Short and Soft-Field Takeoffs

Short-field landings are all about using excellent technique to get your airplane into a tight spot. That same technique, however, can put you in an even tighter spot when it’s time to leave.

Mike Hart

Friday, February 21, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Short-field takeoffs are significantly more dangerous than landings, with a higher fatality rate primarily due to stall/spin accidents, especially as altitude and temperature reduce aircraft performance.
Many short-field takeoff accidents are preventable by thoroughly calculating aircraft performance using the POH, considering factors like field length, wind, temperature, altitude, weight, and runway conditions (slope, surface type), and being willing to abort if limits are exceeded.
Pilots must apply correct, often hybrid, short/soft-field takeoff techniques, understand appropriate flap settings, utilize ground effect for acceleration, and have a clear abort plan with identified speed and point.
The most critical mistake when encountering an obstacle or insufficient climb is pulling up, as maintaining airspeed (VX) and accepting a forward impact is almost always safer than an unrecoverable stall/spin.

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Short-field landings are all about using excellent technique to get your airplane into a tight spot. That same technique, however, can put you in an even tighter spot when it’s time to leave.

Most general aviation aircraft land shorter than they leave. This performance disparity can be subtle at sea level, where the two numbers might be equal. As altitude and temperature increase, however, the gulf between them grows and it often can take twice as much runway to depart than it does to land. Airspeed control gets you into a short field, but horsepower is what gets you out, and available horsepower drops as altitude increases.