Taking off: what could be better? You’re about to leave the Earth and do something few people can. When we forget about the possible complications takeoffs can pose, they seem so simple. Point the airplane down the runway. Advance the throttle. Maybe apply a little right rudder (unless you’re in a British airplane, which needs left rudder) and at the proper airspeed, pull back a little. Simple, isn’t it?
Most students appear to master the “normal” takeoff after only a few tries. Appear? One of the problems with takeoffs in the training environment is that they are done with another purpose in mind: A student takes off to practice one of the required maneuvers. In that mental environment, it’s easy to take the takeoff for granted. One way to combat that complacency is to make every training takeoff a high-performance effort. It’s not that hard to work into the lesson plan, and what little extra preflight planning is required is good experience. As students progress, they need to master high-performance takeoffs on short and soft fields (and as they progress even further, they need to master multi-engine takeoffs).
