Originally Posted by
PearlPilot
In "Stick and Rudder" Langewiesche asserts that if too high on final one should raise the nose instead of the instinctive lowering, so that the airplane would "mush" and lose altitude. I have tried both of these methods and have a couple of questions/concerns about mushing. I have "mushed" on final only when an instructor was on board and have always lowered the nose and added flaps (if not already done so) when flying solo. I feel like raising the nose on final creates a dangerous situation in which a decrease in airspeed, and AOA, are a perfect recipe for a stall. Mushing on final feels at least for me to be a maneuver that requires quite a bit of finesse and if not done properly could lead to an unwarranted situation.
Sounds to me like they are talking about performance landings and ground effect. Instead of diving for the spot if you're to high, the best thing to do is maintain or slightly increase your angle of attack which allows you to fly through ground effect with the least amount of float. In contrast if you're low and have obstruction clearance the best thing to do is pitch forward to carry speed into ground effect and maximize your float to your spot.