Yes that is correct. My apologies. I have also found out that in the times I mushed, I only had to raise the nose a little bit. For an example on the old 172, for a short field approach I use 65 mph, on final, and if a little too high, I would not get slower than 60, and it works perfectly. But like I said before, I believe that it takes a great deal of skill and confidence to do this when you are so low and slow.

 

"mushing" or whatever it's called... is probably a better/easier/safer technique than a forward slip. IMHO

 

mushing may easier and safer for you, but I would never teach that to a primary over a forward slip. The main thing that worries me in this case is airspeed control / coordination. Also if you hit a windshear that decreases headwind, there's not much of a margin from stall even for some of the more experienced pilots.

 

You also have to realize that in stick and rudder they are likely talking about J3 cubs or luscombes or old T Crafts, not your run of the mill trainer as recent as the 70s.

In todays modern planes if you find yourself high on final and are on speed you can simply "dump" a little more flap to increase your descent rate while maintaining airspeed with pitch or power (your choice).

"Mushing" (what a stupid word) is truly a back country/short field technique. You can come in higher than normal and get "closer" to the field bypassing the 3 degree glide path and come in closer to a 6+ degree glide path also known simply as being high on final. Once you hit the designated point where you are high you can cut the power back a bit and raise the nose to a near stall airspeed and then maintain your glidepath with power riding the backside of the curve the whole way down. Finish off with either what little flare you have left just before touchdown and/or a small burst of power to arrest your descent. This nearly eliminates float as well as puts you on the ground with little forward energy at the slowest speed possible.

The same technique is what they are mentioning but they mention it in the book merely as a way to get down when you are high.

Personally in a J3 or flapless airplane if I have no need to use less than 400 feet of runway I will use an appropriate well timed slip which will do everything I need and then some. In a slip it is very easy to control both descent rate as well as airspeed and is a bit of an ideal technique IMHO.

As a primary student, first off all, kudos for reading that book. There are some great things in that book that still ring very true today. Take some of it with a grain of salt though as they may not be an ideal technique in todays modern realm of flight. I would not recommend any student raise the nose and mush down final anywhere near stall. I would push my student to simply fly a configured approach on profile and instead of teaching them to save it I would teach them to go around. You can learn to save it as you gain experience.

 

Why? A slip is stable, try stalling in a forward slip in a 172.


To those discussing pitch/power:

It isn't about how you do it, how you do it is fine. However, the student, and you, should understand what is actually causing the change. When you add power it isn't the power that caused the change in speed.

This doesn't mean you can't teach someone to add power when speed is low, you can and should. But you should tell them that when they increase power they have to pitch forward to prevent a climb, that pitch is what actually controlled their speed.

Power will never, has never, and can never control speed in an airplane.

IMO every pilot should know two rules about climb/speed control:

1. Excess power controls descent/climb. This happens in 2 ways:
   • Changing the power setting
   • Changing the speed resulting in a change in power required
2. AOA controls speed.

Disclaimer: These two "rules" as I like to call them come directly from mathematical formulas. If you wish them posted and explained just ask.

How you apply it is up to you. However, telling a pilot that power is giving them speed is like me telling you that a ball bounces because the ground doesn't like it. Teach them the truth and then teach them your method of applying that truth.

 

In retrospect I see your point... I've used the slip a fair amount of times in a tailwheel - but usually it's just limited to tailwheel...have never really needed it other than crosswind. The "mushing" is like usmc-sgt said a back country technique for short strips. You can come in stabilized at a slower speed than say a slip... but it's all different strokes for different folks, whatever floats your boat....

The danger I see in a slip for a primary guy is getting a really high descent going, and then instead of releasing pressure, just pulling back on the yoke/stick to arrest the descent and ...

In the Caribbean, the 'mushing' (can we call it something else?) technique seems to work coming over the ridges and mountains to a small runway. The aircraft really isn't that close to a stall, even if you did start to buffet you can just drop the nose a little and/or add a bit of power.

Now, I wouldn't use this technique in a twin.

 

If you're high and below best glide, then reducing power and increasing backpressure would produce a steeper descent. Reducing backpressure would bring the airspeed closer to best glide and essentially produce a shallower descent (the airplane will initially appear to decrease its rate of descent). Experiment with this at altitude, and you will see that it is strangely true.

 

Don't know your background, but I'd guess you haven't done a lot of zero-g flying.

Scenario: going straight up (or straight down) at zero g: Power has a significant effect on going fast or slow. (Been there).

 

Very true. Absolutes are a favorite of those who dwell in theory and formulas, but in fact pitch and power are required in combination to get to a speed.
In cruise, power is the primary means of setting speed, with a very minor variation in pitch. In descent at idle power, pitch becomes primary with power fixed at idle. On a normal glidepath power is used as the primary control with very minor variations in pitch.

The key here is that both AOA and power always work together to give you a speed or desired performance.

 

More or less true. It never ceases to amaze me the almost-religious zealot fervor with which people argue this non-issue.