Ten Ways to Improve Your Landings!

1. Stop turning for your final approach JUST before you see
   the side of the fuselage of your aircraft. Bring the right stick to
   neutral and level the wings (if necessary) to stop the turn. 
2. Establish turn points for entering, downwind to base or base to
   final by objects on the ground. Learn to judge your distance and
   height above the runway.
3. Have benchmark pattern speeds for downwind, base, final and short final,
   but be flexible and know how to modify them when necessary for wind
   and different types of models.
4. The preferred pattern should place your aircraft at a distance and height, where
   if, you experience power failure, you can still land on the runway.
5. It is essential to maintain proper speed control on final.
6. Make every landing as if you were flying a tail dragger. (see #8)
7. If something about your approach feels wrong, abort, go around and set up again.
8. Your plane isn’t a car!  Don’t drive it onto the runway.  The nose should be
   positioned in a positive angle of attack (slightly UP), and this angle of descent is
   held by using by using power to maintain the correct altitude – if the plane goes
   below the glide path power up, if it goes above the path, power back slightly.
9. Hold the nose wheel off the runway as long as you can!  The attitude helps slow
   the plane down and minimizes wear and tear on the nose gear.

Set the idle speed so that the nose stays almost level when reducing  power
to idle.  (With the NexStar using an 11X 5 prop set the idle to 2900-3100 rpm.) This
technique works well with any trainer that has "training gear" designed to slow down
the aircraft. Use power to control the rate of descent, not the elevator.
 

Make your approach with two 90 degree turns! The "downwind" is parallel with
the backside of the runway, turn 90 degrees to the "base leg" parallel with the
end of the runway and the turn 90 degrees on to "the final leg". Adjust
the descent with the throttle.  See next item for more information
 

Keep landing in the weeds? Stand facing the field with your shoulders parallel to
the field.  When turning on final bring the airplane nose to line up even with your
shoulder (pointing toward the aircraft) and at the 10 or 2 o'clock position.
You're now setup for a perfect approach down the middle of the runway! Control
your descent with the throttle, start with 2 clicks above idle. As you throttle back
keep just enough pressure on the elevator to keep the nose level until the plane
touches down. 

Don't "short cut" your landing...always fly to your shoulder, while you are facing your field.
 

 A good approach pattern, especially the final leg, will generally determine the quality of your
 landing
 

 Take off and Land! Take off and Land! Take off and Land! And when you're sick off it....
 Take off and Land again!
 

 When making the flare, keep bringing the nose up by holding up elevator. Keep pulling
 more and more up as the plane slows, when the mains touch, neutralize the elevator
 quickly to keep from bouncing two or three times.
 

 If the landing results in a "bounce", apply a little throttle, level out by neutralizing the
elevator, and touch down again. (You want the engine to pull your plane to level flight,
otherwise the plane stalls and that generally means repair work.)
 

 Practice learning how to land with a "little power", and cut just before touchdown occurs.
 (Bring the throttle stick to idle and then move it up one or two clicks). This technique is
especially useful when landing into a stiff breeze.
 

 When landing into the wind, assuming that your plane is in trim, add one or two clicks
 of down trim to help the plane lose altitude. On touch down just neutralize the elevator.
 

 Instead of trying to "flare", trying skimming along the runway as long as possible, at idle.
 

Landing the NexStar is not hard.  The airplane, with it's training flaps, will slowly sink with
the throttle at 1 to 2 clicks above a SLOW idle. Just before the touch bring the throttle
to idle and the nose up! When you reduce power you MUST slightly increase UP elevator
 to keep the nose level. (If the nose drops without the extra equipment see the next item)

If the nose drops when you throttle all the way back refer to Trimming Your Airplane.