How Hard Is It To Land A Plane?

Oh please, you shouldn't ask such a question. People will respond in surprisingly ways..... especially when they have nothing to lose.

I had worked at a place where this wannabe engineer was getting his pilots license.

This was the time (my first week on a new job) when Sullenberger landed his Airbus in the Hudson river. This wannabe engineer was getting his single engine pilots license, ^{(he already had a bartenders license certificate)} and he said that any body could do it....... I thought he was BS'in and kidding around..... only to find out he was not only serious but also an idiot.

It's was this guy.. At Least Have Some Experience

The landing and takeoffs are the most dangerous parts of flight. The biggest problem for the untrained is overcoming the fear and the sense of being overwhelmed with the process required.

Most beginners also tend to overcompensate on the stick or wheel, then pull/push back in the opposite direction introducing what is called PIO (Pilot Induced Oscillation).

The hard landing this "pilot" had was probably influenced by this phenomenon or simply did a rough job trying to flare at the end of the approach. Landings are really a controlled stall and it takes practice to get the feel of the procedure.

It doesn't help when you know the original pilot is in need of urgent medical attention and the stress levels are through the roof.

Yes, not every plane is equipment with one of these......

Got it. I'm ready.

It's easy to land.....it's the surviving part that always gets ya....

Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.

If you want to find out what it's really like, safely, buy an hour in a simulator and have your instructor talk you down.

AH is right. Over-correcting is the biggest problem.

Yeah, we were taught to grab the stick lower down on the stalk and use a finger and a thumb to finesse it in.

So many people white knuckle grab it like they are hanging on a rail over the Grand Canyon.

I remember from my flying days that the landing is really the only hard part, running out of airspeed and altitude at the same time at the end of the runway. I thought it was amusing watching the old movies where a non-pilot lands an airplane, breaking out of the clouds perfectly lined up with the runway. I didn't think it could be done in real life.

No offense, but I'd rather run out of air speed and altitude at the same time, at the beginning of the runway.

Yeah, good point, that's what I meant.

Depends on so many things. I learnt on a Luscombe tail dragger. They have a strong tendency to ground loop. After about 200 hours on type I checked out on a Cessna 150 - absolutely dead simple in comparison.

Had some time on a Pitts special - found it very light and sensitive - in all modes of flight. Luscombes and Cessna 150 /180's are dogs in comparison.

My sister was one of the few "naturals". She nailed her landings from they very first.

(Yup, I'm green with envy.)

I learned on a Cessna 150, but then bought my own Aeronca Champ (1946 model). Tail draggers do require some finesse on the rudder to keep things under control, especially with some cross wind. I found it worked best to get the tail wheel on the ground just slightly before the main gear.

Aeronca must be slightly different config from the Luscombe. It was impossible to have the tail wheel touch first. Our plane was 1948. I see from the registry CF-HBI is still registered - and appears to be located at a water aerodrome, so it must be back on floats.

Women listen to instruction much better, not being so damn competitive about it. I used to teach windsurfing near Miami, and every week, some macho man hanging with gold chains, and with a pretty girl on his arm would come up and ask for instructions. Windsurfing has some counterintuitive elements to it, and it takes a long time to figure it out on your own. So, both of them would listen to the beach teach, and then go into the water, and try to stand up and sail. Almost without exception, the guy would ignore the instruction, and the girl would follow them. Guy would get totally exhausted and throw down the sail and stomp away, while the girl would start sailing.

My sister had a lot of raw talent. Apparently when she first rode a bicycle she just got on and away she went. When she turned 16 she challenged the driving test that day and passed with a chaufeurs license (the days before graduated licenses!). At high school she tore ligaments in both legs simultaneously and had walking casts on both legs - she walked out of the hospital in casts and no crutches - the doctors did not believe it was possible to balance with casts on both legs. When she learnt to fly she took the flight portion in two weeks - flying up to 8 hours per day. (personally I think the instructors had the hots for her.) Extreme confidence and natural talent makes for very fast learning.

Reminds of a book I just finished reading called "Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps".

Mythbusters tried using a coached landing (via simulator) in one of their Hollywood Myths shows. They agreed it could be done, but it is NOT easy. Crashing in a field near the airport is easy, though.

Better off letting that young kid have the controls.

I would never claim it's easy. Someone with a rudimentary knowledge of flight may have a better chance of pulling it off. Someone with no knowledge at all, still might be able to pull it off depending on a few factors. A small light plane would be easier than an Airbus 380. He would have to be "talked down" by the tower. Weather conditions (down drafts, wind shear would not help). Time of day; passengers, if any would all contribute to success or failure. Naturally there are some who can do anything first time out, but they are rare. You need nerves of steel.

I'd go with the A-380. More stable, better flight controls.

A380 - Push the button "AUTO LAND" and watch it unfold.

In the fancy planes the pilot makes the most errors.

Cessna 150, spring steel tricycle landing gear with wide base is much easier than Luscombe with tubular steel narrow landing gear with oleo, and tail dragger.

Get either near the ground in the approximately correct configuration with ideal conditions and you will walk away from the landing. - Success!