Learn what causes aircraft porpoising on landing, how to recognise it, when to go around, and how to prevent damaging repeated gear impacts.
An aircraft porpoises on landing when a bounce and incorrect pitch correction create a growing nose-up/nose-down cycle, often after a fast, flat or nosewheel-first touchdown. Stop a developing porpoise by going around immediately: apply power, stabilise the attitude and climb away. Never force the nose down to “save” the landing.
What is a porpoised landing?
In real-world aviation, porpoising is a repeated longitudinal oscillation in which the nose and main landing gear strike or approach the runway in succession. It occurs mainly in tricycle-gear aircraft and can intensify rapidly as each impact changes the aircraft’s pitch.
A single bounce is not automatically a porpoise. The danger begins when the pilot chases that bounce with alternating forward and backward elevator inputs, or when nosewheel rebound starts another pitch cycle.
| Event | What happens | Normal decision |
|---|---|---|
| Balloon | The aircraft climbs during the flare before touching down. | Hold a sensible attitude; go around if the balloon is significant or runway is being consumed. |
| Bounce | The wheels touch once and the aircraft becomes airborne again. | Do not push the nose down. A very small, stable bounce may be recoverable under type-specific guidance; otherwise go around. |
| Porpoise | Repeated nose-up and nose-down motion produces alternating gear contacts. | Go around immediately rather than attempting another touchdown. |
What causes an aircraft to porpoise?
Most porpoising starts with an incorrect touchdown attitude or an unstable approach, then grows because of the pilot’s reaction.
- Excess airspeed: the aircraft remains aerodynamically lively after touchdown and is more likely to skip back into the air.
- A flat or nosewheel-first touchdown: the nose strut and tyre compress, rebound and pitch the aircraft upwards.
- Excessive descent rate: a hard main-gear impact can launch the aircraft back into the air.
- Forcing the aircraft onto the runway: forward elevator after a balloon or bounce drives the nosegear down instead of allowing a controlled landing attitude.
- Overcorrecting: alternating push-and-pull inputs become a pilot-induced oscillation, with each cycle potentially larger than the last.
- Poor trim or residual drift: an unstable, badly aligned final approach leaves the pilot correcting several problems at once.
- Mechanical or runway factors: abnormal landing-gear damping, tyre condition or runway undulations can aggravate the motion and warrant investigation if the touchdown was otherwise normal.
How do I stop porpoising during landing?
The safe response to a developing porpoise is an immediate go-around; there is no reliable control input that turns an established oscillation into a normal landing.
- Commit to the go-around: make the decision at the first clear pitch cycle, hard nosewheel contact or significant bounce. Do not wait to see whether the next impact is worse.
- Apply go-around power: use the power and pitch procedure published for the aircraft, controlling yaw as power increases.
- Establish a safe attitude: stop chasing the runway with abrupt elevator inputs. Keep the wings controlled and transition smoothly to the required climb attitude.
- Manage the configuration: retract flaps and landing gear according to the aircraft’s go-around schedule. Do not remove all lift-producing configuration while the aircraft is still settling or before a positive climb is established.
- Assess the aircraft: after a hard nosegear impact, propeller strike or unusually severe bounce, treat the aircraft as potentially damaged and obtain the required inspection.
This is general aviation guidance rather than a substitute for the aircraft flight manual, checklist or instruction from a qualified flight instructor. If power is unavailable or a go-around cannot be completed, the correct response depends on the aircraft and emergency circumstances.
Can I continue after one small bounce?
A slight bounce may be recoverable only when the aircraft remains in the correct landing attitude, directional control is secure and ample runway remains. Hold the appropriate attitude and follow the technique taught for that aircraft; never push forward to make the wheels reconnect.
Go around after a high or hard bounce, any nosewheel-first impact, growing pitch movement, lateral drift or uncertainty about the remaining runway. The cost of another circuit is trivial compared with damaged landing gear or a propeller strike.
How can I prevent porpoising on future landings?
- Stabilise the approach: establish the correct configuration, trim, descent path and speed before the flare. Our guidance on working out an appropriate aircraft landing speed explains why adding arbitrary extra speed often makes matters worse.
- Touch down in the correct attitude: for most tricycle-gear aircraft, allow the main wheels to touch before lowering the nosewheel. Tailwheel aircraft require their own type-specific technique.
- Avoid reaching for the runway: if the aircraft balloons, maintain controlled pitch rather than pushing forwards. Go around if the landing picture is no longer stable.
- Remove drift and excessive crab: crosswind corrections should be established without abrupt pitch inputs. Review our crosswind alignment and touchdown technique if repeated bounces occur mainly in windy conditions.
- Brief the bounce response: decide before touchdown which conditions demand a go-around. That prevents a rushed attempt to salvage a bad arrival.
Why does porpoising happen so easily in a flight simulator?
Flight simulators can reproduce the same fast approach and overcorrection cycle, but control setup often amplifies it. Short joystick travel, excessive pitch sensitivity, poor trimming, input latency and duplicate elevator assignments can turn small corrections into large movements.
- Calibrate the pitch axis and check for duplicate yoke, joystick or controller bindings.
- Use a modest dead zone only if the axis jitters; too much dead zone encourages abrupt corrections.
- Trim the aircraft on final rather than holding continuous heavy pitch input.
- Practise in calm weather with a familiar aircraft, normal landing weight and a long runway.
- If available, review a replay from outside and identify which gear touched first.
Our simulator flare and bounce-recovery guidance covers the control timing needed for smoother touchdowns. Flight-model and landing-gear behaviour varies between simulators and add-on aircraft, so repeat the test with a default aircraft before blaming technique or hardware.
Can porpoising damage an aircraft?
Yes. A severe porpoise can damage the nosegear, tyres, engine mount, firewall or airframe, and an aggressive pull-up can lead to a tail strike. Propeller-driven aircraft also face a propeller-strike risk when the nose pitches down sharply.
An aircraft that still taxis normally may nevertheless have hidden damage. In real-world flying, report the event accurately and follow the operator’s hard-landing or maintenance-inspection procedure before further flight.