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MY FS FLIGHTS
Flight Score
Fixing the bounce
Fast at the threshold, normal flare, and the runway seems to refuse the aircraft. The instinctive fix - pushing it on - causes the next one. A fast aircraft forced onto the runway touches nosewheel-first or nearly so. The tell is a touchdown that feels soft followed by a bounce that steepens. Pilots fix the bounce recovery; the cause was the 10 knots at the threshold.
Read more in VRef ExplainedStart to finish · 20 stages, 19 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 for a circuit: five checks where the approach path is 500 ft above the runway. The 1,000 ft gate is an instrument-approach check and does not apply.
At the 500 ft gate: no landing flap set.
The approach, gate by gate
Side view — the last 1,234 m of the approach.
Plan view — the full 1,234 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 163 m touchdown sits inside the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
This flight took place in a Piper PA-24-250 Comanche, departing from runway 22 at the Essex County Airport, KCDW. The aircraft started its takeoff roll on a 229-meter section of the 2,340-meter runway, which was 19 percent of its total length, with a liftoff speed of 74 knots. The local weather during the takeoff consisted of a temperature of 24 degrees Celsius with a wind speed of 2 knots blowing at 250 degrees, essentially a negligible headwind and crosswind.
After taking off, the pilot entered a right-hand pattern around the runway. The aircraft covered a distance of less than one nautical mile in 34 seconds while turning into the downwind leg. A total of 37 seconds was spent covering the distance of less than one nautical mile while turning into the right-hand pattern crosswind. The downwind turn itself had a distance of two nautical miles, with the aircraft turning at an angle of 45 degrees to the runway at a rate of 61.6 degrees per minute.
The aircraft then continued along the downwind leg, covering two nautical miles in 72 seconds. Following this, it made a turn into the base leg, having covered a distance of two nautical miles at an angle of 45 degrees to the runway at a rate of 47 degrees per minute. A further distance of less than one nautical mile was covered in 24 seconds along the base leg before the aircraft made its final turn into the runway.
During the final approach to the runway, the aircraft was flying at an altitude of 399 feet and a heading of 210 degrees, approximately one nautical mile from the runway. However, it executed a go-around, pulling up to 7 feet above ground level. The aircraft then proceeded to land on the runway, touching down at a speed of 53 knots and a distance of 161 meters. The threshold speed was slightly below target at 63 knots, while the touchdown distance and speed were considered good.
The total landing distance was 530 meters, which covered 43 percent of the runway length. After a very smooth rollout, the aircraft aligned well with the runway. Taxiing to the parking area from the runway took just one minute, covering a distance of less than one nautical mile. The entire flight had a distance of nine nautical miles and consumed 6 kilograms of fuel, taking approximately 12 minutes to complete.
The Piper PA-24-250 Comanche aircraft successfully landed at KCDW Essex County Airport on runway 22. The aircraft executed a final approach from the northeast, heading at 210.0°, and maintained a distance of about 1 nm from the runway with an altitude of 399 ft above ground level (agl).
During the approach, the aircraft touched down with a speed that was slightly below the target at 63 kt, but with a good touchdown distance of 161 m. The touchdown speed was also in the acceptable range at 53 kt. However, the rate of descent was reported as fair at -227 fpm, indicating that the aircraft could have used more precise control during the final stage of descent.
The runway was 1,234 m long, and the pilot maintained a good alignment with the runway during landing and rollout. The local weather conditions, with a temperature of 24 °C and a very light headwind of 2 kt, did not pose any significant challenges to the landing operation. The pilot demonstrated good control and precision throughout the landing, resulting in a runway touchdown alignment described as very good and a runway rollout alignment also classified as very good.
Overall, the landing was deemed to be 93.9% successful, reflecting a minor deviation in the threshold speed but excellent performance in terms of touchdown distance, speed, and runway alignment. This outcome highlights the capabilities of the pilot and the aircraft in executing a precise and controlled landing operation in favorable weather conditions.
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