Register

Airspeed Control 101

It took his instructor and another airplane for this student pilot to learn about proper approach speeds.

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The narrator habitually flew landing approaches faster than recommended, resulting in longer landing rolls in their Cessna 150.
  • A surprising observation of their instructor landing a larger Cessna 182 in a much shorter distance prompted a valuable lesson.
  • The key takeaway was that landing configuration stall speeds (VS0) for different piston singles can be surprisingly close (e.g., 42 knots for a 150 vs. 48 knots for a 182).
  • Effective energy management, achieved by flying approach speeds closer to the aircraft's VS0, enables significantly shorter and safer landings by reducing the energy to dissipate upon touchdown.
See a mistake? Contact us.

I was about halfway through my private pilot training, and returning to my home base from an uneventful solo cross-country. I was in the Cessna 150 I had first soloed, and despite my relatively few hours, had become comfortable with it. One habit I had adopted, especially when flying solo, was to fly my landing approaches a tad faster than might be recommended. I rationalized it by noting I was typically well above the airplane’s stalling speed, but also well within the airspeed indicator’s white arc. All the runways I used were long enough it didn’t make much difference in the 150.

For the last landing of the day, I carried a few extra knots over the runway threshold and into the flare, as usual. Rolling past the intersecting runway I wanted to use taxiing back to the FBO, I slowed to almost walking speed before swinging around on the runway and returning to the intersection.

Ready to Sell Your Aircraft?

List your airplane on AircraftForSale.com and reach qualified buyers.

List Your Aircraft
AircraftForSale Logo | FLYING Logo
Pilot in aircraft
Sign-up for newsletters & special offers!

Get the latest stories & special offers delivered directly to your inbox.

SUBSCRIBE