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Private pilot · ACS PA.IV.B · Instructor lesson plan

Normal Approach and Landing

Student pack: Train: Normal Approach and Landing · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

By the end of this lesson your student can explain normal approach and landing in their own words, apply it in a realistic situation, and fly it to the ACS standard for PA.IV.B.

Why it matters for safety: Most landing accidents are loss of control: runway excursions in crosswinds, hard landings from unstable approaches, and stalls on the turn to final. Nearly all of them follow an approach that wasn’t stable and a go-around that didn’t happen. A stabilized approach, with a firm rule for going around, prevents them.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Normal Approach and Landing. A stabilized approach at the right speed, a touchdown on your point, and a go-around if it isn’t working.

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Pack: pilotprep.pro/train/ppl/normal-approach-and-landing · Full lesson: pilotprep.pro/prepare/ppl/normal-approach-and-landing

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

  • A stabilized approach: on the correct path with only small heading and pitch changes, at the target speed (gust factor applied), in the landing configuration and trimmed, sinking no more than about 1,000 fpm, with appropriate power and the checklists done, by 500 feet above the airport in VMC. If it isn’t stable by then, or becomes unstable below it, go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Approach speed is the POH figure, or not more than 1.3 VSO if none is published, +10/-5 knots, plus no more than half the gust factor.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.B.S7; AFH)
  • Pitch and power work together: power mainly controls the descent rate, pitch the airspeed, and you adjust both to stay on path and speed.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Aim at a point; land within 400 feet beyond it, with no drift and the airplane aligned with the centerline.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.B.S10)
  • In a crosswind, crab on final and change to a sideslip (wing low, opposite rudder) before touchdown, or fly the sideslip earlier on final; touch down without drift, upwind wheel first in a stronger wind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Never accept LAHSO as a student pilot. Anyone may decline it.(AIM 4-3-11, Pilot Responsibilities When Conducting Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO))
  • Go around early when the approach or landing isn’t right: it’s always an option.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)

The stabilized approach and energy

  • Your energy is your airspeed and height. Too much of either means floating or landing long; too little means landing short or stalling.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Set up early: configuration, approach speed and trim, then adjust pitch and power together to hold the path. The gate is firm: stabilized by 500 feet above the airport in VMC (1,000 in IMC), or go around; and go around immediately if it becomes unstable below that.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Pick a touchdown point (you must touch down on it or within 400 feet beyond) and aim at a point a little before it, because the roundout uses distance. Aiming at the touchdown point itself builds in a long landing.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.B.S5)
  • The roundout: as the runway expands, shift your gaze toward its far end, reduce power smoothly to idle, and keep increasing back pressure to touch down on the main wheels at the proper pitch attitude, just above stall speed, with little weight on the nosewheel. Looking too close or too far misjudges the height. If it balloons, hold the attitude and add a little power (never push forward); if it bounces, hold the landing attitude, add power as needed, and go around if the bounce is big or control is in doubt.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Hold the aim point steady in the windshield: if it moves up, you’re getting low; if it moves down, you’re getting high.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)

Wind, conditions and the runway

  • High density altitude means a higher true airspeed and groundspeed for the same indicated speed, so a longer landing roll. Fly the same indicated approach speed.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)
  • Crab into a crosswind on final and change to a sideslip before touchdown (or fly the sideslip from earlier on final) so the airplane’s axis is aligned with the runway and it isn’t drifting.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Choose a runway and touchdown point that suit your skill, the airplane’s performance, the runway length and the wind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)

Wind, surface and wake on landing

  • Crosswind: crab on the approach and change to a sideslip (upwind wing low, opposite rudder) before touchdown, or set up the wing-low sideslip earlier on final. Touch down with no drift, aligned with the centerline, on the upwind main wheel first in a stronger crosswind, and keep increasing aileron into the wind during the rollout.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • The POH’s maximum demonstrated crosswind component is what was tested, not a limitation. Set your own limit, and use a runway more nearly into the wind when you can.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • A tailwind raises your groundspeed and landing distance. Gusts: the gust factor is the peak gust minus the steady wind (10 gusting 20 is 10 knots); add no more than half of it (5 knots) to your approach speed.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Wind shear on short final can cause a sudden loss of airspeed and a high sink rate. Be ready to add power and go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Wake turbulence: behind a larger airplane landing, stay above its approach path and land beyond its touchdown point.(AIM, Chapter 7, Wake Turbulence)
  • Wet or grass surfaces lengthen the landing roll and reduce braking. Use the POH corrections.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)

Planning for the go-around, and LAHSO

  • Plan every approach as a go-around: brief yourself on when you’ll go around (unstable, too fast, too high, drifting, traffic on the runway) before you start. Touchdown isn't a point of no return: after a bad bounce, a big balloon or a loss of control, with enough runway left, a rejected landing is still available (full power, the right attitude and configuration per the POH, and tell ATC).(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • A LAHSO clearance means landing and stopping before an intersecting runway or point. You may decline it; student pilots and pilots unfamiliar with LAHSO should not accept it. Know the available landing distance and your airplane’s performance.(AIM 4-3-11, Pilot Responsibilities When Conducting Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO))
  • If you accept LAHSO and then must go around, keep safe separation from the intersecting traffic and tell the tower promptly.(AIM 4-3-11, Pilot Responsibilities When Conducting Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO))

