Everyone seems to be a little nervous about starting this thread, so I figured I'd start. This discussion started out as hangar flying betwixt several instructors. I thought I'd share it with you.
This is what one bunch of instructors delivers as an axiom. "Works every time", they say. And they tell primary students to manage their final approach the same way. "If you are high on final, reduce power. If you are fast, pitch up."
The perfectionists say that you cannot use the previous method to maintain a unerring path to the runway, particularly when there are any updrafts and downdrafts. The student needs to maintain glideslope with pitch, correcting airspeed deviations with throttle. Only in this way can the pilot be assured of a linear glideslope.
Sure, the other team says, but that means the student is either trimming all the way or holding elevator. Besides, they say, what do the fifty feet deviations from the perfect glideslope matter?
Where do you stand? Perfect glideslope or the simple rule that works pretty well?
Robert, I would tend to agree with your take. My approach to landing is very simple: imagine that you have machine guns on the wings and you are shooting the numbers. In other words fly yourself down to the runway maintaining constant (approach) speed on the straight line between you and the numbers. To accomplish that, just like anything in aviation: “whatever it takes”. It became actually my middle name. In reality it is a little pitch and a little power control. They work together and are not exclusive. I believe we concentrate too much on mechanics of the event and not enough on what is happening out the window. Mechanics for me are the guidelines that work perfectly in the calm or constant wind conditions- outside of those: “whatever it takes” as long as we guide rather than drive the airplane.
A perfect glide path can be managed with elevator; the speed with throttle. This assumes, however that the aircraft speed never drops below Vx. If it does, then back stick will not recover lost altitude. Throttle won't necessarily result in more speed.
The rules we give students need to apply in all cases. The time they need the rules most is just when things aren't going right. Throttle for altitude and pitch for speed always works. That's the method with which we will continue.
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On another note, NAFI has launched a price war -- a big shot across our nose. If we want SAFE to be anything other than a social alternative to NAFI, we need to start developing some training materials, contacts, and dialogs that deliver value to the flight instruction community.
