Short-field landing

Short-field landing: shortest safe ground roll.

• Approach at airspeed recommended for aircraft weight.
• Touch down at desired spot at lowest airspeed consistent with safety.
• Aircraft normally floats after round-out: allow for it when picking touchdown point.

Approach:

• Fly power-on: small pitch change corrects slope, more accurate descent control than pitch alone. Keep power in until flare complete.
• Avoid high-power "drag-in" approach:
  • can slip into slow flight and undershoot landing area
  • needs a second method for obstacles
  • one power-on technique covers every short-field case
• Hold stabilized approach speed, configuration, and constant descent angle to the flare, with or without obstacle.
• Idle power: steepest descent angle, but high rate of descent is hard to check in flare.

Touchdown:

• Main wheels first, at lowest safe airspeed.
• Lower nose wheel as flight manual recommends. Tailwheel types touch down three-point.
• Some flight manuals call for flaps up right after touchdown: less lift, more weight on wheels, better braking. Cost: loses flaps' aerodynamic braking.
• Retractable gear: raise flaps carefully during roll to avoid selecting gear up by mistake.

Before committing:

• Confirm field length needs special technique. Inspect turf or gravel fields if possible.
• Weigh wind, slope, obstacles, turbulence or wind shear.
• Check later take-off possible: take-off usually needs more distance than landing.
• Approach going badly: decide early to overshoot.

Trap: "drag-in" approach because low speed and high power feel safer. Most likely to end in undershoot. Manual explicitly does not recommend it.

Practice