Climbing and Descending

Levelling Off from a Climb

During a climb, the aircraft will normally be at climb power and climb airspeed.

When reaching the required altitude:

1. Attitude — lower the nose to the level-flight attitude and allow the aircraft to accelerate towards cruise speed.
2. Power — reduce power to the normal cruise setting.
3. Trim — trim the aircraft to relieve control pressure.

This sequence is:

APT — Attitude, Power, Trim

Key point

When levelling off from a climb:

Lower the nose — attain cruise airspeed — reduce power — trim.

Levelling Off from a Descent

When approaching the required altitude during a powered descent:

1. Power — increase power as required for level flight.
2. Attitude — adjust the nose attitude to maintain the required altitude and allow the aircraft to attain the desired speed.
3. Trim — trim the aircraft once established in straight and level flight.

This sequence is:

PAT — Power, Attitude, Trim

Key point

When levelling off from a descent:

Add power — adjust the nose attitude — trim.

Gliding

A glide is a descent with little or no engine thrust.

For basic aerodynamic analysis, thrust is assumed to be zero.