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The ailerons serve the same purpose on the ground as they do in the air—they change the lift and drag components of the wings. During the after-landing roll, they are used to keep the wings level in much the same way they are used in flight. If a wing starts to rise, aileron control is applied toward that wing to lower it. The amount required depends on speed because as the forward speed of the airplane decreases, the ailerons become less effective. Procedures for using ailerons in crosswind conditions are explained further in this chapter, in the Crosswind Approach and Landing section. 

After the airplane is on the ground, back-elevator pressure is gradually relaxed to place weight on the nose wheel to aid in better steering. If available runway permits, the speed of the airplane is allowed to dissipate in a normal manner. Once the airplane has slowed sufficiently and has turned on to the taxiway and stopped, retract the flaps and perform the after- landing checklist. Many accidents have occurred as a result of the pilot unintentionally operating the landing gear control and retracting the gear instead of the flap control when the airplane was still rolling. The habit of positively identifying both of these controls, before actuating them, must be formed from the very beginning of flight training and continued in all future flying activities. 

## Stabilized Approach Concept 

A stabilized approach is one in which the pilot establishes and maintains a constant angle glide path towards a predetermined point on the landing runway. It is based on the pilot’s judgment of certain visual clues and depends on the maintenance of a constant final descent airspeed and configuration. 

An airplane descending on final approach at a constant rate and airspeed is traveling in a straight line toward a spot on the ground ahead. This spot is not the spot on which the airplane 

touches down because some float occurs during the round out (flare).  [Figure 8-9]  Neither is it the spot toward which the airplane’s nose is pointed because the airplane is flying at a fairly high AOA, and the component of lift exerted parallel to the Earth’s surface by the wings tends to carry the airplane forward horizontally. 

The point toward which the airplane is progressing is termed the “aiming point.” [Figure 8-9]  It is the point on the ground at which, if the airplane maintains a constant glide path and was not flared for landing, it would strike the ground. To a pilot moving straight ahead toward an object, it appears to be stationary. It does not appear to move under the nose of the aircraft and does not appear to move forward away from the aircraft. This is how the aiming point can be distinguished—it does not move. However, objects in front of and beyond the aiming point do appear to move as the distance is closed, and they appear to move in opposite directions. During instruction in landings, one of the most important skills a pilot must acquire is how to use visual cues to accurately determine the true aiming point from any distance out on final approach. From this, the pilot is not only able to determine if the glide path results in either an under or overshoot but, taking into account float during round out, the pilot is able to predict the touchdown point to within a few feet. 

For a constant angle glide path, the distance between the horizon and the aiming point remains constant. If a final approach descent is established and the distance between the perceived aiming point and the horizon appears to increase (aiming point moving down away from the horizon), then the true aiming point, and subsequent touchdown point, is farther down the runway. If the distance between the perceived aiming point and the horizon decreases, meaning that the aiming point is moving up toward the horizon, the true aiming point is closer than perceived. 

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