By: Troy Stotts 2006

     As always I caution student pilots to seek out an experience flyer/instructor and use the buddy box method.  You will save yourself a lot of time, frustration and money.

     When learning to land start by watching a few good flyers land.  Pay attention to where they start their turns to set up their approach and pay particular attention to the glide path on the final approach.

     Start practicing on a nice calm day by attempting to duplicate those approaches and making low passes straight down the middle of the runway into the wind.  Don't even think about landing at this point.  Your focus should be on making a good approach.  Practice these approaches until you are comfortable and feel in control.   A bad approach almost always results in a bad landing so unless your approach is good throttle up, go around and try it again. When you make a really good approach throttle back all the way to idle set the plane up slightly nose high and let is touch down.  Practice a lot of low approaches landing only when everything is just right.

     I suggest making a big sweeping turn and rolling out exactly in line with the middle of the runway for the final approach. 

     Your final approach should be in a slight nose down attitude.  Seeing the bottom of the airplane during a landing approach means the nose is too high and you are setting yourself up for a stall.  You need to either add power and go around or use the elevator stick to lower the nose. Stand with a couple of the good fliers and watch the plane on landing. You won't see the bottom of the plane.

     The best place to touch down is directly in front of yourself.  You can see everything better and judge the touchdown better.

     Bouncing can be caused by landing to hard or touching down on the nose gear first.   When you get to a couple of feet from the runway get the nose up slightly and then just let the plane land itself.