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4 Answers

When to start pitching for airspeed

Asked by: 3820 views Aerodynamics, Flight Instructor

Do you teach your students to start pitching for airspeed while abeam the touchdown point or while on final? 

I would think that you should pitch for airspeed only while on final because that is the only leg when you’re flying in the region of reverse command, but I wouldn’t want to confuse people.

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4 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Jun 16, 2022

    I teach pitching for airspeed all the way around the pattern. Abeam, it’s pitch for that first airspeed reduction, trim it off, and rude it down. When I demonstrate it I let go of the yoke to show how well it holds airspeed. Maintain that pitch through the incremental flap extensions and airspeed will decrease with the associated drag.with small power changes to control the descent. So many light piston pilots work way too hard and do way too much.

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  2. Bryan on Jun 16, 2022

    I’m similar to Mark. But I don’t like the idea of teaching that certain actions are only done in certain places–especially anything that comes close to stall/spin awareness and avoidance.

    To me, it’s a bit like a pilot who learns to turn base over the high school at his “home” airport but can’t judge when to make the base turn at any other airport. We teach slow flight and operation in the region of reverse command so that when a student finds themselves in that situation, intentionally or not, they have practiced controlling the plane under those conditions and can do so safely.

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  3. Brian on Jul 05, 2022

    “I would think that you should pitch for airspeed only while on final because that is the only leg when you’re flying in the region of reverse command“

    But are you really? You may want to test this out at altitude. Fly level at about 65 with full flaps. Pitch up a small amount and see if you start climbing or sinking.

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  4. Warren Webb Jr on Jul 21, 2022

    The region of reversed command doesn’t have anything to do with pitching to airspeed, but a LOT of people think it does. Check Figure 11-14 pg 11-12 in the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (link below). From maximum speed down to best glide speed, drag reduces. From best glide speed down to minimum speed, drag increases (and rather rapidly) – hence the term Region of Reversed Command. I’ve never pitched to airspeed on approaches even once – 47 years experience. When everyone gets to the runway to flare, don’t they reduce power and then hold altitude just above the runway with the elevator? That’s pitching to altitude, not airspeed.

    Try this experiment that I did. For example, in a C172 with a best glide speed of 65, fly level with flaps up at 85, 75, 65, 55, and 45. Jot down the rpm at each of those speeds. My results showed less power required at 75 than 85, less at 65 than 75, more at 55 than 65, and more at 45 than 55, exactly following the power required curve on Chart 11-14 in the Handbook.

    The importance of understanding this concept is that because induced drag goes up fast nearing minimum speed, and when you apply back pressure, you have to be sure that sufficient power is being applied to overcome this drag and avoid a loss of airspeed. For example, if the airplane gets low on the approach, the correct action is to apply power “to maintain the airspeed while the pitch attitude is raised to increase lift and stop the descent” (Airplane Flying Handbook pg 9-30). Normally this involves relatively small increases in power and pitch. This of course does not mean the pilot can add power and raise the pitch in an unlimited way to control altitude. Every airplane has it’s limitations which should by then be well understood – for a Skyhawk flaps up at full power, the most the pitch can be raised without a loss of airspeed is to about positive 10 degrees – with flaps down, much less than that. The maximum force in any airplane against a downdraft would be to apply full power and pitch for Vx.

    With that said, pitching to airspeed would be obviously correct for go-arounds (follow the POH), climbs, engine failures, or partial engine failures when the engine cannot maintain the desired speed.

    (https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/13_phak_ch11.pdf)

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