On Mar 4, 10:50 am, Mxsmanic wrote:
Is it normal to constantly fiddle with the throttle on an approach in a small
plane? I find myself frequently making small adjustments on most approaches
(unless I'm coming absolutely arrow-straight into the runway and there's no
wind). From videos I've seen, this happens in real aircraft, too, depending
on conditions. I was under the impression that a steady throttle is ideal,
but perhaps that is hard to achieve in a small aircraft.

I don't have a problem in large jets--they take forever to answer the
throttle, anyway.

A typical approach in my Cherokee includes at least a few minor power
adjustments after the main power reduction on downwind, abeam the
numbers. They are not usually large, probably +/- 100 rpm. I usually
attribute this to variable wind (speed and direction) between traffic
pattern altitude and ground. Some days, the wind varies considerably
on the way down, and larger, or more frequent power changes are
needed. On those rare wind-free days (i.e., from the surface up to
1000 AGL), I can set power at 1500 rpm on downwind, apply flaps in my
normal places in the pattern, and usually hit the runway nearly where
I want without any power adjustments.