What is the correct sequence for a go-around in a Cessna 172?

Full throttle immediately (carb heat off first if on), establish a climb pitch attitude of roughly 10 degrees above the horizon, then retract flaps incrementally from 40° to 20°, pause, to 10°, pause, then fully up. Track the extended runway centerline and communicate your intentions.

When should a student pilot decide to go around?

Brief a "500-foot gate" before every approach: if the aircraft isn't stabilized - on speed, on centerline, on glide path, in configuration - by 500 feet AGL, go around immediately without negotiating. The decision must be made before the gate, not at it.

Why shouldn't you retract flaps all at once during a go-around?

Pulling flaps from 40° to 0° in a single motion removes both flap lift and flap drag simultaneously. Near the ground, slow, and in a climb transition, this causes the aircraft to sink before it climbs - potentially into terrain or obstacles.

What do you do during a go-around from a forward slip?

Roll wings-level first, then apply full power. Adding full throttle while cross-controlling in a slip can produce an uncommanded roll toward the deflected rudder. Wings level, then power - always in that order.

What airspeed tolerance does the ACS require during a go-around?

The Private Pilot ACS requires the pilot to maintain the manufacturer's recommended airspeed plus or minus 5 knots throughout the entire maneuver - from initial power application through the established climb, not just at stabilization.

The Go-Around, the Sequence Students Rush Under Pressure, and the Checkride Standard That Proves You Own the Landing or the Landing Owns You

The go-around is arguably the most critical maneuver in the private pilot curriculum, and it consistently ranks among the most common checkride failure points - not because students can’t execute it, but because execution falls apart under pressure. A clean, well-executed go-around is a demonstration of aeronautical decision-making, not evidence of a failed approach. Understanding the correct sequence, knowing when to commit, and drilling the maneuver from unexpected scenarios is what separates a pilot who owns the landing from one the landing owns.

Why Do Student Pilots Fail Go-Arounds on Checkrides?

The failure pattern is remarkably predictable. A student on final recognizes the approach is unstable, decides correctly to go around, then loses control of the execution.

Common mistakes: the throttle goes in partway first, then pitch changes. Airspeed bleeds off. The nose drops to compensate. Flaps come up all at once from 40 degrees, causing the airplane to sag. Directional control drifts off the extended centerline. No communication goes out. The whole sequence looks like a controlled emergency rather than a deliberate maneuver.

Each of those errors has a specific fix.

What Is the Correct Go-Around Sequence?

Step 1: Full Throttle - Immediately

The first input is full power. Not most of the way. Not a gradual push. Full throttle, right now.

If carburetor heat is on, carb heat off before the power comes in. You want full airflow through the carburetor when you’re demanding everything the engine has. Hesitation costs altitude you may not have.

Step 2: Establish a Climb Pitch Attitude

Once full power is in, raise the nose to a pitch attitude that produces a positive rate of climb. In a Cessna 172, that’s roughly 10 degrees above the horizon - adjusted for density altitude, weight, and actual conditions.

Do not hold a flat or low attitude out of fear of airspeed decay. With full power and the correct pitch, the airplane will climb. Trust it.

Step 3: Retract Flaps Incrementally - Not All at Once

This is where most students create real problems. If you had full flaps (40 degrees), do not pull them all the way up at once.

Bring flaps to 20 degrees first. Pause. Confirm a positive rate of climb and that the airplane is accelerating. Then to 10 degrees. Pause again. Then flaps up as you climb away. Retraction to zero from 40 degrees in a single motion - near the ground, slow, in the climb transition - will cause the airplane to sink before it climbs. You’re removing both flap lift and flap drag simultaneously at the exact moment you need every bit of performance.

The Airman Certification Standards explicitly require maintaining a positive rate of climb throughout the maneuver. Pulling flaps all at once near the ground is a reliable way to fail that standard.

Step 4: Track the Extended Runway Centerline

Under the stress of an unplanned go-around, directional control degrades fast. Left-turning tendencies and insufficient right rudder are common culprits. So is carrying whatever drift was already present when the go-around was initiated.

Climb out on runway heading, correcting for crosswind exactly as you would on a normal departure. The examiner is watching directional control throughout the entire maneuver - not just during the initial power application.

Step 5: Communicate

On a towered field: Tower, [N-number], going around. Simple. Immediate. They may have traffic on base or an airplane holding short.

On a non-towered airport: [Airport] traffic, [N-number], going around runway [number], [airport name]. Do not skip this because you’re focused on the physical execution. Other airplanes exist.

When Should You Decide to Go Around?

The go-around decision has to be made before the situation forces it. The tool for that is a stabilized approach brief, conducted before you even join the downwind leg - not at 200 feet above the threshold.

