Definition
A reference distance used in pilot certification practical test standards, measured from the beginning of the usable landing surface (the landing threshold) along the runway centerline. On certain landing tasks, the applicant is expected to touch down within a defined zone whose near edge lies 75 feet beyond the landing threshold.
Plain English
A spot on the runway 75 feet past where the landing area begins. It is used as a target during checkride landings — the examiner wants you to touch down at or beyond this point, not short of it.
Context Anchor
Seen in runway marking, lighting, airport layout, and approach-area descriptions that place an object or reference point near the start of the landing runway.
Why Pilots Care
On a checkride, touching down before this point — or well beyond it — can result in an unsatisfactory grade for the landing task. It is also a real-world safety habit: landing too close to the threshold risks an undershoot, while landing too far down the runway eats up valuable stopping distance.
Intuition Check
Do not read “threshold” as a doorway in a building. In this context, the landing threshold is the runway reference line where the usable landing portion begins. Do not read “75 feet from” as height. It is a surface distance away from that threshold unless the surrounding text says otherwise.
Example Sentence 1
For the short-field landing task, the applicant must touch down within 200 feet beyond a specified point that is no closer than 75 feet from the landing threshold.
Example Sentence 2
Maintenance crews measured the sign placement starting 75 feet from the landing threshold.