has slowed down to a safer speed . By maintaining back pressure on the yoke , you can hold the nose off until you ’ ve reached that safer speed , and your nose wheel will thank you .
You also want to be very gentle on the brakes . On many soft field landings , because of the soft surface , you don ’ t need to use brakes at all . If you ’ re too aggressive on the brakes , your nose wheel tends to touchdown earlier and harder than you want .
get comfortable with them . Here are some of the more common problems you ’ ll want to consider before you head out to the airplane to start practicing them :
Too fast of a descent rate , causing a hard touchdown Too much airspeed , causing excessive float Unstabilized approach , making it hard to touchdown smoothly Allowing the nose wheel to touchdown early , causing excessive stress on the nose wheel Putting It All Together Now that you have all the details you need to nail a soft-field landing , we have one last question : when are you heading out to the airport to practice ?
Once you ’ ve touched the nose down , you ’ ll want to maintain back pressure ( typically full back pressure ) as you continue your rollout and taxi , minimizing weight on the nose . Keep the back pressure in until you ’ ve reached a harder surface , or when you ’ ve stopped to park .
Then , when you ’ re parked , take a moment to pat yourself on the back for a job well done on your soft field landing .
Common Problems With Soft Field Landings Soft field landings can take some practice before you