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Chapter-3 Climbs and Descents-V20_Sport Pilot Handbook 8/30/2021 5:48 PM Page 25

Chapter 3: Climbs and Descents 3-25

Now you’ve steepened your glide path, allowing a landing at a closer spot than that provided by the
airplane’s previous trajectory, while maintaining your previous approach airspeed (Figure 31, posi-
tion D).
We’ll label pilots who use the throttle to control their airspeed and the yoke to control their alti-
tude as elevator-glidepath pilots.
Which Technique Should You Use?
At this point you are probably asking, Which technique should I use? You might even be asking
what it’s called when someone uses both controls simultaneously without distinguishing what each
control controls—ambivalent? Both are good questions, so let’s take the last one first.
As you gain experience, you’ll tend to move both the yoke and the throttle simultaneously, without
giving much thought to what the yoke or the throttle actually controls. This would be the third tech-
nique, or Technique #3, meaning that you don’t distinguish what the yoke and the throttle actually
control. Instead, you simply move both of them simultaneously as appropriate to produce the right
results (say, a 500 foot per minute descent at an approach speed of 70 knots). That’s fine. This tech-
nique, however, is more reflexive than consciously driven, which is why it’s something that most ex-
perienced pilots typically do. Regardless of your experience, it’s perfectly fine for you to use technique
#1, #2 or #3, as you see fit. On the other hand, if you’re a pilot in training, you should use the tech-
nique selected by your instructor and be happy with that choice. When you gain more experience,
you can experiment and try a different technique. We’ll call this the elevator-throttle technique.
A Rationale for Using the Elevator-Airspeed Technique
If you’re already a rated pilot and you want a good reason to choose a specific technique, then
consider the following points.
One of the most important concepts for new pilots to absorb is the idea that you never try stretch-
ing a glide by pulling back on the yoke. This becomes especially important when attempting to glide
to a field and land with an inoperative engine. Keep in mind that the airplane glides best at its best
glide speed (L/D max), as shown in Figure 32. Any attempt to stretch the glide by pulling aft on the
elevator and slowing the airplane down results in a much steeper descent path (Figure 33).
The Airplane The Dangers
Glides The Of Trying To
Farthest At Stretch A

Its Best Glide Glide
Speed

Fig. 32 Fig. 33