In short: Rod Machado’s three tips for learning to land faster are to use partial flaps instead of full flaps for the first few lessons, fly power-off approaches from the base leg, and take off your sunglasses until you have some landing skill. Each one removes a variable or gives you more time and better information during the flare.
Video: “Learn How to Land Quickly” by Rod Machado, from his YouTube channel.
What you’ll learn
- Why full flaps shrink the time available for the roundout and flare
- The case for 10 degrees, or one notch, of flaps in early landing lessons
- How a power-off approach from base removes one pitching change from the flare
- Why sunglasses can make it harder to judge height above the runway
- When it makes sense to go back to full flaps and sunglasses
Start with partial flaps
After five decades of teaching landings, Rod has concluded that full flaps make learning harder. They slow the airplane quickly, so the roundout and flare happen over a shorter period, and the student has less time to get things right. This is especially true in high-drag flap designs like those on traditional Cessna 172s and 150s.
Rod prefers 10 degrees, or one notch, for the first few landing lessons. You get a better view over the nose, less drag and more time to set up the flare. Fewer flaps also mean a smaller pitch change to reach the landing attitude, so the student doesn’t need as large a pull on the elevator.
Fly power-off approaches from base
When conditions allow, Rod has students pull the power after turning base. This builds a sense of how far the airplane can glide, and it removes the nose-down pitch that happens when power comes off during the roundout. Students already have to deal with the pitch change entering ground effect, so there’s no reason to add another one while they’re learning. A stabilized power-off approach creates a cleaner environment for learning the flare.
Lose the sunglasses, at least for now
Rod’s third tip surprises people: take your sunglasses off for the first few landing lessons. Typical sunglasses cut a large share of incoming light, which makes it harder to judge your height above the runway and can affect peripheral vision. He compares it to learning to land on an unlit runway at night. Once you’ve built some landing skill, sunglasses are fine again, unless the sun is truly unbearable.
Go deeper with Rod Machado
If landings are your sticking point, Rod’s eCourse on takeoffs and landings builds on these ideas with a full, step-by-step approach to the roundout, flare and touchdown. Learn more in The Art of Takeoffs and Landings eCourse.
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