Turbulence is an inevitable aspect of flying. Here’s how to navigate the best approach possible through rough air.
Don’t Let Turbulence Ruin Your Landing
Perhaps it’s due to mechanical turbulence caused by obstacles near the airport, or simply thermal convection. Turbulence can make an otherwise straightforward approach-to-landing quite exhausting. Although the bumps may rock your flight, most turbulence isn’t severe enough to prevent a safe and smooth landing.
Here’s what you need to know to achieve the best approach with the smoothest touchdown…
Fly a Power-On Approach
According to the FAA’s Airplane Flying Handbook (8-18), “for landing in turbulent conditions, use a power-on approach at an airspeed slightly above the normal approach speed. This provides for more effective control of the airplane when experiencing strong horizontal wind gusts or up and down drafts.”
On a gusty day, you’ll notice that your airspeed indicator can exhibit quite wild fluctuations. And when you’re dealing with turbulence in the pattern, it’s better to be a bit on the fast side rather than too slow. The idea is to counteract the turbulence with your momentum and firm control of the airplane. If you’re on speed or a bit slow on final approach, a sudden loss of headwind from a gust could bring you closer to the stall speed than you’d like. And who wants to deal with that? So the solution? Add some speed.
When dealing with a gusty day, the FAA recommends adding half the gust factor to your final approach speed. For example, if the winds are reported at 18 knots with gusts of 30 knots, the gust factor is 12 knots (30 – 18 = 12). So if you take half the gust factor, it’s 6 knots (12/2 = 6).
Use Less Flaps
In some aircraft, reducing flaps can also help with turbulence. When landing with less than full flaps, you have two advantages. Firstly, your plane will have a higher pitch attitude, requiring less pitch change as you transition from final approach to touchdown. Secondly, you’ll land at a higher airspeed, giving you more control of the plane throughout touchdown. However, keep in mind that more speed isn’t always better. Flying at an excessive final approach speed (more than half the gust factor) can cause you to float and miss your landing point. But by adhering to half the gust factor for your airspeed, your landing will be exactly where you want it: on target, with minimal float.
Avoid Over-Controlling
When taking off or landing, you should operate the aircraft with minimal control inputs. In an ideal world, you’d take off, trim the controls, let go, and never touch them again until you need to turn or change speed for climbing or descending. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world. Updrafts, downdrafts, gusts of wind, and changes in configuration mean we constantly adjust controls to match the desired flight path. What happens when you exceed the required inputs? You have to correct for your mistakes and you may start over-controlling.
On turbulent days with large gusts, pilot-induced oscillations tend to occur as the aircraft approaches touchdown. Pilots have a tendency to correct for windy conditions by applying strong left/right, left/right aileron inputs for extended periods. Instead of small corrections, you begin to fight your own large corrections repeatedly. Not only does this destabilize the approach, it makes it harder to land smoothly. Just like during a flight through turbulence en route, you should be comfortable accepting some small changes in airspeed and ground track as you approach the runway. In most cases, the harder you fight the turbulence, the worse it can get. Try to keep your corrections as small as possible.
How to Avoid Hard Landings in Turbulence
When landing in turbulent conditions, the FAA recommends delaying bringing the throttle to full idle until your wheels touch the ground. In turbulence, a sudden reduction in power could exacerbate a rapid descent, leading to an excessively hard landing.
Keep in mind when flying approaches with extra power and reduced flap configurations, you’ll touch down in a flatter-than-normal attitude. Once you’ve landed on your main gear, avoid applying nose-down pressure to ensure you don’t start wheelbarrowing the airplane down the runway.
Putting It All Together
Fly at a slightly faster than normal approach speed, use small corrections to counteract the turbulence, delay bringing the throttle to complete idle until your wheels touch the ground, and don’t over-brake after touchdown. This is the recipe for a perfect turbulent-weather landing.
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