PARKING  AREA MINIMUM DISTANCE BETWEEN TOUCHDOWN AND PARKING AREA WITH NOSE HIGH TO MINIMIZE WEIGHT ON FRONT WHEEL DECELERATE IN GROUND EFFECT NORMAL APPROACH Touch down  as late as possible Figure 11-23. Soft/rough field approach and landing. sheer, or up and down drafts, are experienced. Like other  power-on approaches (when the pilot can vary the amount  of power), a coordinated combination of both speed and  power adjustments is usually required. It is easiest to think  of fl ying the aircraft onto the ground at an airspeed above  the stall speed. The additional power provides the pilot the  ability to reduce the descent rate to touch the wheels gently  to the surface at a higher speed. Landing in turbulent air is  where practice and experience in energy management are  utilized. This precise coordination of power and speed for  higher energy landings should first be practiced in calm air  and can be used as the next step in learning landings after the  student becomes proficient at low approaches. Touchdown on a soft or rough field should be made at the  lowest possible airspeed with the aircraft in a nose-high pitch  attitude. After the main wheels touch the surface, the pilot  should hold bar-forward pressure to keep the nosewheel off  the surface. Using forward control bar pressure and engine  power, the pilot can control the rate at which the weight of  the aircraft is transferred from the wings to the wheels. Field conditions may warrant that the pilot maintain a fl ight  condition where the main wheels are just touching the surface,  but the weight of the aircraft is still being supported by the  wings until a suitable taxi surface is reached. At any time  during this transition phase, before the weight of the aircraft  is being supported by the wheels and before the nosewheel  is on the surface, the pilot should be able to apply full power  and perform a safe takeoff (obstacle clearance and fi eld length  permitting) should the pilot elect to abandon the landing.  Once committed to a landing, the pilot should gently lower  the nosewheel to the surface. A slight reduction of power  usually helps ease the nosewheel down. To determine the additional approach speed to fl ying in  turbulence, one procedure is to use the normal approach  speed plus one-half of the wind gust factors. The wind gust  factor is determined by how much the airspeed varies while  flying. If the normal approach speed is 50 knots and the wind  gusts are at 15 knots, an airspeed of 57 knots is appropriate.  Another method is to ensure the aircraft is at least at V$_{Y}$ speed  plus the wind gust factor. In any case, the airspeed that the  aircraft manufacturer recommends. The use of brakes on a soft field is not needed and should  be avoided as this tends to impose a heavy load on the nose  gear due to premature or hard contact with the landing  surface causing the nosewheel to dig in. The soft or rough  surface itself provides sufficient reduction in the aircraft’s  forward speed. Often upon landing on a very soft fi eld, the  pilot needs to increase power to keep the aircraft moving and  from becoming stuck on the soft surface. An adequate amount of power should be used to maintain the  proper airspeed and descent path throughout the approach  and the throttle retarded to idling position only after the  main wheels contact the landing surface. Care must be  exercised in not closing the throttle before the pilot is ready  for touchdown. In this situation, the sudden or premature  closing of the throttle may cause a sudden increase in the  descent rate that could result in a hard landing. Landings from power-on approaches in turbulence should  be such that the touchdown is made with the aircraft in  approximately level flight attitude. The pitch attitude at  Power-on approaches at an airspeed above the normal  approach speed should be used for landing in turbulent  air. This provides for more energy and positive control  of the aircraft when strong horizontal wind gusts, wind  Power-on Approach and Landing for  Turbulant Air 11-16