Private, Sport and Commercial Pilot Training Handbook. A study Guide for Pilots and Flight Instructors

This book is 100% completeLast updated on 2026-06-07

Flaps and the Steep Approach

Pitch attitude: Flap deployment requires a lower AOA to generate required lift at a given speed and pitch attitude will be lower. No flap landings require a higher pitch attitude. NOTE: pitch attitude does not equal steeper descent angle. See discussion below.

- Descent angle: Flaps, by themselves DO NOT cause a steeper approach path to clear an obstacle. The descent angle depends on both ground speed AND rate of descent. Low ground speeds and higher rates of descent increase the descent angle. See figure below.
- - Flaps lower the stall speed which allows a slower approach speed which steepens the approach angle. However, if the approach speed is not reduced, neither will the descent angle.
  - Flaps add drag which increases the descent rate for a given power setting and given air speed. The increased descent rate will increase the descent angle for a particular airspeed. However, if too much power or air speed is carried in the approach, there will not be an increase in descent angle.

Note: Steeping the approach is accomplished by lowering ground speed. This can be done by slowing the approach or in the case of strong headwinds. More power is required to maintain glide path on an approach into a strong headwind. Maintain air speed with pitch.

This book is 100% completeLast updated on 2026-06-07

Fred A Sweet

Flaps and the Steep Approach

- Descent angle: Flaps, by themselves DO NOT cause a steeper approach path to clear an obstacle. The descent angle depends on both ground speed AND rate of descent. Low ground speeds and higher rates of descent increase the descent angle. See figure below.
- - Flaps lower the stall speed which allows a slower approach speed which steepens the approach angle. However, if the approach speed is not reduced, neither will the descent angle.
  - Flaps add drag which increases the descent rate for a given power setting and given air speed. The increased descent rate will increase the descent angle for a particular airspeed. However, if too much power or air speed is carried in the approach, there will not be an increase in descent angle.

Minimum price

$49.95

$79.95

You pay

Author earns

PDF

About

About the Book

A concise, practical maneuvers-based text that prepares students for FAA private, sport and commercial practical tests and key student milestones (first solo, cross‑country, check ride prep). Designed to maximize learning during flight time by thoroughly preparing students on the ground, this manual combines clear step‑by‑step lesson plans for both ground and flight, milestone checklists, and instructor check lists, endorsements and pro tips for training maneuvers. Instructor notes provide common student errors, remedial exercises, and objective grading rubrics so instructors can standardize training and prepare students efficiently for check rides. The instructor check lists can be used during inital CFI practical tests to stay organized on how to train, log and endorse student pilots. 100s of color illustrations.

Who this book is for

Student pilots preparing for private, sport or commercial certificates.
Flight instructors (CFI) seeking structured lesson plans, briefing scripts, and assessment tools
Pilots transitioning to a new airplane or preparing for Flight Reviews and insurance checkouts

Key features

Ground and Maneuvers lessons with references to FAA resources
FAA practical test task coverage for Private, Sport and Commercial certificates
Training course outline with recommended flight hours and progression milestones
Checklists and milestone sign offs (student and instructor versions)
Detailed ground and flight lesson plans with objectives, brief checklist, success criteria, common errors, and remedial drills
Pro training tips to effectively train and teach flight maneuvers to FAA ACS standards by highly experienced CFI and DPE
Pro tips for executing and teaching maneuvers to FAA ACS standards by highly experienced CFI and DPE.
Instructor guides to meet training and endorsement requirements for all stages of flight training.

Share this book

Feedback

Email the Author

Author

About the Author

Fred A Sweet

Fred A Sweet is a FAA Designated Pilot Examiner with ATP Multi Engine, Commercial Single Engine Land and Sea, Multi Engine Land and Sea, CFI, CFII, MEI, AP and IA certificates with over 6000 hours of experience in multiple aircraft types. He actively instructs and provided UPRT in a Super Decathlon. He enjoys flying his Cessna 185 in the back country of Utah, Idaho and Alaska. He is a retired spinal surgeon and academic professor.

Get the free sample chapters

Click the buttons to get the free sample in PDF or EPUB, or read the sample online here

Download Sample PDF

The Leanpub 60 Day 100% Happiness Guarantee

Within 60 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.

Now, this is technically risky for us, since you'll have the book or course files either way. But we're so confident in our products and services, and in our authors and readers, that we're happy to offer a full money back guarantee for everything we sell.

You can only find out how good something is by trying it, and because of our 100% money back guarantee there's literally no risk to do so!

So, there's no reason not to click the Add to Cart button, is there?

See full terms...

Earn $8 on a $10 Purchase, and $16 on a $20 Purchase

We pay 80% royalties on purchases of $7.99 or more, and 80% royalties minus a 50 cent flat fee on purchases between $0.99 and $7.98. You earn $8 on a $10 sale, and $16 on a $20 sale. So, if we sell 5000 non-refunded copies of your book for $20, you'll earn $80,000.

(Yes, some authors have already earned much more than that on Leanpub.)

In fact, authors have earned over $15 million writing, publishing and selling on Leanpub.

Learn more about writing on Leanpub

Free Updates. DRM Free.

If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).

Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers) and EPUB (for phones, tablets and Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.

Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.

Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them

Write and Publish on Leanpub

You can use Leanpub to easily write, publish and sell in-progress and completed ebooks and online courses!

Leanpub is a powerful platform for serious authors, combining a simple, elegant writing and publishing workflow with a store focused on selling in-progress ebooks.

Leanpub is a magical typewriter for authors: just write in plain text, and to publish your ebook, just click a button. (Or, if you are producing your ebook your own way, you can even upload your own PDF and/or EPUB files and then publish with one click!) It really is that easy.

Learn more about writing on Leanpub