The ailerons serve the same purpose on the ground as they  do in the air—they change the lift and drag components of  the wings. During the after-landing roll, they are used to keep  the wings level in much the same way they are used in flight.  If a wing starts to rise, aileron control is applied toward that  wing to lower it. The amount required depends on speed  because as the forward speed of the airplane decreases, the  ailerons become less effective. Procedures for using ailerons  in crosswind conditions are explained further in this chapter,  in the Crosswind Approach and Landing section. After the airplane is on the ground, back-elevator pressure is  gradually relaxed to place weight on the nose wheel to aid in  better steering. If available runway permits, the speed of the  airplane is allowed to dissipate in a normal manner. Once  the airplane has slowed sufficiently and has turned on to the  taxiway and stopped, retract the flaps and perform the after- landing checklist. Many accidents have occurred as a result  of the pilot unintentionally operating the landing gear control  and retracting the gear instead of the flap control when the  airplane was still rolling. The habit of positively identifying  both of these controls, before actuating them, must be formed  from the very beginning of flight training and continued in  all future flying activities. A stabilized approach is one in which the pilot establishes  and maintains a constant angle glide path towards a  predetermined point on the landing runway. It is based on  the pilot’s judgment of certain visual clues and depends on  the maintenance of a constant final descent airspeed and  configuration. An airplane descending on final approach at a constant rate  and airspeed is traveling in a straight line toward a spot on the  ground ahead. This spot is not the spot on which the airplane  For a constant angle glide path, the distance between the  horizon and the aiming point remains constant. If a final  approach descent is established and the distance between the  perceived aiming point and the horizon appears to increase  (aiming point moving down away from the horizon), then  the true aiming point, and subsequent touchdown point,  is farther down the runway. If the distance between the  perceived aiming point and the horizon decreases, meaning  that the aiming point is moving up toward the horizon, the  true aiming point is closer than perceived. The point toward which the airplane is progressing is termed  the “aiming point.”  [Figure 8-9]  It is the point on the ground  at which, if the airplane maintains a constant glide path and  was not flared for landing, it would strike the ground. To a  pilot moving straight ahead toward an object, it appears to be  stationary. It does not appear to move under the nose of the  aircraft and does not appear to move forward away from the  aircraft. This is how the aiming point can be distinguished—it  does not move. However, objects in front of and beyond the  aiming point do appear to move as the distance is closed, and  they appear to move in opposite directions. During instruction  in landings, one of the most important skills a pilot must  acquire is how to use visual cues to accurately determine the  true aiming point from any distance out on final approach.  From this, the pilot is not only able to determine if the glide  path results in either an under or overshoot but, taking into  account float during round out, the pilot is able to predict the  touchdown point to within a few feet. touches down because some float occurs during the round out  (flare).  [Figure 8-9]  Neither is it the spot toward which the  airplane’s nose is pointed because the airplane is flying at a  fairly high AOA, and the component of lift exerted parallel  to the Earth’s surface by the wings tends to carry the airplane  forward horizontally. Stabilized Approach Concept 34 Distance traveled in flare Touchdown Aiming point (descent angle intersects ground) Figure 8-9.  Stabilized approach. 8-9