Thank you very much for the info, I guess ground-braking really isn't a problem with planes.
Regarding the short field operation, please correct me if I estimate wrong, but with the throttle all the way back to idle as described and full flaps wouldn't you have to dive quite steeply and thereby descend quite rapidly to keep the airspeed above the stall-limit? Requiring very precise timing for the flare not to hammer in the ground, like when performing auto-rotation on a helicopter.
Frank
Actually, all you need do is follow the recommended approach speeds for that maneuver from the pilot's operating handbook. Short field landings are not normally more steep than others, just happen at slower speeds (that's what the flaps are for... to allow you to fly slower without dropping out of the sky while also providing aerodynamic braking). The steeper approach maneuver is the Landing/Takeoff over a 50 ft. Obstacle procedures, which have you at Vx (best Angle of climb/descent) so you can clear those nasty things they put in the way of the runway sometimes. It can feel in those approaches that you are almost "falling towards the runway", but in a controlled fashion.
A "normal" landing with full flaps is what most pilots use. And once you know you have the runway made (meaning you know if your engine cuts out that you'll still be able to glide to it), you can pull the engine to idle and even add the last notch of flaps if appropriate. Flaps do two things for you on landing... A) Helps to slow the plane down by adding drag, and B) adding extra lift to allow slower flight. The first 10% of flaps (on a Cessna 152 or 172) adds more lift than drag. Anything beyond that first setting in that aircraft is adding more drag than lift.
One of the reasons why approach speeds are either close to, or at the best angle of glide is because if you do have an engine fail, you're already set up to glide it in without power. On a Cessna 172 this is right around 70 KIAS (Knots of Indicated Airspeed). Stall speed, meaning the speed at which the plane will fall out of the sky due to lack of sufficient lift being produced by the wings to counteract gravity, can be quite low. In a C-152, for instance, with full flaps, it can be quite low indeed. If memory serves (and please correct me if I'm wrong on this because it's been many years and I don't have a 152 P.O.H. in front of me), full flaps with power off stall speed can be down around 43 KCAS (Knots of Calibrated Airspeed). With flaps up and power off, a C-152 will have about a 48 KCAS stall speed. Both well below the recommended approach speed of around 70 KIAS. In a C-172, stall speeds are: power off and full flaps - 47 KIAS, and power off no flaps - 51 KIAS.
Now, in a plane like a C-152 you have a ground rollout of around 475 feet on a "standard day" (standard pressure and temperature). On a C-172, ground rollout for a normal landing is about 550 ft.
So, in summary, unless you have that 50 ft obstacle to clear, even on a short runway, you still fly the approach at the normal approach angle. Coming in steep, or shallow, either way, can invite problems. There are techniques like "slipping to land" where one purposefully uses cross-controls to swing tail one way, nose the other, and use the side of the aircraft as an aerobrake to lose a lot of altitude fast if you are high on an approach. By the way, other than using a glide slope indicator on your VOR, you can also use the lights at a large number of runways called VASI or PAPI lights. These are lights that show you if you are high, on glide slope, or low, by changing colors. They are located adjacent to the runway you are landing on, and are an array of two sets of lights, one "above" the other (as percieved from the air) in the case of VASI (Visual Approach Slope Indicator lighting), or as a set of four or more lights in a row for a PAPI system (Precision Approach Indicator lighting). The simplest to use is the VASI. On approach you will see the lights change with your glide slope angle. White over white means you are too high, Red over White means you are on glide slope, and Red over Red means you are too low. An easy way to remember this is; "White over White descend in flight. Red Over White everythings all right. Red over Red.... I'm DEAD!". If you want to practice this with a flight simulator game, try the approach for KSUS, KCPS, or KSTL (my local airports that have these systems), and give it a whirl.