Difficult landings

Sooner or later a landing won’t go to plan. You arrive higher or lower than you meant to, the wind picks up or swings round, the final gets bumpy, or you have to land in a field you have never seen. Swiss accident reports list exactly these: downwind landings, surges near the ground, collapses on final and strong sink¹.

The pilots who get away with it fix the problem early, high in the pattern, and keep the wing straight all the way to the ground.

Too high or too low

The spot that stays still in your view is where you will arrive². So a spot that sinks towards your feet means an overshoot, and one that rises an undershoot (see the aiming point). Fix it while you still have height and room; stretching and shortening the pattern is a core skill your instructor will train.

Too high, in light wind:

• fly further downwind, or further out along the base leg, before you turn, so the final gets longer;
• or lose height high up with a beat or two across the wind at the downwind end, turning into wind³, or with gentle S-turns⁴ well above the ground⁵.

Too high, in strong wind: never get downwind of the field, because you may not get back against the wind⁶. Lose the height earlier and higher, upwind of or beside the field, with wide beats that keep the field within easy reach, and let the wind drift you back³.

In any wind, if you have been trained in big ears, use them high up and early, and let them out so both tips have reopened well before you turn onto final⁷⁸. Never fly the final glide or flare with ears in; one manufacturer advises against them in windy or bumpy air⁹.

Too low:

• cut the downwind leg short, and turn onto base and final early;
• aim for the nearer part of the field, or a clear field short of it, rather than stretching over obstacles or wires¹⁰;
• keep your hands up; a slow, braked approach costs the speed you need near the ground¹¹, and into wind it lands you shorter, as the polar shows.

Figure: Too high in light wind: fly further downwind, so the base leg moves out and the final gets longer. The other variant cuts the pattern short when you are too low. The dashed line shows where the unchanged pattern would have landed. A simplified model.

Strong wind

In strong wind everything happens closer in and slower over the ground. Place the base leg near the target and drop the downwind leg if you need to³; see adapting to the wind. The wind gradient bites harder in strong wind¹², so keep your hands up through the steep final, flare short and gently, and never pull the brakes fully in very strong wind¹³.

The landing isn’t over when your feet touch: the wing keeps flying and can drag you¹⁴. Decide before you land that you will turn and kill it. As your feet touch, turn to face the wing and stall it at once with both rear risers or both brakes, pulled smoothly and evenly, moving towards it if it pulls; in very strong wind one manufacturer prefers the C-risers¹⁵. If it drags you anyway, pull one brake in hard and keep pulling, or both rear risers, while you turn and move towards the wing¹⁶. Learn your wing’s method on flat ground first, in killing the wing.

Figure: As the feet touch, turn, pull both rear risers or both brakes, and walk towards the wing until it lies still. The other variant shows a pilot who stays facing into wind and is pulled over and dragged.

Crosswind

Landings are made into wind¹⁷. With a crosswind your feet are moving sideways over the ground as they touch, which can trip you, and the wing drifts across the field. Higher up you crab to hold your line¹⁸. For the touchdown, line up as nearly into wind as the field allows, choosing that line before you turn onto final, high up; never turn low to get it. Flare as normal, be ready to PLF¹⁹, and deal with the wing at once.

Downwind landings

A tailwind adds to your speed over the ground. In one magazine’s worked example, a downwind touchdown comes at about 45 km/h28 mph, against about 5 km/h3 mph into wind¹⁷. In a BHPA review of 200 serious incidents, half of the landing errors were downwind landings²⁰.

If the wind swings round on final, or you find yourself downwind and low, don’t try to turn: below about 20 m65 ft on a downwind leg you may be too low to complete a turn into wind²¹. Keep the wing straight, flare, and PLF²².

Slopes and top landings

Slope and top landings are advanced skills: SafePro tells students to avoid them, and the German federation (DHV) keeps top landing for experienced pilots at known sites²³. If you are ever forced onto a slope, keep the wing straight, flare and be ready to PLF²².

Nil wind

With no wind you cross the ground at full airspeed, about 37–38 km/h23–24 mph on a school wing²⁸, and the final is long and flat: one school wing glides about 8.5:1²⁹. Put the base leg further out³, then make a full, long, progressive flare and run it out¹³; see flare depth and the wind.

Turbulence on final

Bumpy air near the ground needs speed and an active pilot. Manufacturers differ on how. Nova recommends about 20% of brake travel through the whole approach in turbulence, for stability and feel; Ozone keeps the wing at trim speed until about 1 m3 ft, but flies it actively all the way³⁰. Both keep your speed up, and a slow approach risks losing lift or stalling in gusts and the wind gradient¹¹; your instructor will tell you which method suits your wing.

Stand up earlier when it’s bumpy³¹, and keep big ears for smooth air⁹. Touch down well away from obstacles upwind: five tree heights behind a tree line, the wind can drop to about a third of its open-field strength, and dense barriers add turbulence³².

A field you haven’t seen

Sometimes you can’t reach the planned field, or you have to land somewhere new. Choose early, while you have height to look, and assess it as in assessing the landing field:

• the biggest, most open field you can reach, into wind; forget accuracy, as APPI advises when your radio fails³³;
• search it for wires: lines across a field mean fences, ditches or power lines, so assume every road has power lines, and never approach low over cables¹⁰;
• read the wind from smoke, water lines, and the drift of clouds and birds³⁴;
• choose a field without livestock, away from farm buildings; in standing hay, bunch your wing and trample as little as you can³⁵;
• never water³⁶.

Then fly a normal, generous pattern³⁷. Landing out is more demanding than landing at a known site²³.