It is said that any pilot is only as good as his last landing. Landing an aircraft on a runway is a complex process of maneuvering and control inputs that tests each student pilot to the limit. Even after flight training is over, a pilot will always aspire to make great landings – it’s the key part of flying where success can definitely be measured, whether it’s a smooth and effortless landing… or something else entirely. .

When landing a plane, a multitude of things must be done at once. And since your landing will also depend on external factors (wind speed, direction, air temperature, etc.), even the best pilot only has so much control over how the landing is made. No one makes a perfect landing every single time, but with the following landing tips you can have the best chance of impressing your passengers, yourself, and maybe even the tower operators too:

Make a strong focus – A great landing always starts with a great approach. On your downwind leg, you are already at pattern altitude. Already at the correct airspeed. Check your heading indicator and make sure your aircraft is flying parallel to the runway heading. Doing these things ahead of time will free you up to really focus on your base and the final stretches; if you fall behind on these tasks, you’ll have to play ‘catch up’ with the whole landing process.

concentrate – Flying with friends is always fun, but when it’s time to land a plane, the pilot must focus 100% of his attention on the landing process. Too often, a conversation will continue all the way to the runway, and the landing will always suffer for it. After calling the wind downwind of him, he politely silences his passengers so that he can give his full attention to their altitude, speed, and position without other distractions.

stay center – Learning to fly on a wide runway and staying on the center line may not seem so important to you. However, as you visit smaller courses, you’ll learn that sometimes staying in the center of the track is the only option you have. After changing from base to end, line up quickly. Concentrate on keeping the nose of the plane pointed towards that center line, using small aileron and rudder movements to avoid drifting. When your landing comes around, that’s one less axis (yaw) to worry about, freeing you up to focus on the other two.

Use Flaps Correctly – Landing a plane correctly requires landing in the right place at the right speed. Getting to that position and speed is the hard part, but luckily for you, you have some friends to help you out: flaps. However, make sure you are using your flaps correctly, and not just automatically lowering them at a specific time or point during your landing sequence. Learning to land requires drilling into the pattern with constant repetition, and it’s all too easy to simply file flaps to the back of your mental checklist as something “to do” on your base and end legs. The truth is that a pilot must use an aircraft’s flaps in different configurations during different scenarios depending on wind speed, wind direction, altitude, airspeed, and the length of the runway they are landing on. Setting your flaps too early will lead to a high approach, with overcorrection when dive bombing the runway. Setting them late could keep your airspeed undesirably high. Don’t feel like you have to use all the flap notches at all times: in some situations it’s better to land with partial flaps or even (in windy conditions) no flap at all.

Experience is the best teacher here, and it will take flight time in that particular plane to get you used to optimal use of the flaps. He understands that it’s not something that can be learned strictly from a textbook.

Use track numbers – When landing a plane, the phrase ‘aim for numbers’ is commonly heard, but pilots rarely get to land on them. Most pilots are too busy watching airspeed and pitch to care where the numbers are, especially on longer tracks with lots of space. Still, you can use the runway numbers to help you get to your desired landing spot if you spend some time watching them during your final approach. As your landing time approaches, you should have a good idea if you are high, low, or right on target. If it’s high, it points to a place somewhere before the numbers can help you drop some altitude. If it’s low, look a little past the numbers to raise the nose. Adjust the throttle where necessary to get the nose to do what he needs it to. This may seem like an obvious little trick, but if used during landing it can go a long way with your landing position.

slide sideways – A maneuver often talked about in any student pilot’s textbook would be the sideslip. During landing, a sideslip can be used to remove unwanted altitude without increasing airspeed or having to bomb the runway. By applying opposite rudder and aileron, the aircraft will glide upright without changing its direction of flight. If you are a student pilot, you will want to practice this maneuver a lot. Actually, it sounds more complicated than it really is. As you go through your flight training, you will find yourself side-sliding during landings without even being aware of it. Be comfortable with it though, because it’s a nice trick to have in your bag when you need to use it during a high final approach.

Attitude, airspeed, altitude – As the track gets closer, your attention will move to your main instruments. Airspeed is critical here, as you want to avoid stalling at all costs. Be sure to stay safely above the minimum stall speeds for your aircraft’s flap configuration, and also be sure not to go too fast. Adjust the aircraft’s nose to keep the airspeed needle where it should be and use power to correct your height above the runway. If you monitored all three of these instruments during your base and final stages, you should be very close to your desired landing point when landing the plane.

look down the track – Looking down the runway when landing a plane is another great tip for getting flare timing right: it gives you a better reference of the actual horizon than looking at the ground falling below you. It takes some practice, but you can eventually balance by keeping your eyes on the horizon, while peripherally watching your height above the track. As you do this, your hands will make subconscious adjustments to the control wheel that should smooth out your slide path.

Flare, Float and Throttle – Knowing when to shoot is half the battle. Knowing how much to burn is the other half. Get both control moves right and your wheels will be oiling the track. During your flare, make smooth, controlled movements with the wheel or yoke. You are very close to the ground now, and any large or sudden movement will be amplified with disastrous results. Once it comes on, you should know right away if it’s high or low. Low flare can be fixed by gently applying more back pressure to the control wheel. High flare can be corrected by maintaining control pressure and applying light throttle power. Never drop the nose suddenly or dramatically when landing an aircraft… if you flare too high, it’s best to take out the ‘float’ and apply power if necessary to smooth out the landing. A good pilot always keeps one hand on the throttle during landing.

It is not over yet – The last mistake some pilots make is to think that their landing is over by the time their wheels touch the runway surface. To avoid that classification, remember to control the entire length of your landing. The rudder is key, as it now controls almost everything. Keep the rudder adjustments small, especially just after landing when the aircraft is still rolling quite fast. Also remember to turn the ailerons to adjust for the direction of the wind, in order to avoid being buffeted by crosswinds. Your landing is not over until you turn onto the taxiway.

Landing a plane is not easy… but landing a plane smoothly and correctly is even more difficult. Just as you have good days and bad days, you will always have good landings and bad landings. Still, arming yourself with the right knowledge and practices can go a long way in achieving big touchdowns. Using the tips above, you won’t land perfectly every time, but you should see yourself consistently making better landings.