Flying Fails: My Landing Debacle at San Luis Obispo Airport

On this VFR flight to Saint Louis Obispo airport, I encountered a series of mistakes that I'm eager to address and learn from. Join me as I take a close look at the errors I made during my journey. The first and most notable mistake was failing to calculate my descent requirements accurately. As a result, I found myself needing to increase my descent rate to over 500 FT/Min, which could have been avoided with proper planning. But the errors didn't stop there. In this video, I delve into a comprehensive analysis of my mistakes and the valuable lessons I've learned from them.
To assist in the understanding of my descent miscalculation, I've created a spreadsheet that you can access here: docs.google.co.... This spreadsheet provides a detailed breakdown of the calculations and serves as a useful reference.

[@jimmydulin928]

Traffic around big airports tends to be high. Getting down earlier should not present problems. Forced landing from a couple thousand feet in that area, most areas, would be safe. You were actually in good shape when you applied full flaps. Getting as slow, on short final, as we are comfortable with brings the throttle into dynamic play as the best glide angle and rate of descent control. It is a control. Move it. Get into a pitch attitude on final so that adding power mostly slows rate of descent and does not increase airspeed so much. Your airplane is slick, it doesn't pull a lot of air like a Cessna. Full flaps and even speed brakes would make it more manageable. Good job staying with it and getting down on the long runway. Many say go around. Not this old crop duster. Go around is becoming the probable cause in many fatalities these days. If runway is available, land the airplane. And always fly the airplane, even on go around. It should not be a go crazy, go up, deal. Just fly the airplane normally.

[@interceptflight]

This is a very interesting feedback and thank for sharing it. I wasn't aware that going around have caused fatalities in the past. I wonder what happened?

[@jimmydulin928]

@@interceptflight The probable cause is usually loss of control, but trying to get up quickly on go around starts the scenario. Airplanes with big engines have P factor left roll problems at slow airspeed. Less powerful airplanes do not climb rapidly, nor do they need to. Again, go around should trigger what we do when slow and near the ground. Level the airplane or even pitch down to maintain flight. When too low to recover from inadvertent stall after startle delay, airspeed and not altitude is life. The only time, while low, airspeed is a problem is on short final to touchdown. This is where deceleration, where the throttle comes into play as the best glide angle and rate of descent control. We need to go as fast as possible on takeoff and go around, but as slow as practicable on landing. That is why the free energy of ground effect is so important on takeoff or late go around. That is why deceleration coming into ground effect, not after getting into ground effect is the best energy management on landing. Larger engines, even in smaller airplanes, these days are unsafely orienting pilots away from good energy management both on takeoff and on landing. Look at the LOC and stall stats for those that start with go around.

[@interceptflight]

Aha, I see your point. Energy management is super important indeed. Appreciate your feedback.

[@johnbomba4338]

No “along track offset” on that version of Garmin? Nothing wrong with manual but if you have it…..

[@interceptflight]

Am not familiar with that option, I'll check with my instructor.

[@ahmadsamadzai8255]

Forward slip to landing or go around.

[@interceptflight]

Yeah going around on short final would have been correct.

[@chakriavala9925]

Go around

[@interceptflight]

Correct, would have been the right thing to do.

[@LtGunz]

too high & too fast...go around!

[@interceptflight]

yes agreed, on that short final, going around would have been the right thing to do.