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a landing. Just add a little power and expect a quicker descent in the second flare. If the airplane bounces so much that you are no longer in a landing attitude, you need to add power and execute a go-around. Cirrus aircraft have had a large number of nose strikes with the runway, resulting in costly repairs, so most flight schools instructing in Cirrus aircraft direct students to immediately go around if they bounce.
Drift
Each spring season results in a rash of accidents as pilots dust off the rust and relearn how to land in crosswind conditions. Remember, all landings should be on the main wheels first, with no drift and the lateral axis of the airplane lined up with the runway centerline (the airplane pointed down the runway). If you do not have directional control and drift control stabilized during the flare, or if you lose this control during the flare, you need to execute a go-around. Both drift control and directional control are frequently lost when attempting to recover from a balloon or bounce. Your drift control should also maintain the runway centerline within the area between your main tires.
Touchdown zone
Pilots continue to run off run- ways, resulting in significant air- craft damage and injuries. The FAA Practical Test Standards and Airman Certification Standards (PTS/ ACS) require that airplanes touch down within a specific area. To further reduce runway excursion accidents this requirement has been further restricted for Airline Transport Pilots in the FAA ATP Airman Certification Standards. The ACS states that pilots shall land within 250 feet preceding the touchdown zone markings to 500 feet beyond the markings as opposed to the previous first third of the runway. So, if you are not going to touchdown within the touchdown zone, execute a go-around.
The aircraft main landing gear is very strong and will support your airplane if used as designed. This requires that you land on the main
wheels first, not the nose wheel, have the longitudinal axis of the airplane pointed down the runway (not crabbed), and that the airplane is not drifting to either side.
Following these techniques and using good aeronautical decision-making will keep you from becoming an acci- dent statistic or failing your next checkride.
Ed Verville is an exper- ienced FAA instructor and examiner for business jet pilots and aircrew programs. He has 15,000 flight hours in more than 100 different makes and models and holds type ratings in the Bombardier
CL-65, CL-30, CL-604, and Boeing 747. Ed has been instructing RNP-AR Approaches for the past three years.
October 2024 / TWIN & TURBINE • 13