How does a plane land?

Answer 1

In landing, an aircraft's speed is reduced and a predictable descent angle is established, the vertex being the numbers on the runway. That is to say, you aim the aircraft at the numbers. This invariably requires a decrease in the throttle and engine rpm. Pilots may choose to deploy flaps at this point on aircraft equipped with flaps. Flaps change the aircraft's wing geometry, increasing lift, increasing drag, increasing angle of descent, and lowering stall speed. To land, the aircraft must transition from Vmin (minimum speed required to maintain flight) to a lower, non-flying speed (Vstall). Using flaps helps achieve this end. However, flaps are NOT necessary to land; they're just convenient. Flaps-off landings are made all the time.

So you descend to the point where you're just about going to nose it in, then you slowly pull back on the stick, adjusting the throttle if necessary, bleeding off airspeed, watching the ground coming up. It's at this point where you get into what is called "ground effect" where the air is caught between the bottom of the wing and the ground. By and large, it's your friend. You "mush" through the ground effect, continuing to incrementally lift the nose, keeping an eye on airspeed and altitude, while maintaining the aircraft's track in the center of the runway. On high crosswind days, this can be challenging. At the appropriate instant the plane both stalls, and touches down on the runway on the main landing gear. Back pressure on the stick is then released, and you taxi off the runway to parking, using rudder and differential braking.