Descents are made by reducing power, adding drag, or lowering the nose. Drag can be added by using a slip maneuver (rolling the aircraft left or right while simultaneously pushing the rudder in the opposite direction—maintaining appropriate airspeed to avoid a stall is critical when using this technique). Lowering the landing gear will also increase drag and speed descent.

In order to level off at an airspeed higher than the descent airspeed the pilot should lead the target altitude by 20 to 30 percent of the vertical speed shown (500 fpm = 100 to 150 foot lead).