Glide Approach and Landing
Practice the glide (power-off) approach and landing — essential for engine failure scenarios and precision flying.
Adjustment of the Pattern
A glide approach requires a modified traffic pattern. Because you will have no engine power available after the power-off point, you must position the aircraft so that it can glide to the runway without any power assistance.
The key modification is in the base-to-final turn. In a normal powered approach, you have the luxury of adjusting power to correct for errors in positioning. In a glide approach, once the throttle is closed, your only tools are:
- Adjusting the pattern (flying closer to or farther from the runway)
- Using flaps to steepen or shallow the glide
- Adjusting airspeed (within the safe range)
The base-to-final turn is critical because it is the last major opportunity to adjust your flight path. If you turn final too high, you can use flaps to steepen the descent. If you turn final too low, your options are limited — you may need to add power (converting it back to a powered approach) or accept a landing short of your target.
Key Concept
In a glide approach, you cannot make the aircraft go farther by pulling the nose up. This only decreases airspeed and increases the rate of descent. Always maintain best glide speed.
Judging the Power-Off Point
The standard power-off point is abeam the intended touchdown point on the downwind leg. At this position:
- Apply carburetor heat HOT (always before closing the throttle)
- Close the throttle smoothly to idle
- Establish the best glide speed attitude
- Trim for the glide
Judge the distance to the runway by the apparent position of the runway relative to the wing. With practice, you will learn to recognize whether the runway appears in the correct position — approximately 30 to 45 degrees below the horizon when abeam on downwind.
Factors that affect where you should close the throttle include:
- Wind: A stronger headwind on final means you need to be closer to the runway or higher
- Aircraft weight: A lighter aircraft glides farther at the same speed
- Altitude: If higher than normal pattern altitude, you may need to delay the power-off point or widen the pattern
Note
Carburetor heat must always be applied before closing the throttle. A closed throttle at idle creates the ideal conditions for carburetor ice to form rapidly.
Maintaining the Glide — Use of Flap
Once established in the glide, your primary tool for adjusting the approach angle is flap. Flaps steepen the approach without increasing speed — they increase both lift and drag, but at the settings used in approach, the drag increase dominates.
Decision Rules
| Situation | Action |
|---|---|
| Too high — will go-around the target | Add more flap to steepen the descent |
| Too low — will undershoot the target | Use less flap (or adjust the pattern to fly closer to the runway) |
| On profile — correct angle | Maintain current configuration |
Apply flaps incrementally. Each notch of flap steepens the descent. Once flaps are extended, they should not normally be retracted during the approach — retracting flaps causes a sudden loss of lift and a sink that may be dangerous at low altitude.
Safety
Never retract flaps at low altitude unless you have adequate airspeed and altitude to manage the resulting sink. If you are too low on a glide approach, the safest option is to add power and convert to a powered approach or go around.
Airspeed Management
Throughout the glide, maintain the best glide speed (or the recommended approach speed for the flap setting in use). This speed provides the flattest glide angle and maximum distance per altitude lost. Deviations from this speed — either faster or slower — will steepen the descent.
The Glide Landing
The glide landing follows the same technique as a normal landing, with the difference that you arrive at the flare point from a steeper approach angle and without power:
- Maintain best glide speed to the flare point — do not allow the speed to decay prematurely
- Round out (flare) at the correct height — gently raise the nose to arrest the descent rate
- Hold off as speed decreases — keep the aircraft flying just above the runway while speed bleeds away
- Touch down on the main wheels — the aircraft settles onto the runway in a slightly nose-up attitude
The flare height may be slightly different from a powered approach because the steeper descent requires a slightly earlier and more progressive round-out. With practice, you will learn to judge the correct height and rate of pitch change.
Key Concept
The round-out must be progressive — not abrupt. An abrupt flare will cause the aircraft to balloon (climb back up), wasting energy and potentially resulting in a hard landing as it stalls back onto the runway.
These lesson plans are provided as supplementary training guidance only. They do not supersede FAA publications, aircraft manufacturer documentation, or your instructor's direction. Always refer to the FAA Instrument Flying Handbook, Airplane Flying Handbook, AIM, and applicable POH/AFM as the official sources.