by Saratoga » Mon Apr 04, 2005 5:41 pm
Well the thought is, you should stall onto the runway. Obviously this doesn't work for all airplanes.
Small planes, just get really low, let the speed slide off, it should settle pretty nicely into the runway.
With larger planes, suddenly it might be that you need to make it off on a certain taxiway, stop near your gate, or stop before the end of the runway, and a "firm" landing might become necessary. Normally though, at large airports (for example, when I take a 767 into DFW), it is standard to just glide along, the mains just a few feet off the runway, until the speed is so low the tail will drag if we don't touch down soon, then lightly allow the plane to sink down. Done correctly, no violent bump, and if you have a long enough runway, reverse not needed. Not hard to use more runway floating along killing speed than actually stopping on the tarmac if you have the space. Traffic can create problems though.

Pilot for a major US airline certified in the: EMB-120, CRJ, 727, 737, 757, 767, and A-320 and military, T-38, C-130, C-141, and C-5 along with misc. other small airplanes. Any questions, I'm here for you.