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Private pilot · ACS PA.IV.M · lesson pack

Forward Slip to a Landing

Why this one matters

A pilot who arrives too high often dives at the runway, lands fast and long, and runs off the end. The forward slip is the tool for losing extra height without extra speed. Misused, low and uncoordinated near the ground, it can also cause a hard landing or a side load on the gear, so it is flown with discipline.

1 · Know these cold

  • •A forward slip steepens the descent without increasing airspeed: use it when you’re too high on final, especially without flaps.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Lower one wing with aileron and apply opposite rudder; the nose points away from the low wing while the track stays aligned with the runway. Bank sets how much you slip (and so the descent angle), rudder holds the heading and track, and pitch holds the airspeed.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •In a crosswind, slip with the upwind wing low.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Check the POH for slip limitations: some airplanes restrict slips with flaps extended, and low fuel can unport a tank in a prolonged slip.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • •The airspeed indicator can read wrong in a slip; fly the attitude, and use the pitch you know.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Before touchdown the nose must be aligned with the runway. With no crosswind, take the slip out and land coordinated. In a crosswind, transition to a sideslip (upwind wing low, opposite rudder holding the nose straight) and hold it through touchdown, landing on the upwind main wheel first. Never touch down crabbed or drifting.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Touch down within 400 feet beyond your point, aligned with the centerline and no drift.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.M.S8)

2 · The lesson

What a slip does, and when
  • The slip exposes the side of the fuselage to the airflow, adding drag, so the descent steepens without the airspeed increasing.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Use it when you’re too high on final and more flaps aren’t available or appropriate, or for a forced landing to an off-field spot.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Energy management: the slip trades height for drag, not speed. It's a planned correction from a stabilized approach, not a salvage maneuver: if a slip at approach speed on track isn't bringing the aiming point back, or the approach is unstable at any point, go around rather than steepening it, pulling, or carrying a full slip into the flare.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Modulate it: more bank gives more slip and a steeper descent, up to the practical limit where full opposite rudder is reached with aileron still available. Rudder holds the heading and ground track; pitch holds the airspeed. Don't use bank as the track control.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • The technique, for the demonstration: checklist done, power to idle abeam the landing point, flaps usually up, and slip on downwind, base or final as needed, with coordinated (not slipping) turns to base and final. Enter by lowering the wing (into the wind in a crosswind) with simultaneous opposite rudder and a slight nose-up to hold speed; exit by leveling the wings while releasing the rudder and readjusting pitch, all smoothly together.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.M.S3, S5, S6)
Wind and conditions
  • In a crosswind, slip with the upwind wing low: the slip also corrects for the drift. Before touchdown, transition to a sideslip: rudder brings the nose in line with the runway, the low wing stops the drift, and you hold that cross-control through the touchdown and rollout, adding aileron as the airplane slows.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • High density altitude means higher groundspeed: plan the approach and touchdown with that in mind.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)
  • Choose the touchdown point and path for the wind, runway length and obstacles, and know your airplane’s slip limits.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Slip hazards
  • Some POHs restrict or prohibit slips with flaps extended, for example because airflow over the tail can cause buffeting or a nose-down pitch. Follow your airplane’s limitations.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • In a prolonged slip with a low fuel tank, fuel can move away from the outlet: some POHs limit slip duration. Watch the airspeed: pitot-static position errors can make the indicator unreliable in a slip.(Your airplane's POH/AFM)
  • Touching down with the longitudinal axis misaligned or drifting puts side loads on the gear and can cause a ground loop. Align the nose before touchdown: coordinated in calm wind, in a sideslip in a crosswind (a crosswind sideslip is cross-controlled on purpose; that's correct, not crossed up).(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • If the slip leaves you unstable on short final, go around.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • A slip is deliberate cross-controlled flight close to the ground. Don't pull to stretch it, and don't slip through the turn from base to final: a cross-control stall can roll toward the low wing with no height to recover. If the speed decays or you feel buffet, reduce the angle of attack, take out the slip, and go around.(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))

Want it all on one page, with scenarios? Read the full lesson.

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Maintain a ground track aligned with the runway center or landing path.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.M.S9)
  • Touch down at a proper pitch attitude, within 400 feet beyond or on the specified point, with no side drift, and with the longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway center or landing path.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.M.S8)
  • And the steps before it: the checklist, radio calls, a flightpath planned for altitude, wind, terrain and obstructions, the most suitable touchdown point, downwind flown parallel to the runway, the correct configuration, and the slip correlated with the crosswind with a transition to a sideslip.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.M.S1-S7)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches whether the track stays aligned with the runway, you hold a steady pitch attitude, you use the upwind wing in a crosswind, and the nose is aligned at touchdown: coordinated in calm wind, held in a sideslip on the upwind wheel in a crosswind.

