I wrote that original reply... and yep, when I was learning to fly, I bought props by the bag..ha.. 5 to a bag.. cuz I was breaking them on a regular basis for quite a while. That happens, and it's better to break a prop than something else.

One other thing that I have them do is upon final, the tendency is to fly to far away, on the other side of the runway. So, I try to have them come on in, and for at least the first part of the final, to fly directly towards themselves (as someone above mentioned). It seems that once they start to do that, they begin to correct the position and land closer to the center line.. kind of automatically. Flying towards themselves seems to get them used to having the plane closer to the center line like that.

It always helps to have the instructor get the tuning right so that the idle is at idle and not 500 RPM faster. It slows down the approaches. If you ever noticed it, you can pull the engine to idle, but it won't really go to idle right away. That's because of the slipstream forcing somewhat of a windmill effect, which eventually will go away as you slow down on landing. The key is to make sure you begin to retard the throttle on the downwind leg of the approach as you lose altitude. After your turn from base to final, line up, but don't retard the throttle just yet, wait a few seconds to make sure you have the landing zone (over the runway or at least clear of anything that may cause problems under the aircraft). Then adjust your landing position using the throttle not the elevator. More throttle will extend the approach while keeping the nose down a bit. Once over the landing point, and a foot or less over the runway, flare to a landing.

But, most of you already know this..

Lining up on final with the airplane " coming at you " is advice that`s helped me too. I find that if I don`t do that I`ll likely as not land too far out. Also, I think developing a mental picture of a good approach that resulted in a well positioned landing is an excellent thing to strive for. If an approach doesn`t fit the picture, go around.

I've heard this advice from a fellow flyer at our field, but my instructor doesn't agree with it. Maybe it would have helped me more if I had tried it, as I always made the final turn much too soon. Now, finally, I'm getting the final turn more in line with the "runway". Our field has no hard strip, just grass cut short on two different strips for runways. They don't clean up the clumps of cut grass and you have to be careful you don't catch a wheel in one. I've heard the prop cut through them a couple of times.

Its all been pretty much covered but one thing I have discovered is that most inexperineced pilots cut the throttle when they are lined up to land. If the idle is set about right this results in the plane pretty much just stalling and falling to the ground and if your lucky, resembles a landing. I have learned to keep a notch or two of throttle on so that I fly the plane to the run way, then as I approach, just a foot or two above the ground, I cut the throttle, flair with the elevator and let it run out on the strip. If it is running a little hot, a little down elevator plants the nose wheel ( on a trainer) so you dont get the hop skip and jump. Once you transistion to high wing loadings and or tail draggers this really works great, the only difference is that once the main gear touches down, be careful with the down elevator to prevent a nose over. Landing is now my favorite part about flying. It is right infront of you and can be ever so graceful. I practice three pointers and two pointers and practice hitting the center of the runway .

Best regards,
Randy