It is okay! It happens to all of us at least once. You know, that moment you realize you are not going to make your intended LZ. That instant of panic when you ask yourself “what am I going to do now?” It is a moment that every pilot dreads, and when it does happen, strange things occur. Over the years I have seen pilots fly into fences, bear hug trees, stall their gliders, slam into hillsides, fly into houses, and even hit power lines. It is a scary moment that can creep up on pilots of any skill level.

I thought today we could discuss three quick tips and tricks I have incorporated in my own flying over the years that may help you avoid this uncomfortable and potentially dangerous moment.

Tip 1: Altitude is King

Too often in the mountains I see pilots fight for every ounce of lift they can find. These are often newer pilots, fresh from their local ridge soaring site, who think hugging terrain is where thermal lift can be found. News flash… you wont find it there! By the time they realize ample lift does not exist, their altitude has diminished significantly! Some sites have bail outs, but even then too many pilots bypass them and decide to go for the primary LZ anyway. With limited altitude, pilots can quickly run out of safe landing options, causing stress to skyrocket and that is when trees, fences, and power lines come into play. In order to avoid this situation, head for your LZ early with plenty of altitude to spare. For me, I always try to come into an LZ with at least 300-500 feet of margin. This gives me plenty of time to think through my approach, which makes for a stress free landing experience. So in conclusion be sure to head out to that LZ much earlier than you might think. It will provide a much safer experience…and having some actual altitude, you may encounter an actual thermal along the way!

Tip 2: Center the LZ

When approaching your LZ, make sure you actually GET to your LZ. I don’t mean to the edges, or near the LZ but actually to the center of it. Be sure to fly right to the heart of the area you intend to land long BEFORE you decide to lose any of your precious altitude. This provides many advantages while still in flight. It gives you as the pilot time to check out the wind direction, look for obstacles, power lines, trees, people, and other hazards that need to be avoided. Since you are in the middle of the field, with altitude, you have the ability to set up the least risky and accurate approach…even if you are met with some unfortunate event like sinky air or a strong wind gradient. So when you are flying to an LZ make sure you get to the center with as much altitude as possible.

Tip 3: Never Cross the Border

Now that you are at the center of the LZ with plenty of altitude it is time to descend. Here is where I have seen many last second things go wrong over the years. Pilots often stray from the LZ to lose altitude. They fly downwind, turn circles, then when it is time to land they get boxed out of the LZ by power lines, trees, buildings, etc. and end up in really strange places. One thing I always try to do, is once I am at the center of the LZ (Tip 2) I will never leave the boundary of that LZ again. I will then fly the perimeter of the field at least once as it provides me with very accurate wind speeds and direction so I know how best to set up my approach (often my LZ’s do not have wind socks or flags). I will continue to fly this boundary until I lose enough altitude to where I am about 200 feet above the ground.  Once there I will go to the down wind boundary of the LZ and fly back and forth, always turning TOWARDS the LZ (think figure 8), but always making sure I am within the boundary. That way if anything weird happens in the last few seconds of my flight, I am still inside the LZ and free of perimeter obstacles.

I hope these three tips will help you set up for safer and more enjoyable landing experiences. Hopefully these tips will help eliminate that moment when you realize you are coming in short and have to ask yourself “what do I do now?” It is a terrible feeling, and one I hope we can all avoid in the future.  As you launch into the sky on your next flight give these tips a try. They have helped me out over the years and I hope you too can find value in them.  See you in the sky soon!