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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 · 12 stages, 11 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.
Side view — the last 689 m of the approach.
Plan view — the full 689 m runway, to the same scale as the side view.
Touched down 555 m past the threshold — beyond the full-score zone. The arrival was smooth.
The rest of the report
The flight began with the departure roll from runway 24 at EBSU Saint Hubert Air Base. The aircraft, a Savage Norden, took off with a takeoff distance of 38 meters, which was 1% of the runway. The liftoff speed was 43 knots. At the time of departure, the local weather conditions were characterized by a temperature of 16 degrees Celsius and a wind speed of 19 knots from a direction of 209 degrees. This resulted in a crosswind of 11 knots and a headwind of 15 knots.
As the aircraft climbed away from the air base, it began its enroute climb, which started overhead the air base. The aircraft climbed from an altitude of 2,944 feet above sea level to 8,474 feet above sea level, an increase of 5,530 feet in just 3 minutes, covering a distance of 3 nautical miles. The climb was followed by an enroute descent, which began 2 miles north of Saint-Hubert. The aircraft descended from 8,815 feet above sea level to 2,473 feet above sea level, a decrease of 6,342 feet in 3 minutes, covering a distance of 6 nautical miles.
The aircraft then entered a level cruise, which started 2 miles southeast of Rochefort and lasted for 78 minutes, covering a distance of 26 nautical miles. Following the cruise, the aircraft began another enroute descent, which started overhead Belgrade. The aircraft descended from 2,606 feet above sea level to 897 feet above sea level, a decrease of 1,708 feet in 2 minutes, covering a distance of 3 nautical miles.
The final approach to runway 24L at EBNM Namur-Suarlée Airfield was made from the north-east, heading 238 degrees at 0 nautical miles and 289 feet above ground level. The landing was made on the runway, which had a length of 689 meters. However, the threshold height at 124 feet above ground level was excessively high, and the threshold speed was excessively high at 70 knots. The touchdown point was also excessively long, using more than 75% of the available runway. The touchdown speed of 40 knots was too fast, but the touchdown rate was perfect at -43 feet per minute. The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 3.9 meters from the centerline. At the time of landing, the local weather conditions were characterized by a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius and a wind speed of 14 knots from a direction of 187 degrees, resulting in a crosswind of 11 knots and a headwind of 8 knots.
The total flight distance was 38 nautical miles, and the flight duration was 27 minutes. Notably, the aircraft used 0 kilograms of fuel during the flight.
The aircraft, Savage Norden, successfully landed at EBNM Namur-Suarlée Airfield, but the landing was not without its issues. The final approach to runway 24L was initiated from the north east, heading 238.0° at an altitude of 289 feet above ground level (agl) and 0 nautical miles from the runway.
Upon landing, the aircraft touched down on the runway, but the touchdown point was excessively long, using more than 75% of the available runway. This indicates that the pilot may have been unable to slow the aircraft down sufficiently before reaching the runway threshold, resulting in a longer than ideal landing roll. The touchdown speed of 40 kt was also too fast, which could have contributed to the long landing roll.
The threshold height at 124 ft agl was excessively over target, suggesting that the pilot may have been unable to maintain a stable approach path, resulting in a higher than desired altitude at the threshold. Additionally, the threshold speed of 70 kt was excessively high, indicating that the pilot may have been unable to slow the aircraft down sufficiently before reaching the runway threshold.
The runway touchdown position was slightly misaligned by 3.9 meters from the centerline, which could have been due to a slight deviation in the pilot's alignment with the runway or a slight crosswind component. The local weather conditions at the time of the landing were characterized by a temperature of 20°C, a wind speed of 14 kt at 187°, with a crosswind of 11 kt and a headwind of 8 kt.
Despite these issues, the touchdown rate was perfect at -43 fpm, indicating that the pilot was able to maintain a stable and controlled descent during the final stages of the approach. Overall, while the landing was not ideal, the pilot was able to bring the aircraft safely to the ground, albeit with some issues that need to be addressed in future training.
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