Briefing a Short-Field Landing Into a Crosswind
You are briefing a private pilot applicant before a short-field landing lesson in a C172S. The runway is 2,200 ft by 40 ft with a 45-ft tree line 300 ft before the threshold; density altitude today is 4,600 ft. The ASOS reports wind 270° at 12 gusting 20 on runway 36, which is the only runway. On his last three short-field approaches he was high and fast, floated past the 1,000-foot marker every time, and used about 1,900 ft of runway to stop. He tells you his previous instructor taught him to "aim at the numbers and add power if it looks short." He flies once a week, his knowledge test expires in six months, and he has budgeted for eight more lessons. You have 45 minutes on the ground before the airplane is scheduled, and you are the only instructor on duty.
1. What objectives and completion standards would you state in the preflight briefing, and what is the core technique you would teach?
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State the objective, the maneuver, and the standard before anything else, so the flight has a target:
- Objective: short-field approach and landing to a specified point with maximum performance and full control authority.
- Completion standard: stabilized approach at the POH short-field approach speed (full flaps), airspeed within ±5 kt at 200 ft AGL, touchdown at the proper pitch attitude with no drift, within 200 ft beyond or at the specified point, and maximum braking to a stop with runway remaining.
- Core technique: pitch controls airspeed, power controls the glidepath, and the aiming point is a reference that must stay stationary in the windshield. If it moves up, you will land short; if it moves down, you will land long.
Aim about 100–200 ft before the intended touchdown point, carry power to hold the glidepath, reduce to idle in the flare, hold the airplane off, and brake firmly. His "aim at the numbers and add power" technique is the direct cause of the float: he is aiming past the touchdown point and then using power to fix a flightpath error, which adds speed and float. Name that in the brief so the flight is correcting a specific habit.
2. Given the wind and the runway, do you fly the lesson today? Defend the decision.
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Not this lesson, on this runway, today. The reason is margin arithmetic:
- Wind 270° at 12 gusting 20 on runway 36 is a 90° crosswind - a crosswind component of roughly 12 gusting 20 kt, which is at or above the airplane's 15-kt demonstrated crosswind value and well above this student's demonstrated capability.
- The runway is 2,200 ft with a 45-ft obstacle and 4,600 ft density altitude. Short-field work deliberately consumes runway and performance margin; combining it with a maximum, gusty crosswind stacks two unrelated errors in one approach.
- The gust spread of 8 kt means the airspeed will not be stable, so he cannot practice the one thing the lesson is about.
Better options: fly the crosswind lesson on a better-aligned runway if one exists at the field, or use the 45 minutes for a solid ground lesson on short-field planning and performance using the POH charts and the obstacle, then fly the maneuver when the crosswind is under 10 kt. If you do launch, brief go-around criteria explicitly - a gust above 10 kt or more than half the predicted crosswind on short final is an automatic go-around.
3. He asks, "Why can't I just add power if it looks short?" How do you answer, and what do you have him fly next?
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Explain the energy picture rather than quoting a rule. On a stabilized approach, pitch controls airspeed and power controls the descent path. "Aim at the numbers and add power if it looks short" uses power to fix a flightpath problem that was created by choosing the wrong aiming point. The late power addition raises the nose, adds float in ground effect, and leaves him touching down long and fast - exactly the 1,900-ft result he has been getting.
The rule to teach: fix the aim point first, then adjust the glidepath with small power changes, and control airspeed with pitch. Power is a fine correction for being slightly low; it is a bad correction for aiming at the wrong place.
On the next flight, before doing short-field work, have him fly three normal approaches to a specified aim point at a target airspeed, calling the aim point's position in the windshield on short final. When the aim point stays put and the speed is on, add the obstacle and the short-field technique. The correction is a habit, so it needs repetition with feedback, not one demonstration.