Impress your friends with your knowledge of the aviation world. Landing is the most important phase of a flight. Fly safe! These instructions assume that you are approaching an airport with an operating control tower, an airport traffic circuit from the left, with good visibility and calm wind.
Steps
Step 1. Obtain ATIS information 10 miles before entering the airport's airspace, contact the control tower or approach control body for that particular airport
Announce yourself like this:
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"Control / approach tower name, aircraft tail number, position, altitude, Landing according to the information whatever the" ATIS "code you received earlier." The control tower will give you instructions. This article assumes you are instructed to approach traffic from the left (or right) for Runway X and report 45 (this is a rough guideline and leaves out the specific information that the control tower sometimes requires.).
Land to Cessna 172 Step 2 Step 2. Do the pre-landing check with your checklist:
brakes in place, gear down and locked, fuel fully enriched, fuel selector on both, flaps adjusted as required (fixed pitch propeller), intake, temperature and oil pressure gauges on green, master active, magnetic ignition on both (carburetor temperature HOT if RPM is below 1500RPM), hatches and belts closed and locked, landing lights on. PLANE READY FOR LANDING.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 3 Step 3. Activate the carburetor
Give the heat and begin the descent to the altitude provided for by the airport, until you reach an entry angle of 45 °. You can also be a little "higher" than 45 °. We assume that the altitude is 1200 feet above sea level. Try to maintain a descent rate of 500 feet per minute. It should be less tiring on your eardrums.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 4 Step 4. Reach 45 degrees and contact the control tower stating how many miles you are and your altitude
The tower could give you the green light to land, or it will give you other information.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 5 Step 5. Remember that when you reach ¼ mile from the runway, you must go downwind
By now the tower should have given you the OK to land. You have to increase the speed from 85 to 80 knots and the engine power should be around 2000 rpm.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 6 Step 6. Remember that when you are sideways downwind of the track numbers, you need to turn on the carburetor and get the power up to 1500 rpm
Keep the nose of the plane until the air speed drops below the white arc and then extend the flaps by 10 °. Reach 75 knots using visual references that confirm the anemometer data. Make sure you coordinate your movements with the rudder pedals. Specifically try not to use the pedals too much because: skid + stall = rotation!
Land to Cessna 172 Step 7 Step 7. When the runway entrance is 45 degrees in front of you, turn the base to the left and apply another 10 degrees to the flaps
Your speed should drop to 70 knots. You are now perpendicular to the track. Be careful not to miss your final turn at an airport with parallel runways, as there may be traffic landing there.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 8 Step 8. Complete the landing
When you hit the ground (which you should be able to do even if the engine cuts out), extend the flaps another 10 degrees. The point on the runway where you should land will be stationary. Use the pitch to maintain an approach speed (usually 60-70 knots). Use the power of the motors to control altitude. Remember to keep the speed above 60 knots, but do not stare at the anemometer. Correct the wind with the ailerons and with the rudder pedals keep the plane aligned with the center of the runway.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 9 Step 9. When you are just a few feet off the ground, gently push the throttle back and hold the level
To do this, you have to gradually increase the backward pressure on the yoke and aileron to counteract the crosswind. As soon as you hit the ground, keep the yoke fully pulled back and to the side to compensate for the crosswind. Brake only if necessary (for runway length or to avoid other aircraft landing). Drive down the runway along the center line until you reach taxiing speed, then turn into the nearest taxiway and do not stop until you have passed the hold short line.
Land to Cessna 172 Step 10 Step 10. Complete your post-landing checks, then contact the tower if you haven't already
Advice
- Have fun.
- When in the flare phase (when you are on the runway and "hold" the nose of the aircraft up to slow down), look towards the end of the runway to maintain the horizontal distance between the dashboard and the end of the runway for the entire duration of the maneuver: the aircraft slows down and aligns itself on the runway. During this phase you may not be able to see the runway, use your peripheral field of view and check the side windows to understand your position.
- If you miss the track, don't be afraid to take a lap. Give power and pick up speed, avoiding the nose pointing too high. Set an appropriate ascent rate and re-prepare the aircraft with the flaps in place. The difference between a good driver and a madman lies precisely in the intelligence of knowing when to do the lap again.
- The approach speed changes according to the conditions (for example wind speed and direction). Ask the instructor for confirmation on what speed should be, if you are not sure. You can also figure out what the landing speed is by doing stalls or approaching them. The approach speed, Vref, is usually 1.3 times the stall speed, so you can calculate it by multiplying the stall speed 3 times and then moving the decimal point one position to the left and then adding the wind value (for eg a stall speed of 50 mph should have a Vref of 65 mph). Make sure the plane is configured for landing as you approach the stall. This technique is very useful for older aircraft that have been modified over the years (a 1973 Cessna 172 probably doesn't fly the same way it did when it left the factory 40 years ago), if you are flying a new type of aircraft to which you are not used to or have had malfunctions that have changed the normal performance of the wings (blocked flaps, lost panels or a collision with a bird that damaged the wing).
- If you do not even have a "provisional license" for a flying student, you can fly only if accompanied by an instructor. And even when you get it, you will need the authorization from the instructor, on the back of the certificate and on the log of your flying hours, to be able to fly alone.
Warnings
- If you don't know how to fly an airplane, these techniques can be dangerous.
- Flying without a pilot's license is illegal and dangerous.
- This article is a general guide only. Ask the instructor what the procedures required by your airport are.
- Do not drive under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
