Touch-And-Goes

The approach and landing phase should be conducted in accordance with whatever specific procedure is being practiced: normal, engine-out, short/soft-field, high density altitude. Simply because youre not planning to slow down and exit the runway doesnt mean you should do anything different on the approach and landing. After all, the reason youre doing touch-and-goes is to practice, and you cant engage in valuable practice if you dont simulate realistic conditions and procedures.

Joseph E. (Jeb) Burnside

Friday, September 22, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Touch-and-goes are a fundamental pilot training maneuver for practicing landings and takeoffs without stopping, despite minimal formal FAA guidance.
The most challenging aspect is the runway roll, requiring rapid aircraft reconfiguration (flaps, trim) and precise directional control while assessing remaining runway and adhering to specific safety "do's and don'ts," including establishing an abort point.
Pilots should carefully evaluate conditions like runway length, aircraft type, and density altitude, as touch-and-goes are not always suitable and alternatives like full-stop taxi-backs or low approaches might be safer or more effective for specific training goals.

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One of the rungs on the ladder student pilots must climb is the touch-and-go. It naturally follows learning about stalls, flying a traffic pattern, and takeoffs and landings individually, and has become a time-honored way for pilots of all skill levels to practice using a runway. Interestingly, the FAA’s flight training literature offers little guidance on touch-and-goes beyond a definition in the Pilot/Controller Glossary (PCG) and that section of the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM). Both define a touch-and-go as an “operation by an aircraft that lands and departs on a runway without stopping or exiting the runway.”

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? This definition and the scarcity of formal guidance from the FAA on performing touch-and-goes also implies that the maneuver isn’t something to worry about. After all, it’s just the hard parts of a landing, followed immediately by what is supposed to be easy: a takeoff. What could go wrong?