Great video. This is my 50th year as a pilot, and 47th year as a flight instructor. The way explained by Rob is exactly how my CFI taught me to land back in 1966. Thank you for this video.
Rod, I have be listening to you for years! Starting out with Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004! After a month of flying everyday with my first instructor, I wasn't grasping the flare. After watching this video and a few others, I finally got it down. Switching instructors, watching your RU-vid videos, and chair flying really helped me out! Thank you for sticking with flight instructing, you're a good teacher and an awesome aviator!
Wish I could have had you in my cockpit last week. This is golden, and I'm going to try it next week. As others have noted, would that all CFIs were as friendly and knowledgeable as you. I've watched a lot of landing videos recently, and this has been the most helpful.
Thank you, Hefeibao. I sure do appreciate that commment. So nice. Flight training should be an enjoyable experience. My students and I have fun, but work hard, too. Your comment means a lot. Best, Rod Machado
That is the first useful bit of advice in tens of videos on landings I've seen. I have been doing touch and goes non stop for the last maybe six weeks and just can't get the hang of it. Will definitely try this next week.
Thank you, Julian. I do appreciate the comment. I have another video titled, "The Runway Expansion Effect" that you might also want to watch. Best, Rod
So glad this just turned up in the recommendations list. Returning to flying at 50 and struggling to flare. This gives me something new to try. Thanks Rod!
Rod, you taught me to "fly" in FS2004 when I was 13 years old, and I'll be forever grateful. 🙏 That game and your lessons in it are what introduced me to a life long love for aviation.
Thank you, Mr. C. That's very nice to hear. The fact that I might have played some small part in introducing you to aviation is a tremendously rewarding experience for me! Best to you, Rod Machado
Thanks. This is exactly my problem. I’m a mature student pilot and consistent landings are my problem for reasons you generally mentioned for all, but my peripheral vision is still immaculate. However, I haven’t been taught your technique which makes a lot of sense. I have read about using peripheral vision before but it doesn’t work. I will try your method now. I’ve discovered that in order for peripheral vision to work your brain has to focus on that area. You can look straight ahead and ignore your peripheral vision or you can look ahead and switch on your peripheral vision. Try it anywhere. We do this if we want to watch someone suspicious without directly looking. Thanks for your excellent presentation.
Well said.,Agree with you 100%. As a mature student no one mentioned switching ON my peripheral vision. I learnt this myself too. Sometimes I forget and have to judge my touchdowns. Also, my c152 does not have that pizza window, so this technique is useless.
I have about 400 landings in my log and they are getting rougher ^^ Thanks for your advice! I flew a PA28 and was sitting higher in that aircraft than in the DA40 that I fly today. Did not think the vision is the problem... I will try that. Cheers! Matt, Germany
Watched this video last night, then flew today. I must say, I'm slightly surprised at how well this worked for me! I didn't think I would noticed the "widening" runway, but I did! Thanks for this! Now I have to work on keeping the front wheel up.
I'm happy to hear that this worked for you, Robbles. It's a very helpful technique, especially when you're getting checked out in a different airplane and haven't had time to adjust to a new sight-height picture. Thanks for the comment. Best, Rod
Thanks Rod! I got back to flying a few years ago after a ten year break. At first everything was going great. I aced my BFR and was squeaking it on the runway. Then after starting to fly some more I started to watch some videos by others talking about where to look on the runway and how to judge your height because I felt like I was having a little trouble judging height now that I'm older. I was always told to look down to the further end of the runway when I was learning years ago and it always seemed to work for me. Well, I had read that looking right over the nose was a good way to judge height and found that I began looking too close right over the nose when coming in to land. This resulted in me making a bad judgement call where I ended up to close the runway and ballooning and not getting in enough power in time, resulted in a bounced landing and a go around. This really shook me for a while and I considered giving up on flying. I've found when I just went back to how I was trained years ago and using some of this method of checking height things are much better.
Thanks Rod!! I am just learning to fly at 62 and enjoying it immensely, but my instructor never taught me this. I am going to give it a try tomorrow on my landings. Keep up the good work, I am studying right now, but will look at more of your videos over the weekend. Caroline
I'm a 57 year old student pilot and this video is EXACTLY what I needed to hear. I thought I was going to be too old to fly because of the reduced visual acuity. Thanks.