Low, slow and busy

  • Takeoffs and landings are where traffic converges: look for airplanes on final and on the runway before you line up or turn final, and use landing lights.(AC 90-48, Pilots' Role in Collision Avoidance)
  • Close to the ground there’s no room to recover. A skidding turn to final, a nose-high climb or a stretched glide can stall and spin; flight into terrain or obstacles can follow a distraction.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Fly the airplane first. Finish checklists and radio calls before the critical moments, and if you’re overloaded on final, go around.(Risk Management Handbook (FAA-H-8083-2A))

Before and after the touchdown

  • Complete the before-landing checklist, make the radio calls (a landing clearance at a towered airport, self-announce on the CTAF at a nontowered one), and verify you're lined up with the correct, assigned runway before landing.(FAA-S-ACS-6C, PA.IV.B.S1-S3)
  • The landing isn't over at touchdown: keep directional control and crosswind correction, hold back pressure for aerodynamic braking, lower the nosewheel gently, brake only as needed, and treat it as incomplete until you're at taxi speed and clear of the runway. Then the after-landing checklist.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), After-Landing Roll)
  • After landing, avoid incursions: clear the runway completely (past the hold line), don't cross another hold-short line without a clearance, and leave non-essential tasks until you're clear.(FAA-S-ACS-6C, PA.IV.B.S12; AC 91-73)

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches whether the approach is stable early, you hold the aim point and speed, the crosswind correction is right, the roundout is smooth, and you go around promptly when it’s not working.

4 · Ask your student

In order: recall, then understanding, then applying it. Move up only when the answer shows it.

  1. Recall · What approach speed do you use if the POH doesn’t give one?

    A strong answer: Not more than 1.3 times VSO, plus half the gust factor.

  2. Understand · Why does a stabilized approach matter?

    A strong answer: It leaves only small corrections close to the ground, so the landing is predictable. Big corrections late cause floating, hard landings, overshoots and stalls.

  3. Apply · On short final you’re 15 knots fast and high. What do you do?

    A strong answer: Go around. I can’t fix that safely in the last few hundred feet, and trying to force it on is how runway excursions and porpoising happen.

Scenarios to talk through

  • The tower offers: "Cleared to land runway 2-7, hold short of runway 3-3." You’re a student pilot. What do you say?

    Sound decision: "Unable to hold short." Student pilots shouldn’t accept LAHSO, and any pilot can decline it. The tower will give you another clearance.

  • Wind is 10 knots gusting 20. Your normal approach speed is 65 knots. What speed do you fly?

    Sound decision: Add half the gust factor: the gust factor is 10, so add 5 knots, about 70 knots, and be ready to go around.

  • Just as you touch down, a gust pushes you toward the edge of the runway. What do you do?

    Sound decision: Keep flying the airplane: more aileron into the wind and rudder to hold the centerline. If you’re not in control, add full power and go around if there’s room.

5 · Common student errors

  • Chasing the airspeed with power alone, or the glidepath with pitch alone.

    Why it matters: One control can’t fix both, so the approach oscillates.

    How to correct it: Use pitch and power together and make small, early corrections.

  • Landing with drift.

    Why it matters: Side loads on the landing gear can cause a ground loop or runway excursion.

    How to correct it: Transition from crab to sideslip in the roundout and keep the upwind wing low.

  • Forcing a bad approach.

    Why it matters: Unstable approaches cause most landing accidents.

    How to correct it: Be stabilized by 500 feet above the airport (VMC) and go around if you’re not, or if it becomes unstable below that.

6 · Completion standard

  • Approach at the POH speed, or not more than 1.3 VSO, +10/-5 knots with gust factor applied.
  • Touch down within 400 feet beyond or on the specified point, with no side drift, aligned with and over the centerline.
  • Your student answers each "Ask your student" question in their own words, up to the Apply level, without prompting.
  • They talk through the scenarios and reach a safe, legal decision, explaining why.
  • They complete the pack’s quick check and can say what they flagged.

Area trained? Close out with a practice oral focused on PA.IV.B: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.IV.B

7 · References

  • Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Takeoffs and Departure Climbs; Approaches and Landings
  • Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance; Aerodynamics of Flight
  • Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), Chapter 4 (airport operations, LAHSO) and Chapter 7 (wake turbulence)
  • AC 91-73, Single Pilot Procedures During Taxi Operations
  • Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), Area IV
  • Your airplane's POH/AFM, normal procedures, performance charts and speeds
  • Airman Certification Standards, task PA.IV.B

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Normal Approach and Landing lesson (checked against current FAA sources 2026-11-12). A study and teaching aid, not FAA guidance; teach to your own judgment and the current ACS.