Landing Technique
As a rough guide for most Cessna tricycle singles, when you get into ground effect you can enter an attitude with the top of the cowling even with the top of the trees in the distance. This will give you a slight nose-up attitude. Then gradually increase backpressure to keep the cowling in that position relative to the horizon until the yoke is in your lap and you run out of elevator authority. Then the plane will touch down nicely. Keep the yoke back to aid with aerodyamic braking. And if you had a crosswind, keep the aileron at the stops into the wind. The common “gotcha” in this situation is knowing when you are in ground effect and ready to begin the flare.
When landing heavy singes, like the Cessna 210, keep a bit of power into the flare. It makes handling much easier and results in a smoother touchdown.
I second, third, fourth… what everyone is saying here. I consider myself a low-timer, so I’ll chime in. You specifically asked about gusts, but I suspect your question falls into the same bucket as crosswind landings. Your mileage may vary, but here are my thoughts: (and corrections are certainly welcome)
On the calm wind days, Step 1 is to really focus on touching down at the right airspeed and on the centerline. A wise man once told me to make that a point of pride, no matter how much experience you have (thanks, Doug).
If you’re reasonably consistent with that, it’s time for step 2: Get a good picture in your mind of what a good crosswind landing looks like. Unless you’re in an Ercoupe, a good crosswind landing will put the nose straight down the runway, with the wings “leaning” into the wind (i.e., a slip). In this configuration, you’ll touch down first on the upwind main, with the other wheels following thereafter. If your instructor has never shown this to you, you might want to get some dual to see it for yourself, but after you see it a time or two, it’s not difficult to start emulating it yourself in mild conditions.
A “eureka moment” for me was to realize that it’s actually pretty hard to crank in TOO MUCH aileron when the first wheel touches down. I’ve never tried it, but I bet it’s impossible to scrape that upwind wing on the ground if you’ve touched down at the appropriate speed (see step 1). So crank in the aileron and it’ll help keep you planted after touchdown.
With a good grasp on those two concepts, it’s no big deal to incrementally work up to higher winds. As for gusts, they just make you dance a little, but the control inputs are essentially the same.
At AMW, we have 60 degree crossing runways. I’ve built confidence by practicing landings on the crosswind runway (which also helps with radio communications and pattern etiquette, by the way), or going to a nearby field. 5 knots crosswind (even at 90 degrees) is barely different than a calm wind landing, so I sort of worked up from there. If you’re doing it right, you’ll find that the biggest defecit is in your confidence, rather than your ability.
By the way, another wise man told me that, contrary to popular belief, it’s okay to slip a Cessna with the flaps down (thanks, Tony). Check your manual, but it probably says that slips w/flaps are not recommended. They’re not prohibited. I’m told that the reason for the “not recommended” is a fairly benign oscillation that can occur if conditions are just right.
Power, Pitch, and Airspeed
There is a wonderful landing exercise I use with my student that instills near-perfect landings nearly every time. This exercise begins on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern.
In a typical training aircraft, e.g., C152, C172, Piper Warrior, setting power at 2,200RPM in trimmed, level flight will produce 90KIAS. Achieving this flight condition while on the downwind leg is the first task.
Approaching the base leg, a power reduction to 1,700RPM with 10 degrees of flaps produces a 600 f/m descent rate along with a slowing to 80KIAS.
Established on base leg, now with 20 degrees of flaps and a slight trim adjustment, further reduces airspeed to 70KIAS.
On final, a power reduction to 1,200RPM and 30 degrees of flaps will place the airplane over the runway threshold at 60 to 65 knots and in the correct flight attitude for a “greaser” landing, every time!
Keep the pattern tight . . .
The power, pitch, airspeed configuration described above assumes a close-in approach instead of the long airliner-type patterns taught by far too many flight schools and CFIs. Simple laws of aerodynamics, instead of yanking, banking, pushing and pulling on the yoke or stick, are used to produce a stabilized approach necessary for smooth landings every time.