Hone Your Short-Field Skills

It's important to set a target and establish a stabilized approach when making a short-field landing.

Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 01:16 PM ET

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Transylvania County Airport (formerly 22W, now 3NR3) requires landing 'right on the spot.' [Illustration: Clare Nicholas]

Key Takeaways:

The article emphasizes the necessity of precision in short-field landings, exemplified by the author's challenging experience at Transylvania County Airport where obstacles reduced the effective runway length.
Effective short-field technique involves a stabilized, power-controlled approach at a specific airspeed (e.g., 1.3 times stall speed) and a critical mindset to go around if the approach is unstable.
Pilots are encouraged to utilize tools like an Angle of Attack (AOA) indicator to maintain a safe margin above stall speed, accounting for factors like bank angle and wind.
Practicing short-field landing skills becomes more effective and enjoyable when integrated into real-world flight planning and adventure-based learning experiences.

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For a couple of reasons, we didn’t want to land at the main airport (KAVL) at Asheville, North Carolina.

First, we had looked ahead on airnav.com and saw that the fuel prices there for 100LL tacked at least an extra dollar per gallon onto what we could procure elsewhere in the area. Second, I had landed at Asheville before, and I always liked a new challenge. Third, well, I was not getting much love from the controller on Asheville Approach when I asked for VFR flight following through the area—cementing my idea of finding elsewhere to land.