PRIVATE PILOT

LICENSE – BRIEFING
Circuit, Approach and Landing
Exercise 13
By- Shifatur Rahman / 027 500 2988
 Circuit, Approach and Landing.
DEFINITION •Objectives;
The approach and landing phase may be considered to •The Downwind Leg, Base Leg, Approach – Position and Drills;
commence from after the turn onto the downwind leg to the •Factors Affecting the Final Approach and the Landing Run;
touch down point on the runway and the completion of the •Effect of Mass;
landing roll. •Effects of Altitude and Temperature;
•Effect of Wind;
•Effect of Flap;
i. The Approach may be defined as that part of the circuit from •The Landing;
after the turn onto the downwind leg, to the touch down. •Effect of Ground Surface and Gradient upon the Landing Run;
•Types of Approach and Landing –
ii. The Final Approach Is considered to start from a point where •Powered;
the aircraft is some distance downwind of the runway, in line with •Crosswind;
it, and approaching on a descending flight path. •Flapless (at an appropriate stage of the course);
•Glide;
iii. The Round-Out Is the change of attitude made from the •Short Field;
descent part of the approach to a path level with and slightly •Soft Field;
above the Ground. •Missed Approach;
•Wake Turbulence Awareness;
iv. The Hold-off or Float Describes a subsequent period in which •Windshear Awareness;
the aircraft is flown parallel to the ground, with increasing angle •Airmanship and Air Traffic Control Procedures;
of attack and decreasing airspeed, until the aircraft touches the •Mislanding/Go around;
ground. •Special emphasis on lookout;
•Common Errors.
Different TYPES of A/C Operate in
Circuit Patterns.
Margin of Safety
 Downwind Leg, Base Leg, Approach – Position
and Drills
Downwind Leg
- From Crosswind, a turn is made onto Downwind leg and the
aircraft is flown at circuit height parallel to the runway.
-A downwind radio call as you fly abeam the upwind end of the
runway is often made to alert other traffic and ATC of your
position.
- Completion of setting up the a/c for landing is accomplished
at Downwind Leg and Pre- Landing Checklist carried out
about the mid point on the leg, allowing you to concentrate too far from the field and to maintain the rectangular circuit
fully on Base Turn, Approach and Landing.
In Flight : Pre-Landing Checklist
i. Undercarriage extension – if applicable to type.
ii. Flaps:
a. Flap extension speed.
b. Attitude.
c. Power required.
iii. Downwind checks.
Base Leg
A Medium level turn made from downwind onto base leg is
made when the touchdown point on the runway lies approx.
45* at about 10 O’ Clock ( For Left Hand Circuits )/
This is the 8’ O Clock position from the track of the a/c. In a
strong wind, the turn should be commenced earlier to keep
base leg closer to the aerodrome boundary.
Allow for drift on base so that the wind does not carry the a/c
pattern. The amount of drift can assist you in estimating wind
strength – the greater the drift angle on base, the stronger the
headwind on final.
In Flight: Base Checks
i. Drift considerations.
ii. Base leg checks.
iii. Power reduction to commence descent with/without power.
iv. Flap setting.
v. Speed on descent plus control of speed.
vi. Attitude plus control of attitude.
vii Speed/attitude relationship.
Downwind Leg, Base Leg, Approach –
Position and Drills
Turning Final

With Experience, you will get a feel for just where to
commence descent. But usually, Descent is made once
you turn Base from Downwind.
The availability of power and flap also gives you the
ability to control your descent flightpath as you wish.
Flap for the approach and landing should be used as
recommended in the POH and as advised by Instructor.
TURNING FINAL
i. Descending turn – angle of bank required.
ii. Speed control.
iii. Drift considerations.
iv. Aligning aircraft with runway.

2.6. FINAL APPROACH

i. Forces in descent with/without power.
ii. Final flap setting – effect of flap.
iii. Approach path – speed and height control.
iv. Use of trimmer.
v. What to do if –
a. Overshooting.
b. Undershooting.
The Landing

The landing starts with a round-out commencing at The Four Phases of landing:
about 20 feet above the runway and does not finish until - The flare ( or round – out )
the end of the Landing run. - The hold-off
- The touchdown
Once you reach round-out height, forget the aiming - The landing run
point since you will fly over and well past it now – it has
served it’s purpose and you should now look well ahead.

