too fast, you will find your airplane“ floating” as you flare, and you could use up a lot of extra runway.
If you find yourself high on final or need to fly a steeper approach to clear obstacles without flaps you can use a forward slip to steepen your descent. A forward slip is a way of creating extra drag in the absence of flaps as a means of achieving a steeper descent. Forward slips are done with the power at idle. The purpose of the slip is to increase the rate of descent; therefore, to have power applied at the same time would be counterproductive. A forward slip is a descent with one wing lowered using aileron and the longitudinal axis of the airplane yawed at an angle to the flight path using opposite rudder. To initiate a forward slip on final approach, lower one wing using aileron and yaw the longitudinal axis of the airplane in the opposite direction using rudder. If there is crosswind, lower the wing on the side from which the wind is coming. Yaw the nose in the opposite direction to the bank just enough to maintain the desired ground track.
Because the pitot tube and static ports will not be correctly aligned with the airflow during the slip, you cannot depend on accurate airspeed indications in this configuration. So, be particularly attentive to other indications of getting too slow, such as mushy controls or buffeting. If you get too close to a potential stall speed, lower the nose to increase airspeed and reduce the angle of attack.
Prior to touchdown, it will be necessary to realign the longitudinal axis of the airplane with the runaway centerine. To straighten out prior to flaring, level the wings and release rudder pressure simultaneously to align the longitudinal axis of the airplane with the centerine and then flare to touch down as normal.
Slips are also used in crosswind landings, in which cases a sideslip can be used to create a sideways force that is equal to and opposite to the force of the wind drift.
To land when the wind is not aligned with the runway requires a technique for overcoming the sideways drift that the wind tends to induce. On final approach, this wind drift can be counteracted by either a crab or sideslip. A crab simply entails selecting a heading towards the direction the wind is coming from while flying wings level. The Wind Correction Angle selected should be enough to prevent drift and maintain a straight ground track along the extended centerline. Adjust the Wind Correction Angle as necessary to achieve zero drift. If you fly your final approach with a crab, it will be necessary to align the longitudinal axis of the airplane with the runway prior to touchdown. This alignment needs to be made just prior to touchdown. It requires precise timing to avoid drifting if the crab is terminated too soon or landing out of alignment with the center line if you leave it too late. The landing gear is not designed to handle side loads, so it is very important that the airplane be longitudinally aligned with the centerline and not drifting on touchdown.
The alternative to the crabbed approach and last minute correction is to use a sideslip to counteract wind drift. This can be done for the whole final approach or just for the last part after starting out using a crab. The idea is to lower the wing on the side from which the wind is coming, using aileron to counteract wind drift, and to use opposite rudder to maintain longitudinal alignment with the centerline. The extent to which the wing is lowered will depend on the force of the wind. If you get to the point where to counteract wind drift you need to lower the upwind wing so much that full opposite rudder is insufficient to maintain