Roundout

5 Answers

1. 
   

   
   

   Russ Roslewski on Oct 09, 2015

   I teach that the roundout and the flare are two separate, but connected things. I find this is easier to understand than one continuous movement from descent to flare and touchdown.

   Roundout – transition the airplane from the descent to level flight just a few feet over the runway.

   Flare – Once you’re in level flight over the runway, then you begin to increase back pressure to hold you there as your airspeed bleeds off, and eventually you touch down.

   Note that these really continue one right after the other.

   I’ve found this two-step process allows the student to focus on one task at a time. Learning to land is daunting enough, I try to split it into two more manageable pieces.

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2. 
   

   
   

   Russ Roslewski on Oct 09, 2015

   Forgot about the second question. Note I have no experience with the 162. Are you hearing the stall horn just as you touch down? If so, that’s fine – actually that’s usually a good thing.

   If you’re hearing it on final, maybe your speed is too low? That’s really a question for your instructor though. Sometimes if the wind is gusty you will hear the stall horn chirp occasionally on final also, but it shouldn’t be a continuous tone down final.

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3. 
   

   
   

   hassan95 on Oct 09, 2015

   Yes Sir Russ, every time i come in for a landing i hear this stall horn just before the touchdown, it’s like when i am over 40 to 50 feet above the runway. When i heard it for the first time, i thought my plane was going to stall, so i told ATC that i\’ll go around and i went around. Is this thing normal? cause i didn’t hear this stall horn in 172.

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4. 
   

   
   

   Kris Kortokrax on Oct 09, 2015

   Your first question seems to concern the terminology. In Chapter 8 of the Airplane Flying Handbook, there is a discussion about approach and landing. On page 8-5, the roundout is discussed. The FAA uses the terms roundout and flare synonymously. Examples such as “Roundout (Flare)” and “roundout/flare” appear on the page. They also use the word flare in some PTS books and roundout in others. They are not separate maneuvers.

   Having said that, if describing the process as two distinct phases works to help your student learn the maneuver, go ahead. The main goal is to help the student learn.

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5. 
   

   
   

   Christopher Ian on Aug 05, 2017

   Roundout and flare are mutually exclusive, neither are required nor dependent on the other.
   Just watched a small jet approach and land, nose high attitude on all of final, high angle of attack, let the nose down, less angle of attack, less lift, jet settled quietly on the runway.
   No roundout or flare.
   More typical, small single engine or glider, approach nose low, in descent, between 3′ to 5′ above runway, level off to fly above the runway, Roundout, letting your energy dissipate, aircraft sinking closer to the runway, as aircraft sink increases, pull back on the stick/ yoke- Flare, to increase angle of attack, increase lift, slow sink and try to stall the aircraft a few inches above the runway.
   If you are stalling, and hear a stall horn 40-50 feet above the runway, you are DANGEROUS and should seek more training.
   Yes, it is possible to maneuver from nose down descent, through roundout to flare without flying level over the runway. You might call this one motion.
   More important, the roundout stops your descent progressing to level flight.
   The flare increases angle of attack and increases lift, slowing your vertical descent in a nose high attitude, AND slowing your forward speed, keeping your nose wheel UP (tricycle gear) so you don’t land ON THE NOSEwheel.
   In taildragger, this allows a three point landing, touching on main gear and tailwheel simultaneously.

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