Getting in and out of shorter strips means using pitch and power to nail your airspeeds.

By Dave Higdon

Early on in my flying career, taking off automatically meant, absolutely free, one mandatory dead-stick landing. That’s because I was flying hang gliders and developed an easy appreciation for fitting into small spaces. Later, after someone thought to put a small engine and propeller on one and dub the results an ultralight, my well-honed, dead-stick landing skills proved handy too frequently.

Joseph Nonneman

Thankfully, the engines used on ultralights in those early days have improved greatly but—like a catchy tune you just can’t shake after hearing it on the radio—I still think in terms of whether a nearby field is large enough for landing. Coincidentally and for the same reasons, short-field takeoff skills…