshold height, indicating that the pilot maintained a safe distance from the runway surface.
However, there were some areas for improvement during the landing. The threshold speed was too high at 116 knots, which is above the recommended speed for a safe touchdown. Additionally, the touchdown speed of 102 knots was also faster than ideal, resulting in a slightly rougher landing. Despite this, the touchdown rate was smooth at -129 feet per minute (fpm), indicating that the pilot managed to absorb the impact of the landing.
The runway touchdown alignment was very good, suggesting that the pilot maintained a stable and aligned approach to the runway. The local weather conditions were favorable, with a temperature of 59°F and a light wind of 2 knots at 270°. The crosswind component was minimal at 2 knots, and the headwind component was even weaker at 1 knot.
The total landing distance of 2,858 feet was 39% of the runway length, which is within a safe margin. The runway rollout alignment was perfect, indicating that the pilot maintained control of the aircraft during the rollout phase and brought it to a stop in a stable and aligned manner. Overall, the landing was successful, but there is room for improvement in terms of speed management to achieve a smoother and more efficient landing.
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