Definition
A nose-high, power-assisted descent flown at the lowest airspeed that still provides safe handling and controllability, used to clear obstacles on approach to a short or restricted landing area. The airplane is configured with full flaps, power is used to control the rate of descent, and pitch attitude is used to maintain the slow target airspeed.
Plain English
A slow, steep-feeling descent flown just above stall speed, with the engine helping to control how fast you come down, used when you need to clear an obstacle and land in a short space.
Context Anchor
Used in descent training, slow-speed handling practice, and situations that resemble the slower speeds used near landing.
Why Pilots Care
Enables the pilot to lose altitude over a shorter horizontal distance while retaining full controllability and a safe stall margin.
Intuition Check
“Minimum safe” does not mean the absolute slowest speed the airplane can reach. It means the slowest speed that still leaves a safe control margin for that airplane, setup, and situation.
Example Sentence 1
With trees just before the runway threshold, the pilot configured for full flaps and flew a descent at minimum safe airspeed, using power to manage the rate of descent.
Example Sentence 2
During the slow-flight exercise the instructor called for a descent at minimum safe airspeed to practice altitude control at low speed.