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

Short-Field Approach and Landing

Student pack: Train: Short-Field Approach and Landing · Full lesson: Prepare guide

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1 · Objective

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

Why it matters for safety: Short runways punish small errors: a few knots fast and the airplane floats past the stopping point; too slow and it drops in short. Overruns and hard landings on short fields often start with an approach that wasn’t precise. Disciplined speed and a firm go-around rule keep the runway in front of you.

2 · Assign before the lesson

Pre-work: the free Train pack, Short-Field Approach and Landing. A steep, precise approach at the right speed, a touchdown within 200 feet of your point, and maximum braking.

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

3 · Teach sequence

Key points to land

Fly the POH short-field approach speed precisely, usually with full flaps; with no published speed, not more than 1.3 VSO. Add half the gust factor (gust minus steady wind: 10 gusting 20 is a 10-knot factor, so add 5) and fly that as the target; +10/-5 knots is the tolerance, not the target.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.F.S7)
A stabilized, steeper approach lets you clear obstacles and touch down on your point with little float. Pitch holds the airspeed and power controls the descent path: if low or obstacle clearance looks doubtful, add power to fix the path while pitching to hold the target speed; if high or long, reduce power while holding the speed. Never raise the nose to stretch toward the runway, and go around if the correction destabilizes the approach.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Touch down at, but not before, your point and no more than 200 feet beyond it, at the recommended speed, with no drift and minimum float. Short of the point is also unsatisfactory.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.F.S10)
After touchdown, in order: aerodynamic braking with back pressure if the POH recommends it; then retract the flaps as the POH directs (after identifying the control) to put weight on the wheels; then maximum braking short of a skid, with back pressure held. On wet or grass surfaces, modulate the braking: wheels lock and tires hydroplane more easily.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.F.S11; AFH)
Even a few knots too fast adds a lot of float and roll; too slow risks a stall with a high sink rate.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Stabilized by 500 feet AGL (VFR): landing configuration, target speed, on centerline and path, sink no more than about 1,000 fpm, power set, checklists done. If anything is missing there, or you won’t touch down on your point, go around early.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings; AC 91-79)
Run the POH landing distance for the conditions, and add a margin.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)

Energy and the approach

Kinetic energy rises with the square of speed: a few extra knots means much more float and stopping distance.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Set up a stabilized approach early with the POH flaps and speed. Hold the target speed with pitch and the path with power: if obstacle clearance looks doubtful, add power while pitching to keep the speed; if you’ll land long, reduce power while keeping the speed. Raising the nose to stretch the glide at high angle of attack and low speed slows you and increases the descent rate. If a correction destabilizes the approach, go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
High density altitude and tailwinds increase groundspeed and landing distance; use the POH charts.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)
In a crosswind, change from the crab to a wing-low sideslip during final, before the flare (wing into the wind, opposite rudder, axis aligned with the centerline), hold it through the flare to touch down on the upwind main wheel first, and keep adding aileron into the wind during the rollout. Choose a runway with enough length into the wind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Pick the touchdown point for the wind, surface and obstructions, then aim the stabilized descent at a point before it, so the roundout carries you to touchdown on, or within 200 feet beyond, the point.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.F.S5, S10)
The ACS steps on the way in: the checklist, the radio calls, lined up with the correct runway, a scan of the runway and surroundings for traffic and obstructions; and after landing, runway incursion avoidance (clear the runway, no hold line crossed without a clearance).(FAA-S-ACS-6C, PA.IV.F.S1-S4)

Touchdown and stopping

Begin a short roundout so the airplane touches down at minimum float on or within 200 feet beyond the point.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Touch down at the proper pitch attitude at the POH recommended speed, on the main wheels with minimum float, power to idle once the obstacles are cleared. (Touching down at minimum controllable airspeed is the soft-field technique, not this one.) After touchdown, hold a positive pitch attitude for aerodynamic braking while the elevator is effective, if the POH recommends it. Then retract the flaps as the POH directs (identify the control first) to put weight on the wheels, and with the nosewheel down apply maximum braking just short of a skid while holding the wheel back (braking pitches the nose down; back pressure keeps weight on the mains).(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Soft- and short-field landings are near opposites after touchdown: short field is aerodynamic braking first, then flaps up per the POH, then maximum braking with back pressure; soft field is little or no braking with the nosewheel held off.(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))

The go-around and LAHSO

Flying the go-around: full power, pitch to stop the descent and establish a climb attitude, flaps up in stages (never all at once at low speed), confirm a positive climb, VX until any obstacles are clear, then VY, and gear and flaps per the POH.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Go-Around)
LAHSO: ATC may issue it only with a ceiling of at least 1,000 feet and visibility of at least 3 miles; decline it below those (or whenever you're unsure). The available landing distances are in the Chart Supplement, and the controller will give them on request. Read back the hold-short clearance.(AIM 4-3-11)
Wake turbulence, the second case: landing behind a larger airplane that is departing, touch down well before its rotation point.(AIM 7-4-6)

Watch for in the airplane: Your instructor watches for precise approach speed, a stable descent to the point, minimum float, and correct flap and braking technique after touchdown, and that you go around when the approach isn’t right.

4 · Ask your student

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

Recall · What is the touchdown tolerance for a short-field landing?
A strong answer: At, but not before, the specified point, and no more than 200 feet beyond it.
Understand · Why is a few knots of extra speed a big deal on a short field?
A strong answer: Kinetic energy goes up with the square of speed, so extra speed means a longer float and a longer stopping distance.
Apply · On short final over the trees, you’re 10 knots fast. What do you do?
A strong answer: Go around. I’d float well past my point and might not stop on the runway.

Scenarios to talk through

A 2,200-foot runway with a 10-knot tailwind and no other runway. How do you decide whether to land?
Sound decision: Run the POH landing chart with the tailwind correction and add a margin. A tailwind greatly increases the landing roll; if it’s close, go to another airport.
On the rollout, the wheels lock and the airplane starts to skid. What do you do?
Sound decision: Release brake pressure until the wheels roll again, then reapply firmly but without locking. A skidding tire brakes less and can blow.
The approach is low, and you’re adding power and pulling up to make the runway. What’s the risk?
Sound decision: Pulling up to stretch toward the runway slows the airplane near obstacles and risks a stall and hitting them. Add power to rejoin the path while pitching to hold the target speed, early; if that destabilizes the approach, go around.
Tower offers you land and hold short of an intersecting runway, leaving 3,000 feet of available landing distance. Can you accept?
Sound decision: Only if you know you can land and stop within the published available landing distance, and you decline if you’re a student pilot, unfamiliar with LAHSO, or anything compromises safety ("unable"). Once accepted, you must hold short.

5 · Common student errors

Carrying extra speed "for safety".
Why it matters: It lengthens the float and landing roll, which is unsafe on a short field.
How to correct it: Fly the published speed precisely, adding only half the gust factor.
A long flare.
Why it matters: Floating uses up the runway you need to stop.
How to correct it: A short roundout at the right speed, with minimum float.
Lowering the nose and braking without back pressure.
Why it matters: Braking pitches the nose down and takes weight off the mains, so the brakes do less.
How to correct it: Hold the wheel full back while braking, and retract flaps only as the POH says.

6 · Completion standard

Approach at the POH speed or not more than 1.3 VSO, +10/-5 knots with gust factor applied.
Touch down at, but not before, the specified point and no more than 200 feet beyond it, with no side drift and minimum float, aligned with 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.F: pilotprep.pro/exam?exam=PPL&focus=PA.IV.F

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.F

PilotPrep instructor lesson plan, from the Short-Field 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.