Definition
A landing technique used when the available landing area is short or when obstacles must be cleared on approach. The pilot flies a precise, stabilized approach at the minimum recommended airspeed (often a specified short-field approach speed), touches down at or just beyond a chosen aim point, and applies maximum allowable braking with full aerodynamic drag to bring the airplane to a stop in the shortest practical distance.
Plain English
A way of landing that uses the least amount of runway possible, by flying slow and steady on final, touching down right where you planned, and stopping the airplane quickly.
Context Anchor
Seen in takeoff and landing training, performance planning, and operations into short runways or runways with obstacles near the approach end.
Why Pilots Care
Allows safe operations at airports whose runways are too short for normal approach speeds, reducing the chance of overrunning the end of the runway.
Intuition Check
Short-field does not mean rushing the landing or forcing the airplane onto the runway. It means making a controlled, accurate landing when the available stopping space is limited.
Example Sentence 1
Because the strip was only 1,800 feet long with trees off the approach end, she briefed a short-field landing and used the recommended approach speed from the POH.
Example Sentence 2
Short-field landings are practiced before flying into mountain airports with runways under 2,000 feet long.