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There is a resounding obsession within aviation that a nice, smooth, soft landing is the sign of a great pilot. This is the ultimate sign that the pilot is skilled. A pilot can easily achieve a spontaneous round of applause from the cabin if he touches down as softly as your head hitting your pillow.
Uh, ok…
A while ago I got in debate with someone about this exact subject. This individual was spotting at an airport and was judging the skill of the pilots based on how softly they nestled on the asphalt.
He continued to explain to me how a certain airline was firmly planting their wheels on each landing, and how pilots are not skilled. This was a slant at that particular airline as a result.
Flying isn’t about a squeaker-of-a-landing at the end of a flight. A pilot’s skill should be measured on his safety record, humility to human factors, and decision making skills; not his ability to do a perfect landing.
“What makes a perfect landing” is up for debate.
Can you imagine the pilots wanting to touch down smoothly on this one? Good luck, Champ! Hope you have enough runway left after your soft landing.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtnL4KYVtDE
Do you think these guys care how soft their landing is? US Navy Aviators are known as some of the best in the world.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkjqa18hwWY
What about this guy? Although it’s unfair of me to speculate, the pilot in this video probably could given a bit more authority on controls. Then again, why did the crew decide to land in these winds anyway? Perhaps I shouldn’t judge. Everyone ended up safe. Maybe the lesson is that there is a time not to land ‘here’ and go ‘somewhere else’
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9eiFmuQT1c
Watch this guy come in too high, too fast, and try to do a greaser landing for the camera. Almost bit the dust.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj6DUXDCLNc
Here’s a mix of both. Obviously a very challenging place to land.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_LaAkAyoz0
This is the kind of pilot I want around.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JemqDzMbzrM
And another awesome example.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbmQTj7h8t0
There’s a saying out there that goes something along the lines of, ‘Any landing is great as long as you can walk away from it’. While that’s funny and partially true, what’s the point of bending up an airplane?
The landing phase of the flight is a very dangerous time, not only because of it’s close proximity to the ground, but also because things are moving very quickly. There is very little margin for error.
Some of the things pilots have to be concerned about during the final landing phase of a flight, and the actual landing part of the flight are as follows:
- Traffic in the Air
- Aircraft Configuration
- Airspeed
- Final ‘Panic’ Check
- Winds
- ATC Compliance
- Traffic on the Ground
- Touchdown Point
- Taxiway Turnoff
- Parking
It gets even more dangerous when you’re talking about doing an instrument approach, because at this time you have to consider the possibility that you will never see the runway, and therefore cannot land. Now you must do a missed approach.
So, with those factors in mind, I’d rather be a pilot that could be aware of all of my surroundings and manage those things to bring the ship down safely, smooth landing or not.
What do you consider a good landing? Have any other points, or questions?
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