Greetings William: As long as you can pass a 3rd class medical, you're good to go. Believe me when I say you are NOT too old to fly as long as your eyesight is reasonable. Best, Rod Machado
Hi William, as much as I respect Rods reasoning for older pilots, please don’t just accept it. It’ll make you older quicker. Lol. I’m a much older student than you and fortunately my peripheral vision is great. It’s just that I have to train myself to use it, and in my view (pun not intended lol) that’s what everyone needs to do. Hope your flying is going well. Please see my recent comment above.
Rod Serling named his show according to that moment when the pilot cannot see the ground from the horizon. When Rod Serling was asked how he came up with the title The Twilight Zone, he replied, "I thought I'd made it up, but I've heard since that there is an Air Force term relating to a moment when a plane is coming down on approach and it cannot see the horizon." So rather than "hey, Where did the ground go?" Call it "the twilight zone."
Thanks for this "slice of pie". I wish more CFI's incorporated this technique with their students, to aid with one of the most challenging aspects of the landing sequence. My CFIs always told me to focus beyond the nose, which is fine, until the flare and all the apparent reference becomes the nose.
Thank you Rod, as a mature age pilot working on gaining currency after 27year break,I did not realise the idea of the pizza slice view, so I will try this out this weekend on my next flight, love the domino effect pun , hilarious 😂
Rod , I studied your books through my flight training and than to you for these amazing vids ! I hope some day to meet you in person .youre An inspiration !!
This video answers the question of why I flair over the numbers on my recent check ride and have such a hard landing. When I was 25 I could squeak a landing. Now I am 70 years old and just took a check ride after being out of the cockpit over 20 years. You might add that an old pilot may have Cataracts removed and loose focus on the non-dominate eye, in my case my left eye. Dusk flight did not help either. Thanks for the info, don't feel so bad now.
Hi Rod. My instructor taught me to look to the side during flare, just like in your video. But I have never felt comfortable doing it and could never abandon my habit of looking forward. Looking sideways gives me hard time keeping the A/C flying straight in center line and keep correct bank/rudder especially during crosswind. So I never learnt to use this method. Reading through comments below it seems I am the only one with such issue.
I pretend I can see through the nose to the end of the runway, but I beleive my brain constructs that picture using peripheral I just didn't realise it.
Thank you, Julia. I remember sitting with a group of instructors at a major university and asking them where they teach their students to look when flaring. I'd say that 95% said, "Look over the nose." That's not a guaranteed way of seeing the runway environment when learning to land. I sure do appreciate the comment. Best, Rod
Rod, thank you so much for this. I returned to flying four years ago after a long break and at first was making great landings and passed my BFR with no issues. I then began to experience some issues with judging height above the runway at times and I thought I was losing my periph or depth perception and have considered whether to continue to flying. I will definitely try this out and see if I can again become more consistent with squeaking it on.
I have recently read that pizza slice was also known as the “Lindbergh” window because of the visual obscuration of the fuel tank during his famous Atlantic crossing flight.
Now I know why my instructors could always land better: they are in the right seat and don't have to shift their vision as much to see the pizza slice. I cannot tell you how many instructors and other pilot advise, "look all the way down the runway until you touch down." This is great teaching.
I learned I was right eye dominant from archery class in college. Always had my head out the left side during Landing. Just looked where I needed to to get it done.
Thanks for making this video captain.Rod. This really helped me as i had some flare troubles (On simulator) and i am sure it will help me in my flight training. Keep up the good work and keep on making videos for us.THANKS AGAIN!!!
6:30 The exception here! I have a pretty bad right eye. I'm right handed in most things, but things like shooting that rely on a good eye, I use left handed. My mom was in instructor in judo and jiu jitsu for 15 years and noted my fighting stance favors my left, but I'm ambidextrous in that regard.
Ik nthg abt flyin... But yet iam fascinated by those awesome flying machines....... I always had the curiousity of what pilot goes through or should do while landing...... You solved my nagging question of long...... Thank you so much sir
Excellent presentation! I just sent this to all of my students who are pre-solo and working on landings! I will definitely discuss this technique before we go jump into the pattern tomorrow and see what happens!
my periphery senses are exactly why my instructor told me my very first landing was a gem... my spatial awareness is uncanny, probably from all those years learning to play baseball and football !
Rod great video... I have done this uwknowing for years (and I am CFI, ATP. airlines).. However I am left handed and left eye dominate, so I was BORN A CAPTAIN!!!
You can use a head tracking device with most flight simulators which allow you to "lean" your head. You can dial back the sensitivity, so that you have to exaggerate the leaning in the simulator to get a good view which will enforce muscle memory.
