Excess airspeed at landing is just as undesira- 
ble as a deficiency of airspeed. An cxccssivc 
airspeed at landing will produce an undesirable 
increase in landing distance and the energy to 
be dissipated by the brakes for the field landing 
or excessive arresting loads for theshipboard 
landing. In addition, the excess airspeed is a 
corollary of too low an angle of attack and the 
airplane may contact the deck or runway nose 
wheel first and cause damage to the nose wheel 
or begin a porpoising of the airplane. During 
a flare to landing, any excess speed will be 
difficult to dissipate due to the reduction of 
drag due to ground effect. Thus, if the air- 
plane is held off with excess airspeed the air- 
plane will “float” with the consequence of a 
barrier engagement, barricade engagement, 
bolter, or considerable runway distance used 
before touchdown. 
A fundamental requirement for a good land- 
ing is a well planned and executed approach. 
The possibility of errors during the landing 
process is minimized when the airplane is 
brought to the point of touchdown with the 
proper glide path and airspeed. With the 
proper approach, there is no need for drastic 
changes in the flight path, angle of attack, or 
power setting to accomplish touchdown at the 
intended point on the deck or runway. Late 
corrections to line up with the deck or diving 
for the deck are common errors which eventu- 
ally result in landing accidents. Accurate 
control of airspeed and glide path are ab- 
solutely necessary and the LSO, angle of attack 
indicator, and the mirror landing system pro- 
vide great assistance in accurate control of the 
airplane. 
THE TAKEOFF 
As in the case of landing, the specific tech- 
niques necessary may vary greatly between 
various types of airplanes and various oper- 
ations but certain fundamental principles will 
be common to all airplanes and all operations. 
The specific procedures recommended for each 
airplane type must be followed exactly to 
MAVWEPS OD-BOT-80 
APPLICATION OF AERODYNAMICS 
TO SPECIFIC PROBLEMS OF FLYING 
insure a consistent, safe takeoff flying tech- 
nique. 
TAKEOFF SPEED AND DISTANCE. The 
takeoff speed of any airplane is some mini- 
mum practical airspeed which allows sufficient 
margin above stall and provides satisfactory 
control and initial rate of climb.. Depending 
on the airplane characteristics, the takeoff 
speed will be some value 5 to 25 percent above 
the stall or minimum control speed. As such, 
the takeoff will be accomplished at a certain 
value of lift coefficient and angle of attack 
specific to each airplane configuration. As 
a result, the takeoff airspeed (FAX or CM) of 
any specific airplane configuration is a function 
of the gross weight at takeoff. Too low an 
airspeed at takeoff may cause stall, lack of 
adequate control, or poor initial climb per- 
formance. An excess of speed at takeoff may 
provide better control and initial rate of climb 
but the higher speed requires additional dis- 
tance and may provide critical conditions for 
the tires. 
The takeoff distance of an airplane is affected 
by many different factors other than technique 
and, prior to takeoff, the takeoff distance 
must be determined and compared with the 
runway length available. The principal factors 
affecting the takeoff distance are as follows: 
(1) The gross weight of the airplane has 
a considerable effect on takeoff distance be- 
cause it affects both takeoff speed and ac- 
celeration during takeoff roll. 
(2) The surface winrls must be considered 
because of the powerful effect of a headwind 
or tailwind on the takeoff distance. In the 
case of the crosswind, the component of 
wind along the runway will be the effective 
headwind or tailwind velocity. In addi- 
tion, the component of wind across the run- 
way will define certain requirements of lateral 
control power and the limiting compo- 
nent wind must not be exceeded. 
(3) Pressure altitude and temperature can