Right, let's pick this up as we touch the landing surface — Page 273, Lesson 341

Right, let's pick this up as we touch the landing surface. We've got the aeroplane descending through the screen height, and now we're into the final part of the landing. The first thing I want you to understand is that the landing is split into two distinct sections. The first is the airborne section, which is usually given as being about 1000 ft in length. That's the distance from the screen height down to the point of touchdown. Within that airborne section, certain critical actions take place. As the aeroplane descends through the screen height, the thrust is reduced to zero, and the pitch attitude is increased slightly, so the aeroplane is in a slight nose-up attitude. Now, why do we do that? The increase in pitch attitude helps to arrest the rate of descent — it stops the aeroplane from sinking too fast. And the reduction in thrust to zero reduces the speed. This procedure of reducing thrust and increasing pitch is known as the landing flare, although other terms like "roundout" are commonly used. The landing flare will allow the aeroplane to touch down onto the runway using the main wheels first. Now, an important point: the technique of flaring the aeroplane differs from one aeroplane to another, and especially so between light general aviation aeroplanes and large commercial jet airliners. So don't think of it as one fixed manoeuvre — the flare is tailored to the type. The second part of the landing is the ground run, also called the ground roll or the landing roll. This is the distance covered from touchdown until the aeroplane comes to a full stop. As with the airborne section, there are a few critical actions carried out here too. Once the main wheels have settled onto the landing surface, reverse thrust and lift spoilers can be activated. Then, as the speed decreases further, the nose wheel will settle onto the landing surface. Braking force is now applied, and the aeroplane will slow to a stop. But here's a key operational point: in normal operations, the aeroplane does not stop on the runway. Rather, the aeroplane is slowed to a safe speed where it can then be steered off the runway and taxied to the disembarkation point or ramp. So the landing roll ends at a safe taxi speed, not at a full stop on the runway itself. Let me just make sure you've got the sequence of the ground run clear: main wheels settle, then reverse thrust and lift spoilers are activated, then as speed decreases the nose wheel settles, then braking force is applied, and the aeroplane slows to a safe speed to exit the runway. That's the landing roll in normal operations.