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Basic Private Pilot Ground School
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Lesson 1: Your First Flight6 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 2: Maneuvers and the Traffic Pattern6 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 3: Understanding the Wind and Turns6 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 4: AOA, Stalls, and Other Scary Things5 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 5: Ground Reference, Maneuvers, and FARs4 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 6: Building Good Landings5 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 7: The Less Busy Airspace: G, E, D3 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 8: Class A, B, and C Airspace: The Busier Side of the Sky4 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 9: Flying Blind and Performance Calculations4 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 10: Soft and Short Field T.O.'s + Landings4 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 11: Start Your Engines: Engines, Systems, and Instruments6 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 12: Weight and Balance, Navigation Systems4 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 13: Luck with Weather6 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 14: Your First SOLO!2 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 15: VFR Charts and Navigation5 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 16: Weather Charts and Services6 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 17: Aeromedical Factors, ADM, FARS5 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 18: Flying at Night3 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 19: Cross Country Flight Planning4 Topics|1 Quiz
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Lesson 20: Test Prep5 Topics|2 Quizzes
Lesson 10,
Topic 4
In Progress
Soft Field Landing
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Returning to Earth…Softly.
The idea behind a soft field landing is to land as softly as possible, and most importantly be ready to go around if the field is too soft and you would be “sucked in” or get stuck on the runway. It may surprise you, but I have been on several soft grass fields in early spring when you are using 2,000rpm (75% power) just to taxi at a normal slow speed. Airplanes are not made to taxi on soft surfaces and can easily get stuck in the mud. In the video above we’ll detail what performing this landing procedure looks like.
REMEMBER:
- Use full flaps
- Keep the weight off the wheels as long as possible
- Never stop on a soft surface (you might not be able to start rolling again)
- Add a small “bump” of power just before touchdown
- Leave flaps full on rollout to keep weight on the wings and off the wheels.
- Expect to use LOTS of runway, make sure it is long enough!
- Sometimes fields are too soft to takeoff or land on. Work with your flight instructor to be able to recognize this!