Focus in the Flare

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, March 05, 2013 at 10:42 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

During the roundout and flare, maintain a head-straight-ahead position, alternating visual focus between just over the airplane's nose and the desired touchdown zone, while using peripheral vision to monitor lateral drift.
As aircraft speed decays, it is crucial to progressively reduce the distance of your visual focus to maintain accurate height judgment.
Incorrect visual focus—either too close (causing a high flare) or too far ahead (losing height accuracy)—can lead to landing errors, whereas proper alternating and progressively closer focus ensures a smooth touchdown.

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As you start the roundout on final approach and begin to flare, visual cues become extremely important. Where exactly should you be looking as you bring the control wheel back and prepare to place the wheels just where you want them on the pavement (or the grass, if you’re really lucky)?

To give you a wider scope of vision and a better feel for your height above the ground and your movement over the surface, your head should be pointing straight ahead and your visual focus should alternate from a point just over the airplane’s nose to the desired touchdown zone and back again.