Once again as always, great content. No one ever told me about this technique but I seem to use it anyways. Instinctively? Who knows, anymore? I sure do want to get your emergency course (if I don't already have it) so I am heading to your site after this post. Thanks, again, Rod.
I didn't even knew that you had a channel! I still learn flying in the Flight Simulator X where you'r introduced as my flight intructor! I would say, the best flight instructor ever
I do. And I'm happy you found it. And your comment about FS is deeply appreciated. I wrote those lessons in FS to be as close to "real flying life" as possible in a simulator. Best, Rod
Oh, my goodness thank god I'm not the only pilot in aviation that has discovered this pizza landing technique. When I was learning to fly back in 1992 I realized this was the way to land but when my instructor caught me doing this he went berzerk and told me I would never be able to land if I didn't keep looking right down the far end of the runway but as you say it disappears and he didn't accept this saying I would never be able to land if I didn't follow what his said exactly. I was supposed to be in awe of him as he was a senior Concorde first officer as well as a flying instructor at the time. As you can imagine I soon got shot of him and found another instructor. But thank you for confirming my thoughts Rod - awesome mate!!
Oh Gosh, this is the best reply ever. Concorde first officer? Wouldn't it be great if we could all push a button and have the nose mechanically lowered during the landing. Darn near fell off my chair when I read your comment. But thank you very much for your comment, too. It's amazing to me that some CFIs don't realize that there is more than one way to land an airplane. This method at least allows you to see the landing surface area. If you couldn't land using the pizza technique, you could never fly most taildraggers. Best to you, David Rod
Well done Rod....will try next flight....I'm a 63 year old CJ pilot and occasionally jump in a 182....hard to find the gear without flaring too high....this may make that go away
yes, I switched from the Cessna 152 I did my first 55 flight hours in to the Piper Archer III in commercial pilot school. It's a lot more heavy, and doesn't have as much ground effect as the Cessna. Really difficult to get the landings down.
I’ve done the dominant eye thing a million times (I also shoot) and I always come out that they’re equally dominant. When I do the finger triangle thing my fingers go right over my nose.
5:20 I'm not 100% sure I really have a dominant eye. I can see myself favoring my left, but on your little test I don't favor either. And when playing around, I can focus with both. Good excuse for me to go to the firing range 😂 Also could be that I have hobbies that involve use of my peripheral (mountain biking and motorcycling), so I'm just used to it. I'm still a student pilot and have WAY too much to learn (and my landings definitely need improvement), I think I'm already doing all of this. I think I just need practice.
I was hopeless at landing and ultimately became so phobic about the manoeuvre that from the moment I took off I was worrying about coming back. I just could never get the hang of it, so when I was refused a medical certificate, I breathed a huge sigh of relief and have never flown again.
Greetings Peacewind: Thank you so much for those comments. I sure do appreciate your taking the time to post them and I'm pleased you find these videos helpful. Best to you, Rod Machado
That runway expansion effect sounds similar to what people who have survived midair collisions described. Suddenly the other aircraft "blossomed" in size. Now that's not something I want to test.
Video randomly popped up while I’m trying to get the hang of the flare in my flight training. Also didn’t expect to see the airport I fly out of being used in the video lol
Another tip, when you get close to touchdown, well into ground effect, your goal is to prevent the touchdown. by that i mean, don't force it onto the runway, as you get closer and closer keep trying to keep it flying, about level, with yoke and rudder (the throttle is at idle at this point and stays there) its going to come down but for a real greaser you want it to be descending at a very slow rate. This is only in the last couple of feet tho, don't be doing this 10 feet in the air or you'll bang it on or worse. So in the last 1 or 2 feet when the stall warning is blaring just try to keep it there level at 1 foot or so. HTH
Thanks for this! Hoping to try it out on my next flight. New student pilot here, trying to nail landings before I solo but really struggling. I find myself flaring too early and ballooning down the runway. Any advice for judging when to flare?
Greetings Devon: Yes, take a look at this video. It's a very different way of identifying when to flare for landing. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9JfoZERqM7Q.html Best, Rod
That's always a great idea. We see the flare from the inside and might have a basic idea of the perceptual, cognitive and motor skills necessary to do it. Be we can't see it from outside the cockpit unless we do just as you say. I've always recommended this to my students. It's an excellent addition to your training. Best, Rod Machado