A normal landing is similar to a power-off stall, with

touch-down just prior to the moment of stall. This
method of landing allows the lowest possible
touchdown speed with the pilot still having full control.
Effects of Mass, Altitude and
Temperature
Effects of Mass Effects of Altitude /Temperature
- As aircraft mass increases, more lift is required to - The landing speed (VREF) will be an IAS appropriate to
balance the weight. the mass, but the true air speed upon landing (used to
determine the ground speed) depends on the air density
- The minimum speed at which the required lift can be (aerodrome elevation and temperature).
achieved will be higher when the aircraft has a
greater mass. - So, the higher the aerodrome elevation the higher the
true airspeed for a given landing speed (IAS). The speed
- Thus the airspeed on final approach depends on on final approach increases with aerodrome elevation.
aircraft mass, that is, an aircraft is expected to fly
with higher airspeed on final approach when its mass
is greater (minimum speed increases with aircraft
mass).
 Effect of Flap
Using Flaps provide:
- A lower stalling speed, thus permitting a lower approach - Note – The amount of flap used will depend on the
speed while retaining an adequate margin over the stall. aeroplane and the wind conditions actually prevailing. In
- A steeper flightpath at a given airspeed, because of the strong and gusty winds it may be preferable to use less than
increased drag full flap ( possibly no flap at all ) for better controllability and
- A lower nose attitude at a given airspeed, providing a better power response. Consult your Instructor for further advise.
view of the approach and landing path.
- A shorter hold-off and a shorter landing run because of the
increased drag and lower airspeed.
Effect of Ground Surface and
Gradient Upon Landing Run
If the runway is sloping, the weight component
along the runway will add to or subtract from the
deceleration force. A downhill slope will increase
the landing distance required and an uphill slope
will reduce the landing distance.

For example, a 1 percent downhill slope increaes

landing distance by 10 percent.
The brake drag depends on the runway coefficient
of friction, and this depends on the runway
surface and the conditions. A hard dry surface
gives the highest coefficient of friction, while a
wet surface or grass gives a lesser coefficient. Ice
or snow on the runway or runways on which
hydroplaning occurs will give a very small
coefficient of friction.
Crosswind Landing

Flying The Crab Method

With the crab technique, you fly final approach

crabbing into the wind to prevent drifting left or
right of centerline. You maintain the crab all the
way to your flare, and just before touchdown, you
step on the rudder to align your nose with the
runway, and use ailerons to prevent drifting with
the wind.
Go-Around/Missed Approach Procedure
A go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is
on final approach. A go-around can either be initiated by
the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for
various reasons, such as an unstabilized approach or an
obstruction on the runway.
GO-AROUND PROCEDURE
i. Apply go-around power – engine considerations.
ii. Rotate into climb attitude – best angle of climb/rate of
climb speed.
iii. Flaps – select optimum climb setting.
iv. Check altimeter for positive rate of climb.
v. Undercarriage – Up (if applicable to aircraft type).
vi. Accelerate to best angle of climb/rate of climb speed.
vii. Trim aircraft.
viii. 300 ft agl. after take-off checks.
ix. Accelerate to best rate of climb speed.
 Considerations of Airmanship and
Engine Handling
AIRMANSHIP ENGINE CONSIDERATIONS
i. The first consideration in making a good landing is to make i. As per aircraft manual
a good approach, and a good approach is the result of good
circuit.
ii. Lookout and radio procedures.
iii. Planning and spacing in circuit.
iv. Wind effect.
v. Safety speeds.
vi. Limiting speeds – flaps and undercarriage.
vii. Bank angles in circuit.
viii. Hammerheads – avoidance when turning final.
ix. Approach path – applicable to various flap and power
settings.
x. Height judgement.
xi. Smooth round-out.
xii. Line up aircraft with runway centreline before touch down
in a crosswind.
xiii. Beware of landing too deep – go-around decision.
xiv. Correction for aborted landing is as for a stall recovery.
 Considerations of Airmanship and
Engine Handling
ii. Insufficient knowledge of the checks and procedures. – Know
your Checklist
iii. Spending too much attention in the cockpit to complete the
before landing checks without sufficient attention to the visual
references outside for attitude and heading.
iv. Insufficient lookout in the circuit.
vii. After turning onto final approach select the required landing
flap and trim the aircraft. From this point on the power controls
the rate of descent.
viii. A good approach makes a good landing. From a good
approach the transition to the round-out requires only a small
attitude change. Do not close the throttle until the round-out
phase is complete.

v. If too much time is taken in setting up the descent on the base

leg the approach usually ends up being too high.

vi. Speed/attitude relationship on final approach. Do not “chase”

the speed. Fly attitude and allow the speed to stabilize before
correcting according to the ASI.
This concludes Briefing : Circuit,
Approach and Landing