Short field landings are a precision test. The examiner is watching your approach path, your aim point, and your touchdown point — simultaneously. Most students who fail do so before they ever touch down.
What the ACS Actually Requires
The ACS for short field landing requires:
- Select and use a suitable touchdown point
- Establish the correct configuration and airspeed (Vref or manufacturer recommended)
- Touch down within 200 feet beyond the designated point, at the slowest safe airspeed
- Apply brakes and controls smoothly for the shortest possible rollout
- Maintain directional control throughout
200 feet is the tolerance. Not 201. Many students treat it as a general target — examiners treat it as a hard limit.
The Most Common Errors
- Flying too fast on final — extra speed means extra float and a long touchdown
- Aiming at the threshold instead of beyond it — your aim point should be the threshold; your touchdown should be just past it
- Failing to maintain a stabilized approach — short field landings reward a consistent glidepath, not a last-second correction
- Flare too high — floating uses up your 200-foot buffer
- Braking inconsistency — hesitating on the brakes after touchdown defeats the purpose
How to Execute It Correctly
- Identify and brief your aim point before entering the pattern
- Fly a stabilized, slightly steeper approach than normal
- Maintain Vref (typically 1.3 Vso) — no faster, no slower
- Aim point is the threshold; expect touchdown 100-150 feet beyond
- Flare smooth and low — keep it close to the ground
- Touch down on the mains first, hold nose off
- Apply firm, smooth braking immediately — no hesitation
- Keep back pressure on the yoke through rollout
Why Students Fail This on Checkride Day
The common failure isn't technique — it's unstabilized approaches that students try to salvage instead of go-around. A short field landing that starts poorly almost never recovers. Examiners know this. They're watching whether you recognize it too.
Train every short field approach to be stabilized by 500 feet AGL. Checkride Ready keeps your ACS performance data organized so you can see exactly where your approaches break down.
Keep Training
- Short Field Takeoff: Common Checkride Errors and How to Fix Them — pair the landing with the takeoff technique
- Soft Field Landings: Why Students Fail and How to Fix It — a natural complement to short field work