Want to make the best landing of your life? It starts well before reaching the runway. Don't make these mistakes on your next final approach.

1) Short field? Avoid the 'chop and drop' method.

The more stable your approach path is over the obstacle, the more likely you are to hit your landing point. Instead of flying low over obstacles, chopping the power, and diving for the runway, fly a steeper approach and keep your landing point steady in the windscreen.

2) Don't overshoot final.

We've all been there. Maybe it's because you have a tailwind on base. Or maybe it's because you just mis-judged your turn. Either way, you find yourself blasting through the extended centerline of the runway.

3) Don't ignore visual descent guides.

You don't want to solely rely on GPS, but you still use it. You don't want to solely rely on an autopilot, but you still use it. Vertical guidance from a PAPI or VASI is the same. It's a great way to ensure you fly a standard, stable approach with plenty of runway on either side of your touchdown.

4) Crab or sideslip?

If there's a strong crosswind, you should feel confident using your crab or sideslip to approach the runway. Each method has its pros and cons, and you should know which works best for you.

5) Approaching with full flaps isn't always the best option.

When you're at slow airspeeds, your aircraft is more susceptible to being tossed around by gusty winds. Use less flaps and a slightly faster approach speed (add half the gust factor to your approach speed). You'll find flying final approach and transitioning into the round out/flare will be a lot smoother.

6) Approach speed should not equal threshold crossing speed.

As you transition to a roundout and flare, you should be continuously decelerating well below final approach speed, somewhere just a few knots above stall speed. Simply put, don't fly your final approach speed all the way to the roundout and flare, or you'll be going too fast.

7) Take wake turbulence warnings seriously.

Until you've flown into wake turbulence, you'll never fully understand the power of wingtip vortices. No matter the size of airplane you follow, plan your approach to avoid wake turbulence based on where the wind is coming from and your relation to the previous traffic's flight path.

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