3 · Say it out loud

Answer each one out loud, then check yourself and mark how it went.

  1. Remember Recall it

    “What does a forward slip do?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why is the upwind wing lowered in a crosswind slip?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “You’re 300 feet too high on a mile final, with full flaps already out. What do you do?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Letting the nose drop in the slip.

    Airspeed increases, defeating the purpose.

    Instead: Hold the pitch attitude for approach speed.

  • Letting the track drift off the centerline.

    The slip should only change the descent, not the direction of travel.

    Instead: Hold the heading and track with rudder, and the slip amount with bank.

  • Adding power while trying to lose altitude.

    It defeats the slip.

    Instead: Power at idle for the demonstration; manage the descent with the amount of slip.

  • Slipping in the same direction as the crosswind.

    The low wing should be into the wind; the wrong way adds drift.

    Instead: Lower the upwind wing.

  • Trusting the airspeed indicator in a slip, or poor glidepath control.

    Pitot-static position error makes it read wrong; the path gets away from you.

    Instead: Hold the pitch attitude you know for approach speed, and watch the aiming point.

  • A late change to the sideslip, or landing off the centerline.

    You touch down drifting, misaligned, or beside the centerline.

    Instead: Transition early and land with the axis aligned with and over the centerline.

  • Touching down with the nose not aligned.

    A forward slip at touchdown loads the gear sideways.

    Instead: Align the nose early enough: coordinated in calm wind, a sideslip held through touchdown in a crosswind.

  • Taking out all the cross-control in a crosswind flare.

    The airplane starts drifting just as the wheels touch.

    Instead: Keep the upwind wing low and the nose straight with rudder through touchdown and rollout.

5 · Quick check

Answer, then reveal. Flag anything you want to see again.

  1. 1. In a forward slip, where does the nose point?

  2. 2. Which wing is lowered in a crosswind slip?

  3. 3. Why might a POH restrict slips with flaps?

  4. 4. Why can a prolonged slip be a fuel problem?

  5. 5. What is the touchdown tolerance?

  6. Scenario6. Still too high after a slip at 200 feet. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice forward slip to a landing out loud with our examiner.

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Connect it

One situation that runs across this lesson and its neighbors in the same ACS area. Decide first, then check.

Connect it · Takeoffs, Landings & Go-Arounds

A 2,200-foot grass strip, wet after rain, with trees off the departure end. You land there, then leave an hour later.

Which techniques does each part of the visit call for, and where are your go-around and abort points? Decide, then see the worked answer

Decide before you go. Work both numbers from the POH: the landing distance on wet grass, and the takeoff distance to clear the trees on departure. Compare both with the 2,200 feet, with margin. Many POHs publish only a dry-grass correction, or none at all; where there's no wet-grass figure, add a conservative margin of your own. If the departure won't fit, don't land there. Arriving: fly a stabilized approach and pick a go-around point; if you're not on speed and on spot by then, go around rather than float down a short, soft runway. Land soft-field style: carry a little power through the roundout and touchdown, touch down nose-high at minimum controllable speed with minimum sink, hold the nosewheel off, keep your momentum, and avoid wheel braking. Leaving: this is a soft-field takeoff and climb with an obstacle. Keep moving onto the runway and lift off with soft-field technique; the short-field brake-hold-and-rotate procedure isn't used on wet grass. Accelerate in ground effect, then climb at Vx over the trees. From short-field technique only two things carry over: use all the runway available, and the Vx obstacle climb. Brief a concrete abort point before you roll; a common rule of thumb is about 70% of liftoff speed by the runway midpoint. Wet grass brakes poorly, so allow for a longer stop. If you don't have it by then, abort straight ahead.

AFH (FAA-H-8083-3C), Takeoffs and Departure Climbs, Approaches and Landings; PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance

Brings together: Soft-Field Takeoff and Climb · Soft-Field Approach and Landing · Go-Around/Rejected Landing

Teaching this? The instructor lesson plan →

Study aid, not FAA guidance. Sources: Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C); Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C); Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM); AC 91-73; Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C); Your airplane's POH/AFM. Checked against current sources 2026-11-12.