Technique: Soft-field takeoff
Keeping it light
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Illustration by Charles Floyd
In a soft-field takeoff, your objective is to get the wheels off the ground as soon as possible, eliminating the surface drag and lightening the load on the landing gear. What makes this maneuver challenging is that as you raise the nose, the airplane is slow enough that it is barely flying—but you have to keep it there until you’ve built up enough airspeed.
JARGON
Ground effect
Airplanes get an extra boost of lift close to the ground, as if there is a cushion of air keeping them aloft. When the airplane is within a distance of about one wing span above the surface, the ground interferes with the airflow around the wing. Upwash, downwash, and wingtip vortices decrease, reducing induced drag. Because of ground effect, an airplane may be able to take off at a slower airspeed than it can climb.
