Keep Paying Attention, Cadet! Here are the Landing Procedures for the Harvard:

1. Before the final approach is begun, the pilot performs a landing checklist to ensure that critical items such as fuel flow, landing gear down, and carburetor heat are not forgotten.

2. The pilot will deploy the plane's flaps during the entire final approach. The flaps will reduce the stall speed, so the plane can remain airborne while losing speed, and they will change the attitude of the aircraft, so that the pilot gets a clear view of the runway. The deployment of full flaps will also act as an air brake and increase the rate of descent. The pilot also lowers the landing gear.

3. The pilot stabilizes the airplane's airspeed and rate of descent and aligns the airplane with the runway centerline as the final approach is begun. The best approach speed is 1.3 multiplied by the stalling speed of the aircraft. The pilot must bear in mind that the stalling speed will increase if the aircraft is heavier. If a pilot tries to land at a much higher speed, the aircraft will still wish to fly so it will land nearer to far end of the runway - or beyond!

4. The pilot must maintain the correct "glide path" ( the correct attitude and rate of descent) during the approach. It can be difficult at first. The numbers on the runway are an important pointer to warn pilots whether they are going to overshoot or land short. If the numbers start to disappear under the aircraft's nose, the plane will land long ( near the other end of the runway). If the numbers seem to move away from the aircraft's nose, the plane will land short ( touch the ground in front of the runway)

5. When the airplane crosses the approach end of the runway, the pilot reduces engine power further (probably to idle). At this time, the pilot slows the rate of descent and airspeed by progressively applying more back pressure to the control wheel. This is known as "flaring". The pilot aligns the plane with the centre of the runway mainly by use of the rudder.

6. The pilot continues to use back pressure on the control wheel, as the airplane gets closer and closer to the runway. This further slows its forward speed and rate of descent. The pilot's objective is to keep the airplane safely flying just a few inches above the runway's surface until it loses flying speed. In this condition, the airplane's main wheels will either "squeak on" or strike the runway with a gentle bump.

7. With the wheels of the main landing gear firmly on the runway, the pilot applies more and more back pressure on the control wheel. This holds the airplane in a nose-high attitude until forward speed is much slower.

8. Once the plane has touched down, and is clearly losing speed, the pilot will use the wheel brakes, and taxi the aircraft to its stopping point. The pilot will shut down the engine and complete the post-landing aircraft procedures