The Jacobson Flare

Response from developer

Hello Steve, First, I apologise for not seeing your review, earlier. Second, I'm sorry you haven't been happy with the app. However, I beg to differ: The Jacobson Flare is the MOST PRACTICAL AND CONSISTENT approach and landing training technique yet devised and I am perfectly willing to spend some time with you: email/telephone/Skype/Whatsapp, etc, to contribute to your understanding. Third, there is no hurry to get involved in any calculations: In the beginning, I didn't understand the maths, either! The key things to understand are the 5 questions that a pilot must understand, to land any fixed-wing aeroplane consistently well and in the right position on the runway: 1. Where to aim in the first place; 2. How to aim; 3. When to flare; 4. How much to flare; and 5. How fast to flare; i.e., the flare rate. I know of very few instructors and not one manual that defines and explains, sensibly, (with mathematical proof), even one of those questions. The Jacobson Flare app defines all 5. Then think of a slender right-angled triangle: the pilot's eye path down final approach is along the hypotenuse (the longest side). Conventionally, we based the so-called 'flare height' on the height of the opposite (vertical) side of that triangle. Now, not only does this height vary for every different aeroplane type, but that dimension is invisible to the pilot. It is, at best, an educated guess, based on judgment, repetition, experience and a wide number of varying factors, involving the pilot, the aircraft and the environmental conditions. No mean feat. In addition, this 'approach profile' triangle is usually drawn in books and on whiteboards, etc, at about 25-30 degrees; the actual angle is just 3 degrees: the significance of this is that any error made in assessing the correct 'flare height' compounds x 20 times, one way or the other, ALONG the runway, causing either a short touchdown or an extended one. That's a huge error. Before the Jacobson Flare, no one looked at the third side of the triangle. It's the runway centreline and, on sealed runways, is a calibrated ruler (with its centreline markings). When an aeroplane is approaching the runway, and the pilot's aim point, the forward edge of the glare shield (where it intercepts the base of the windshield) is advancing (with the aircraft) along the runway centreline and when the aeroplane reaches the correct flare height, there will be a certain point on the centreline about to pass beneath that point of the aircraft. (By ignoring any visible nose cowling, some useful consistencies can be shared with light twins, sailplanes and jets, where, in most cases, nothing of the aircraft, (forward of the windscreen), is visible. This is a simple visual fix. (If the idea seems slightly familiar, it may be because my inspiration – back in 1965, as a student pilot – was the 1943 RAF 617 Sqn 'Dambusters' operation.) By defining an initial aim point 1 and a flare cut-off point, and then another aim point 2 (usually at the far, upwind threshold, the entire landing flare manoeuvre can be defined and flown, accurately, consistently and without any guesswork. Moreover, the aim point 1 and the flare cut-off point have only to be calculated once (for each different aircraft type/size. For a typical light aircraft, these points are about 100ft apart). Once mastered, the Jacobson Flare can be applied to any subsequent aircraft type, by calculating and possibly re-positioning the aim point 1 and/or the flare cut-off point. I invite you to review the following link, https://www.jacobsonflare.com/testimonials/ and also, please contact me, at david.jacobson@jacobsonflare.com . I know I can help your understanding of this, as I have countless others, over 30 years. Just explain the difficulties you have experienced and I will be very pleased to help. Yours sincerely, Captain David M Jacobson MAP FRAeS Australia