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FLYING Magazine News Training and Proficiency

Mastering Descent Is an Art Form

There's much skill involved when it comes to getting down quickly and safely.

Meg Godlewski
Verified
Edited By: tccjeremy
When it comes to learning powered descents, it is best to begin with a constant rate descent. [Adobe Stock]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The article highlights the importance of understanding the "idle power" or best glide descent, demonstrating that aircraft maintain control and glide safely without engine power, a critical skill for emergency situations.
  • It details controlled descent techniques, including constant rate/airspeed descents for passenger comfort and the steep spiral maneuver, used for rapid altitude loss while maintaining position over a ground reference point.
  • The text also explains various rapid and emergency descent procedures, such as emergency descents (e.g., for engine fires), "rapid descent dirty" (employing drag from flaps/gear for quick altitude loss), and forward slips for steepening approaches or dissipating excess altitude.
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“How do we get down?” 

“Bring the power to idle, and gravity will do the rest.”

Meg Godlewski

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.

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