On a short-field landing in a typical training airplane (such as a Cessna 172), immediately after touchdown the pilot should

Choices

• ✓ retract flaps immediately to transfer weight to the wheels and apply maximum braking.correct

  Braking friction depends on the weight actually carried by the tires: F = μ × (W − L). Flaps left fully extended keep the wing lifting, which unloads the tires and lengthens the stopping distance, while aerodynamic drag falls off with the square of speed and contributes little once the airplane has slowed. The AFH (Ch. 9) and the Cessna 172 POH (Section 4) both call for retracting the flaps after touchdown, holding aft elevator to keep weight off the nosewheel, and applying heavy braking. Always follow the specific POH.

• leave full flaps extended to maximize aerodynamic drag.

  Incorrect. Flaps left fully extended keep the wing producing lift, which reduces the normal force on the tires and therefore the braking friction available — the ground roll gets longer, not shorter.

• apply aggressive nosewheel braking while keeping the elevator neutral.

  Incorrect. Braking acts through the main wheels; the elevator should be held aft to keep weight off the nosewheel while the mains carry the braking load.

• maintain partial forward elevator to compress the nose strut.

  Incorrect. Forward elevator loads the nosewheel, risking wheelbarrowing and loss of directional control, and takes weight off the braking mains.