Prepare for: Forward Slip to a Landing
Using crossed controls to steepen your descent without gaining airspeed, then transitioning to a normal touchdown.
Your CFI's syllabus and your airplane's POH come first. This page is a general study aid to help you show up prepared.
What you'll do
- Lower one wing with aileron and apply opposite rudder so the nose points away from the runway while your path stays aligned.
- Lower the nose as needed to hold approach speed; the airplane descends steeply without speeding up.
- In a crosswind, slip with the upwind wing low.
- Remove the slip smoothly before the flare and land normally on the centerline.
The standard you'll be held to
Quoted from the current FAA Airman Certification Standards for each level that tests this.
Private Pilot ACS (FAA-S-ACS-6C)Task PA.IV.M · Forward Slip to a Landing (ASEL, ASES)
- Complete the appropriate checklist(s).
- Make radio calls as appropriate.
- Plan and follow a flightpath to the selected landing area considering altitude, wind, terrain, and obstructions.
- Select the most suitable touchdown point based on wind, landing surface, obstructions, and airplane limitations.
- Position airplane on downwind leg, parallel to landing runway or selected landing surface.
- Configure the airplane correctly.
- As necessary, correlate crosswind with direction of forward slip and transition to side slip before touchdown.
- Touch down at a proper pitch attitude, within 400 feet beyond or on the specified point, with no side drift, and with the airplane’s longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway center/landing path.
- Maintain a ground track aligned with the runway center/landing path.
Read it in the FAA handbooks
The official chapters behind this page. Each link opens the exact chapter, free on faa.gov. See the full Study Library.
Prepare the night before
- Check the POH for any slip limitations with flaps extended.
- Understand the difference between a forward slip and a sideslip.
Common mistakes
- Letting airspeed decay while slipping.
- Releasing the slip too late, causing a sideways touchdown.
Questions to ask your instructor
- When would you use a slip instead of more flaps?
- Does this airplane have any slip restrictions?
Check yourself
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