 Ballooning During Roundout  Porpoising  Bouncing During Touchdown If the pilot misjudges the rate of sink during a landing and  thinks the aircraft is descending faster than it should, there  is a tendency to increase the pitch attitude and AOA too  rapidly. This not only stops the descent, but actually starts  the aircraft climbing. This climbing during the roundout is  known as ballooning. Ballooning can be dangerous because  the height above the ground is increasing and the aircraft may  be rapidly approaching a stall. The altitude gained in each  instance depends on the airspeed or the speed with which the  pitch attitude is increased. When ballooning is slight, the nose should be lowered to  increase speed and return to a gradual descent. Recovery  procedures are similar to those for rounding out too high:  lowering the nose slightly and increasing the throttle to  remain level. Then, the pilot gradually reduces throttle and  speed for a controlled descent rate with the throttle at idle  during touchdown. When ballooning is excessive, it is best to execute a go- around immediately; do not attempt to salvage the landing.  Full power must be applied and the nose lowered before the  aircraft enters a stalled condition. The pilot must be extremely cautious of ballooning when  there is a crosswind present because the crosswind correction  may be inadvertently released or it may become inadequate.  Because of the lower airspeed after ballooning, the crosswind  affects the aircraft more. Consequently, crabbing has to  be increased to compensate for the increased drift. It is  imperative that the pilot makes certain that directional control  is maintained. If there is any doubt, or the aircraft starts to  drift, execute a go-around. When the aircraft contacts the ground with a sharp impact  as the result of an improper attitude or an excessive rate  of sink, it can bounce back into the air. The severity of the  bounce depends on the airspeed at the moment of contact  and the rebound attitude the WSC aircraft. It can increase the  AOA and, in addition to bouncing, be lifted. It can rebound  in a yawed condition and/or nose up or down. Design and  situational factors create their own unique scenarios. The corrective action for a bounce is the same as for  ballooning and similarly depends on its severity. When the  bounce is very slight and there is not an extreme change in the  aircraft’s pitch attitude, a follow-up landing may be executed  by applying sufficient power to cushion the subsequent  touchdown and smoothly adjusting the pitch to the proper  touchdown attitude. Extreme caution and attention must be exercised any time a  bounce occurs, but particularly when there is a crosswind.  During the bounce, the wind causes the aircraft to roll with  the wind, thus exposing even more surface to the crosswind  and drifting the aircraft more rapidly. When a bounce is severe, the safest procedure is to execute  a go-around immediately. No attempt to salvage the landing  should be made. Full power should be applied while  simultaneously maintaining directional control and lowering  the nose to a safe climb attitude. The go-around procedure  should be continued even though the aircraft may descend and  another bounce may be encountered. It would be extremely  foolish to attempt a landing from a bad bounce since airspeed  diminishes very rapidly in the nose-high attitude, and a stall  may occur before a subsequent touchdown could be made. In a bounced landing that is improperly recovered, the  aircraft comes in nose first, setting off a series of motions that  imitate the jumps and dives of a porpoise—hence the name.  The problem is improper aircraft attitude at touchdown,  sometimes caused by inattention, not knowing where the  ground is, or forcing the aircraft onto the runway at an  exceedingly high descent rate. Porpoising can also be caused by improper airspeed control.  Usually, if an approach is too fast, the aircraft floats and the  pilot tries to force it on the runway when the aircraft still tends  to fly. A gust of wind, a bump in the runway, or even a slight  push on the control bar sends the aircraft aloft again. The corrective action for a porpoise is the same as for a  bounce, and similarly depends on its severity. When it is very  slight with no extreme change in the aircraft’s pitch attitude,  a follow-up landing may be executed by applying suffi cient  power to cushion the subsequent touchdown, and smoothly  adjusting the pitch to the proper touchdown attitude. When a porpoise is severe, the safest procedure is to execute  an immediate go-around. In a severe porpoise, the aircraft’s  pitch oscillations can become progressively worse until the  aircraft strikes the runway nose first with suffi cient force  to collapse the nose gear. Pilot attempts to correct a severe  porpoise with flight control and power inputs will most  likely be untimely and out of sequence with the oscillations,  only making the situation worse. No attempt to salvage the  landing should be made. Full power should be applied while  simultaneously maintaining directional control and lowering  the nose to a safe climb attitude. 11-29