Normal and crosswind approach and landing

The base leg, the stabilized final, the round out and touchdown, the crosswind methods, the go-around, and the risks the ACS attaches to the last minute of flight.

19 min read · Flight maneuvers

After this lesson you can

  • Fly a stabilized approach to an aiming point and read the visual cues that say whether you will reach it.
  • Explain how wind, gusts, turbulence and density altitude change the approach and the landing roll.
  • Apply the crab and wing-low methods, and touch down with the longitudinal axis aligned with the runway.
  • Choose a runway, an approach path and a touchdown area from pilot capability, performance, distance and wind.
  • Decide the go-around early, fly it with power, attitude and configuration, and manage it after a LAHSO clearance.

The Airplane Flying Handbook divides the last part of the pattern and the landing into five phases: the base leg, the final approach, the round out or flare, the touchdown, and the after-landing roll. A normal approach and landing is one where engine power is available, the wind is light or straight down the runway, the final approach path has no obstacles, and the landing surface is firm and of ample length. Everything else in this module is a variation on it.

The lesson follows those five phases, then adds what the ACS attaches to them: the wind in all its forms, the runway you should not have chosen, the go-around you delayed, and the traffic you did not see on final.

The rest of this lesson

  1. 1.The base leg and the final: where the landing is actually decided
  2. 2.The stabilized approach and energy management
  3. 3.Wind, gusts, turbulence and density altitude on the approach
  4. 4.Crosswind: two methods, one rule at touchdown
  5. 5.Round out, touchdown and roll
  6. 6.Choosing the runway, the path and the touchdown area
  7. 7.The go-around, LAHSO, and the incursion that happens on the way up
  8. 8.Final approach is where the traffic is

These 8 sections, their figures, the checks along the way and the end-of-lesson quiz come with the PPL track. Paid once, yours for good.

See what the PPL track costsEvery module 1 is free to read, no account, no card.

Key terms

Try to recall each definition before turning the card.