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MY FS FLIGHTS
Flight Score
Keep the approach speed on target
Every knot above Vref is stored kinetic energy, and energy stored at the threshold must be dissipated in ground effect before the aeroplane will stop flying. Because kinetic energy scales with the square of speed, the excess you must dissipate grows fast. At a 45-knot approach, five knots hot is over a tenth more speed and roughly a quarter more energy to get rid of in ground effect. This is why the fix is never in the flare. It was decided three miles earlier, on final, at the airspeed indicator.
Read more in VRef ExplainedStart to finish · 23 stages, 22 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.
At the 500 ft gate: no landing flap set, sink rate above what the glideslope needed and off the centreline.
The approach, gate by gate
Side view — the last 1,524 m of the approach.
Plan view — the full 1,524 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
The 165 m touchdown sits inside the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
The flight in question was conducted in an F-35A Lightning II aircraft, departing from runway 35 at Calgary/Springbank Airport (CYBW). The taxiing process from the parking area to the runway took less than a minute and covered a distance of less than 1 nautical mile.
Upon departure, the aircraft lifted off the runway after a takeoff distance of 712 meters, which accounted for 47% of the runway length. The liftoff speed was 171 knots, and the local weather conditions at the time of departure were characterized by a temperature of 17°C, a wind speed of 2 knots at 269°, and a crosswind of 2 knots.
The enroute climb started overhead CYBW, with the aircraft ascending from 5,017 feet above sea level (asl) to 8,384 ft asl, an increase of 3,367 feet in 4 minutes, covering a distance of 29 nautical miles. This was followed by a series of enroute climbs and descents, with the aircraft reaching altitudes of up to 9,763 ft asl and descending to as low as 5,695 ft asl.
The enroute level cruise segments were relatively short, lasting only 2 minutes each, and covered distances of up to 15 nautical miles. The final approach to runway 17 at CYBW was conducted from the north, with the aircraft heading 189.0° at 2 nautical miles and 731 feet above ground level (agl).
The landing on runway 17 was characterized by a touchdown distance of 169 meters, which was considered good. However, the touchdown speed of 211 knots was excessively fast, and the touchdown rate was heavy at -686 feet per minute. The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 3.4 meters from the centerline.
The total landing distance was 1,133 meters, accounting for 74% of the runway length. The runway rollout alignment was perfect, and the taxiing process from the runway to the parking area took 1 minute, covering a distance of less than 1 nautical mile.
The total flight distance was 193 nautical miles, and the flight duration was 25 minutes. The aircraft used a total of -2,690 kilograms of fuel during the flight.
The F-35A Lightning II aircraft successfully landed at Calgary / Springbank Airport, achieving an overall score of 86.4%. The final approach to runway 17 was initiated from the north, with the aircraft heading 189.0° at 2 nautical miles and 731 feet above ground level (agl). The aircraft successfully touched down on the runway, which has a length of 1,524 meters.
However, there were some areas of concern during the landing. The threshold speed was excessively high at 216 knots, which may indicate a slight delay in the pilot's decision to flare. Additionally, the touchdown speed of 211 knots was also excessively fast, which could have resulted in a heavier touchdown rate. The touchdown rate was indeed heavy, at -686 feet per minute (fpm), which may have caused some stress on the aircraft's landing gear.
The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 3.4 meters from the centerline, which may have been due to a slight deviation in the pilot's alignment during the final approach. Despite this, the runway rollout alignment was perfect, indicating that the pilot was able to maintain control of the aircraft during the rollout phase.
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 from 270°. This resulted in a negligible crosswind component, and the aircraft was able to land with a headwind of 0 knots. The total landing distance was 1,133 meters, which is 74% of the runway length. Overall, while there were some areas of concern during the landing, the pilot was able to successfully bring the aircraft to a stop on the runway.
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