Is it principally that difficult to land a 767 if you can land a cessna?

Question

I mean, let's be straight!!: The only difference between a 767 and a cessna is the weight..... So ,if you're qualified to land a cessna, you have the basics to land every aircraft........

Answer 1

Let's be really straight, there are more differences between the two than 'just weight'!

I'm assuming you are referring to the light single engine cessnas and not the biz jets...

Answer 2

some pretty good answers already. Shortly put, I would not want to have to land an unfamiliar plane.

One thing to remember with huge airliners is that the pilot sits 20-30 feet off the ground. When learning in a Cessna I had a hard enough time trying to predict how high I was right before touchdown and that was only like 3 feet.

I'd bet someone with decent piloting experience could probably get a big plane on the ground in more or less one piece, but it wouldn't be pretty or smooth (or good for the plane).

Answer 3

well, you sound a little as if u meant that weight is the only issue, and not a big one at that.

weight is is a HUGE issue

heavier aircraft accelerate more slowly and slow down less quickly, this lag in speed response can already kill you easily.

having set that, here's a list of things that are different enough that you would not be able to land a 767 without damage.

-point of view. You will be significantly higher, therefore you can very easily misjudge your flare and fly your 767 into the ground, or float over the runway, therefore landing long, and therefore, increasing your already great risk of overrunning the runway.

-the engines are turbofans. which means they take time to spool up and spool down. you need to have had experience in large acft to anticipate power needs. (stall into the ground, or too high landing speed, again, not good for you)

-flaps/ slats/ spoilers/ brakes and reverse thrust. they are all different. in a cessna, at x speed u can lower x degrees of flaps, but in large acft, all that is calculated before each landing depending on various factors. In a cessna, braking is pretty near braking in a car. In a large aircraft, put on the brakes to hard and you will blow tires. there is technique for that too. reverse thrust is not just pull the levers until they engage, theres procedures, science and art behind that too. Without proper training, you will most likely either overrun the runway or blow some tires.

those are the three great factors which will deter you from making a successful landing. There may be more I might of forgotten to mention or the other factors are just not big enough to affect the outcome of the landing.

if you know how to land a cessna, one can say you have your principles, like flaring, glideslope etc, but that does not mean you can successfully land a larger aircraft.

just means you sort of know what is involved, in a genera kind of way, but have nearly no idea how to accomplish it properly.

with a little luck, you might succeed.

Answer 4

dear o dear it big difference the

Jet and prop vary

the landing and the hight of the landing gear vary

the size does play a part

Answer 5

The degree of difficulty between landing a 767 and a Cessna may vary, but the underlying principles are the same.

You are right when you say the weight is the criteria. I may, however, add here, that the complexities and procedures of the 767 may be vastly greater than the Cessna.

You have a valid point in your question.

Answer 6

Well, yeah if you can land a Cessna you do have the basics. But there is a lot more then basic training that you need to fly a 767. the way you state it is to simple. like, if you go and get your Private Pilots liscense you should be "basicly" qualifide to fly anything. And that is deffinetly not the case.

Answer 7

I flew Cessnas for 3 years as a CFI, got about 1000 hours in them.  Been training with the airlines for the last month in the ERJ 145 ( 50 seat jet).  This is my first experience in any kind of jet and I've found that while flying the plane and abiding by procedures is monumental as compared to a Cessna, the actual simply hands on flying approach and landing, all procedures and bs aside, is not to difficult.  Heavier they are, the more stable they tend to be.  Now again the procedures on how to configure for landing and approach are not even comparible to that of a small aircraft, they are in a new world of dificulty.  But once all set, the actual flare and touchdown is cake.

Answer 8

It is a lot different than it would seem. Cessna pilot would be able to get it to the airport  but as far as landing it would be difficult to do. FYI, I would feel the same way about a jet pilot flying a Cessna. Last time I flew a Cessna it scared the c**p out of me, and I have 1200hrs in them. Just not any in the last 2 years.

Answer 9

The answer is that it really depends upon one critical issue -- are you assuming that nothing goes wrong? For example, a 767 pilot would be expected to land a 767 perfectly even if one engine failed at any point in the landing.

Answer 10

Only one way to find out! Off you go!

I've only flown C172's but I landed the 737-800 simulator with no control input from the instructor. Greased the landing!

Answer 11

Not really.  Speeds are way different.  Jet engines also take much longer to spool up than pistons, so approaches require a lot more precision and time to set up.  There is much less room for error than in a Cessna, where you can throttle jockey and use power bursts to correct for poor approaches, gusty winds, sink holes, etc.  Large aircraft also behave differently in ground effect than small aircraft do.  I know in the Dassault Falcon series, if you flare like you would in a Cessna, you'll balloon like crazy.  That aircraft is simply just flown into ground effect and held there.  But simply, no.  You might be able to get it on the ground, but I'm pretty sure there would be some passengers with whiplash in the back.

Answer 12

I admit that I am not a pilot but I have flown at the controls of a Cessna 152 and a 172. Friendly owner/pilots with good hearts but no brains.

I have only been at the controls for one landing (172) and I can guarantee that if I was landing a 767 you would see the biggest G.D. crash your ever going to see in your life.

I might be able to get the Cessna down again in an emergency but a 767; I seriously doubt it.

Answer 13

Are you one of those guys who rides on large aircraft and hopes both pilots ate the fish?  I have people, private pilots mostly, say things like, "if you don't know what you're doing up there, just let me know and I'll land it for you."  I'm serious, I had a guy say that to me recently.

To answer your question, Mythbusters tried this.  Without any help, non-pilots crashed the large aircraft simulator.  With help from an experienced pilot and simulator engineer, they both were able to land at the airport.  So, with some help you could probably do it.  Of course, it's never actually happened, only in the movies.  And, on most flights there are pilots riding to work or commuting, and many flight attendants have pilot certificates as well.  So, your chances of actually living that dream is pretty remote.  Keep on dreaming, though.