In a Cessna 172 on a normal approach, the brief looks like this: by 1,000 feet above airport elevation, you should be at the appropriate speed, on centerline, on glide path, and in the correct configuration. If any one of those criteria is not met by 500 feet AGL, you go around. No negotiating. No trying to fix an unstabilized approach in the last 500 feet.

That 500-foot gate is the standard. Brief it before every pattern entry.

What the examiner - and more importantly, every accident report - does not want to see is what can be called get-there-itis for the runway: continuing an approach you know is wrong because you’re tired, committed, or don’t want to do another go-around. That attitude is documented in accident reports far more often than any mechanical failure.

How Do You Handle a Bounced Landing?

The correct response depends on the size of the bounce.

Small bounce - barely off the ground, good speed, plenty of runway remaining: you can fly it back on with a smooth adjustment.

Medium bounce - airborne by a foot or two, some energy lost, outcome uncertain: go around. Full power, manage pitch, clean up flaps incrementally.

Large bounce - airborne by several feet, nose high, airspeed decaying quickly: go around immediately and decisively. The instinct after a hard bounce is often to push the nose down and force the airplane back to the runway. If the nose drops and the airplane contacts nosewheel-first, the situation deteriorates rapidly. Trying to salvage an energy-depleted, unstable approach from a few feet in the air is far more dangerous than a clean go-around.

The rule: if you’re asking yourself whether you should go around, you should go around.

What Happens During a Go-Around From a Forward Slip?

If you’re slipping to a landing - a valid technique for losing altitude without changing configuration - and you need to go around, roll wings-level before adding full power. In a forward slip, the rudder is cross-controlling the airplane. Adding full power in that configuration can produce an uncommanded roll toward the deflected rudder.

Wings level first. Then full power. In that order. Students who have drilled power-first without accounting for the slip context sometimes apply throttle while still slipped, and the airplane does something unexpected.

How Does Density Altitude Affect Go-Around Performance?

At a sea-level airport in cool weather, the Cessna 172 performs close to its Pilot’s Operating Handbook numbers. A go-around from 40 degrees of flap feels manageable.

At a high-elevation airport on a warm afternoon, density altitude may be 3,000 feet higher than field elevation. Available climb performance drops noticeably. The margin for error on flap retraction timing shrinks. Acceleration from 60 knots to best rate of climb takes longer.

Your go-around brief at a high-elevation or high-temperature airport has to account for reduced performance. Consult the POH performance charts before departure anywhere with meaningful elevation or temperature. Do not discover reduced climb performance during the go-around itself.

What Changes During a Night Go-Around?

At night, your visual references change completely. You lose the natural horizon and peripheral cues. After pitching up and before clearing the runway environment, you’re essentially flying on instruments.

Trust the attitude indicator for pitch, not feel alone. Use the directional gyro or HSI to confirm you’re tracking runway heading. At night, the go-around is a significantly more heads-down maneuver than its daytime counterpart. Do not chase external visual cues that don’t exist.

What Does the ACS Require for Go-Arounds?

The go-around appears in Area of Operation VIII, Task C of the Private Pilot Airman Certification Standards. The ACS requires:

Recognize the need for a go-around at the appropriate point
Apply takeoff power immediately and transition to climb pitch attitude
Configure the airplane appropriately
Maintain directional control and proper wind-drift correction throughout
Maintain manufacturer’s recommended airspeed ±5 knots - measured throughout the maneuver, not just once established in the climb
Comply with noise abatement procedures as applicable

The ±5-knot airspeed tolerance and the directional control standard are both active from the moment power goes in. Drifting significantly off centerline during a go-around at an unfamiliar airport means potentially overflying taxiways, ramps, or hangars.

How Should You Practice Go-Arounds Before Your Checkride?

Practicing go-arounds only from expected, well-timed call-outs builds the sequence - but it doesn’t build checkride readiness.

Ask your instructor to call go-arounds from points that surprise you: from a forward slip, from full flaps at 200 feet, from short final when you’re already mentally committed, from a bounce. The muscle memory for this maneuver has to be built under a modest stress load, not just in comfortable, pre-announced scenarios.

The goal is for the go-around to feel automatic from any configuration, any point in the approach, any level of surprise. That’s the standard the checkride tests for, and it’s the standard that matters in actual operations.

Key Takeaways

Full power is always the first input on a go-around - immediately, not incrementally. Carb heat off first if it’s on.
Retract flaps in stages (40° → 20° → 10° → up), never all at once from a low-altitude, low-energy situation.
Brief your stabilized approach criteria before every pattern entry. If any criterion isn’t met by 500 feet AGL, go around - no exceptions.
The go-around is not a failure. A decisive go-around demonstrates aeronautical decision-making; continuing an unstabilized approach does not.
Density altitude and night operations change the margins significantly - account for reduced performance and increased instrument reliance before you fly.