✈️ Aviation Brief — Issue #86
Weekly insights for student pilots and the instructors who train them.
THIS WEEK'S TOPIC
CA.IV.E — Normal Approach and Landing (Commercial Pilot ACS)
**1. ACS STANDARDS SUMMARY**
For CA.IV.E, the examiner expects you to plan and execute a normal approach and landing to a suitable runway. You must establish the correct landing configuration, maintain a stabilized final approach at the manufacturer’s recommended airspeed (±5 knots for commercial), touch down at the appropriate point (within 200 feet for commercial), on the main wheels first, with proper directional control and without floating or ballooning. After touchdown you are expected to maintain centerline, manage braking appropriately, and exit the runway without delay.
**2. THREE COMMON STUDENT MISTAKES**
- Chasing the aiming point on final instead of establishing a stabilized descent, which results in large power and pitch corrections right down to the flare.
- Looking too close in front of the airplane during roundout, causing either a premature flare (balloon) or late flare (hard landing).
- Relaxing back pressure or failing to use rudder after touchdown, allowing the nosewheel to hit hard or directional control to be lost in light crosswinds.
**3. CFI PRO TIP**
Teach students to pick a specific aiming point (numbers or the 1,000-ft markers) and hold it steady with small power adjustments while keeping airspeed on target with pitch. Once the aiming point begins to move up the windshield, transition their visual focus to the far end of the runway. This single habit change produces noticeably smoother, more consistent flares.
**4. SAFETY SPOTLIGHT**
NTSB data shows that roughly 45 % of general aviation accidents occur during approach and landing. A common factor in many of these is an unstable approach continued below 500 ft AGL—exactly the behavior the commercial ACS tries to eliminate by requiring a stabilized final segment.
**5. DID YOU KNOW**
In the Cessna 172S the POH recommends 61–66 KIAS on final with full flaps; commercial applicants are held to the tighter ±5-knot tolerance, which is why practicing approaches at exactly 62 knots builds the precision examiners want to see.
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