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

Soft-Field Approach and Landing

Why this one matters

On a soft surface a firm touchdown or a dropped nosewheel can dig in, bend the nose gear or flip the airplane. A stop in mud or snow can strand you or need dangerous power to move. Landing slowly and gently, and keeping the weight on the wings, protects the airplane and the people in it.

1 · Know these cold

  • •Carry some power through the roundout and touchdown: fly 1 to 2 feet off the surface in ground effect as speed dissipates, and touch down nose-high at minimum controllable airspeed with minimum sink.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Keep the nosewheel off the surface as long as the elevator allows, then lower it gently.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.D.S9)
  • •Keep back pressure and avoid braking on the soft surface; keep enough speed to roll off it without stopping.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Fly the manufacturer's published approach speed; only if none is published, not more than 1.3 VSO. Either way, +10/-5 knots with the gust factor applied, and the recommended flaps.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.D.S7)
  • •A stabilized approach still comes first: go around if it isn’t working.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Soft surfaces hide ruts and holes: look at the strip before landing, and know its condition from the Chart Supplement or the operator.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • •Soft- and short-field landings are near opposites after touchdown. Soft: little or no braking, nosewheel held off. Short: aerodynamic braking with back pressure first, then flaps up as the POH directs to put weight on the wheels, then maximum braking. Short-field braking habits on a soft surface dig in the nosewheel.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)

2 · The lesson

The approach
  • Fly a normal stabilized approach at the POH speed with the recommended flaps. Energy management is the same: right speed, right path, small corrections.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • High density altitude means a higher groundspeed at the same indicated airspeed: a longer float and roll.(PHAK (FAA-H-8083-25C), Aircraft Performance)
  • Crab on final and sideslip in the flare to touch down without drift.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Choose the firmest, longest part of the strip, into the wind, and plan to keep rolling and leave the soft area at a speed that won't let the airplane sink in, stopping only on firm ground.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Fly the ACS steps where they happen: the checklist, the radio calls, lined up with the correct runway, a scan of the runway and surroundings for traffic and obstructions, and a touchdown point chosen for the wind, surface and obstacles, with an aiming point before it.(FAA-S-ACS-6C, PA.IV.D.S1-S5)
  • Energy management as a picture: on a stabilized approach the aiming point stays fixed in the windshield, and you touch down beyond it after the roundout and float. Airspeed is kinetic energy, altitude potential; manage them with power and pitch together. If the aiming point moves, the speed is off, or the configuration isn't set by short final, go around early rather than stretch a low approach with pitch.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Bound the hold-off: before final, pick a touchdown zone and a hard go-around point. Hold 1 to 2 feet over that zone only; not on the ground by the go-around point, for any reason including a gusty float, means full power and go around while there's runway and climb performance left.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
Touchdown and rollout
  • Power is the defining technique: carry a degree of power throughout the roundout and touchdown. Hold the airplane 1 to 2 feet above the surface in ground effect as speed dissipates, and touch down at the lowest possible airspeed in a nose-high attitude, using power to cushion the touchdown and control the transfer of weight from the wings to the wheels, with minimum sink.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • After touchdown, use back pressure and power together to control the weight transfer: keep the nosewheel off as long as the elevator allows, then add a little power to ease it down gently.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Approaches and Landings)
  • Keep the elevator back during the rollout and taxi, and avoid braking: keep enough speed to get off the soft area.(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))
Common errors, flaps, crosswind and tailwheels
  • The power error chain: closing the throttle abruptly in the roundout removes the cushion, so the airplane sinks at once and lands hard; too much power, or rounding out too high, gives a balloon and a long float, then a stall and drop-in. Keep a hand on the throttle and make small, smooth power changes through touchdown, and watch for a high descent rate.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Soft-Field Approach and Landing)
  • Flaps: leave them exactly as you landed until you're off the soft area; don't retract them during the rollout, and keep your attention on direction and weight transfer. Flaps help you touch down slower, but on low-wing airplanes mud, stones or slush thrown up by the wheels can damage them: check the POH and the field first.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Soft-Field Approach and Landing)
  • Crosswind: change progressively from the crab to a wing-low sideslip before touchdown (not so high or early that you drift), so you touch down on the upwind main wheel first, aligned with no drift; then lower the downwind wheel and the nosewheel under control while adding aileron into the wind.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Crosswind Approach and Landing)
  • The nosewheel model is for tricycle-gear airplanes. In a tailwheel airplane the risk is the main wheels digging in and a nose-over: once the tailwheel is down, hold the stick fully aft.(Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3C), Soft-Field Approach and Landing)

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

On the flight

ACS standards

  • Approach at the manufacturer's published speed, or not more than 1.3 VSO if none is published, +10/-5 knots with the gust factor applied.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.D.S7)
  • Touch down at a proper pitch attitude with minimum sink rate, no side drift, aligned with the centerline.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.D.S10)
  • Hold the elevator as the manufacturer recommends during the rollout and leave the soft area at a speed that prevents sinking in; go around promptly if the approach can't be flown within tolerances or isn't safe; keep the controls positioned and enough speed to taxi while on the soft surface.(Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C), PA.IV.D.S11-S13)

What your instructor is watching for

Your instructor watches for a stable approach, a gentle touchdown at the lowest speed, the nosewheel held off, no braking on the soft surface, and continuous movement to firm ground.

3 · Say it out loud

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

  1. Remember Recall it

    “How do you touch down on a soft field?”

  2. Understand Explain why

    “Why keep the nosewheel off and avoid braking?”

  3. Apply Use it on a flight

    “You land on a muddy strip and feel the airplane slowing quickly. What do you do?”

4 · Common mistakes

  • Letting the nosewheel drop.

    It can dig in and damage the gear or flip the airplane.

    Instead: Keep increasing back pressure as speed decays.

  • Braking on the soft surface.

    The wheels dig in and the airplane can stop or nose over.

    Instead: Let drag slow you; keep moving to firm ground.

  • Touching down fast.

    A fast, firm touchdown loads the gear and lengthens the roll.

    Instead: Fly the right approach speed, carry some power, and hold off to minimum controllable airspeed.

5 · Quick check

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

  1. 1. What is the goal at touchdown on a soft field?

  2. 2. When does the nosewheel come down?

  3. 3. Should you brake hard after a soft-field landing?

  4. 4. What role does power play in a soft-field landing?

  5. 5. What approach speed applies on the checkride?

  6. Scenario6. You start sinking into soft ground on the rollout. What do you do?

Trained it? Now prove it: practice soft-field approach and 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.