Soft-Field Approach and Landing (ASEL)

• Airspeed: manufacturer's published approach speed, or in its absence not more than 1.3 VSO, held ±5 knots with the gust factor applied (CA.IV.D.S7) — private allowed +10/−5
• Touchdown: proper pitch attitude, minimum sink rate, no side drift, longitudinal axis aligned with the center of the runway (CA.IV.D.S10)

Note what is not here: no distance box. This task is graded on softness and control, not on a spot. Do not invent a 200-foot target and force the airplane down to hit it.

A degree of power is carried throughout the level-off and touchdown, letting the airspeed dissipate slowly while the airplane flies 1 to 2 feet off the surface in ground effect — otherwise the approach itself is essentially the same as a normal approach into a long, firm field (AFH ch. 9). When the wheels first touch, the wings are still carrying most of the weight.

There is no reason for a steep descent angle unless obstacles are present — steepness is a short-field concern, not a soft-field one.

Not more than 1.3 VSO in the absence of a published number — the same final-approach speed that is appropriate for a short-field landing (AFH ch. 9). Higher speeds cause excessive float in ground effect, which works against a smooth, controlled touchdown. In gusty air, the AFH technique is to add no more than one-half the gust factor (AFH ch. 9); the ACS element itself specifies ±5 knots with the gust factor applied (CA.IV.D.S7) — the tolerance rides on that gust-corrected number, and the one-half rule is where it comes from.

Touch down at the lowest possible airspeed in a nose-high pitch attitude. In nosewheel airplanes, hold sufficient back-elevator pressure to keep the nosewheel off the surface after the mains touch. Using back-elevator pressure and engine power together, you control the rate at which the airplane's weight transfers from the wings to the wheels (AFH ch. 9).

The ACS says it as a skill element: keep the nosewheel off until loss of elevator effectiveness (CA.IV.D.S9), and maintain elevator as the manufacturer recommends during rollout (CA.IV.D.S11). When you do commit the nosewheel, lower it gently — a slight addition of power helps ease it down.

Braking loads the nose gear and can cause premature or hard contact with the surface, digging the nosewheel in (AFH ch. 9). The soft or rough surface itself provides plenty of deceleration. Often the problem is the reverse — on a very soft field you may need to add power to keep the airplane moving so it does not become stuck.

Not immediately. Field conditions may warrant holding a condition where the mains are just touching but the wings still support the weight until you reach a suitable taxi surface. Any time during that transition — before the weight is on the wheels and before the nosewheel is down — you retain the ability to apply full power and perform a safe takeoff, field length and obstacles permitting (AFH ch. 9). Once you lower the nosewheel, you are committed.

Use them — flaps aid touchdown at minimum speed and are recommended whenever practical. Two cautions (AFH ch. 9): in low-wing airplanes flaps can be damaged by mud, stones, or slush thrown up by the wheels, and if you do use them it is generally inadvisable to retract them during the after-landing roll, because flap retraction matters less than total concentration on controlling the airplane. This is the opposite of the short-field rollout — see Task IV.F.

Side load. The standard demands no side drift with the longitudinal axis aligned with the center of the runway (CA.IV.D.S10), and on a soft surface a drifting wheel digs in rather than skidding. A perfectly aligned firm touchdown is far safer than a feather-soft one with drift on. Get the airplane straight with rudder and stop the drift with aileron before you worry about how gently it settles.

Because the soft-field profile holds you 1 to 2 feet above the surface at low airspeed with power on for an extended period — the least forgiving place to absorb a wind upset:

• Windshear (R2b) — a headwind decaying to a tailwind takes airspeed away during the level-off, and the airplane arrives on the surface harder and faster than the maneuver tolerates. It is associated with frontal passage, thunderstorms, temperature inversions, and upper-level winds greater than 25 knots (PHAK ch. 12). Gusty or shearing conditions are a reason to carry the AFH's slightly-above-normal approach speed with partial flaps and, on a genuinely soft surface, a reason to go somewhere else.
• Tailwind (R2c) — higher groundspeed at touchdown, and a longer float in ground effect at the very moment you are trying to dissipate speed slowly. On a soft surface that also means more distance spent in the mud before you reach a firm taxi surface.
• Wake turbulence (R2d) — landing behind a larger aircraft on the same runway, stay at or above its approach flight path and land beyond its touchdown point (PHAK ch. 14). This Task's lack of a distance box is one small mercy here: with no 200-foot target to defend, moving your touchdown farther down the field costs you nothing in the standard.

Full aft elevator, enough power to keep moving, and exit the soft area at a speed that would preclude sinking into the surface (CA.IV.D.S11). Maintain proper flight-control position and sufficient speed to keep taxiing while on the soft surface (CA.IV.D.S13). Stopping in the middle of it is how airplanes get stuck.

The ones that map straight onto the commercial standard (AFH ch. 9):

• Excessive descent rate on final; excessive airspeed on final
• Unstable approach
• Round out too high above the surface
• Poor power management during round out and touchdown — this is the task-specific one
• Hard touchdown
• Inadequate control of the weight transfer from wings to wheels after touchdown
• Allowing the nosewheel to "fall" to the runway rather than controlling its descent

Decide earlier than you would on a hard surface. Two reasons: you are flying at low airspeed a foot or two above the ground for an extended period, which is the deepest part of the low-altitude-maneuvering risk (CA.IV.D.R5), and once the nosewheel is down and the airplane is settling into a soft surface the go-around is gone. Carrying power all the way through the level-off is what preserves the option — see Task IV.N for the maneuver itself.