fixed gear vs. retracts

[Del Rykert]

Well said and accurate. I concur having my private for 30 years.
 
     Del K. Rykert
     AMA - 8928 
     NSRCA - 473
     Kb2joi - General 


  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: GeorgeF. 
  To: discussion at nsrca.org 
  Sent: Thursday, July 17, 2003 8:24 AM
  Subject: Re: Re: fixed gear vs. retracts


  At 11:01 AM 7/17/2003 -0400, you wrote:
  >With all of the variables that can affect the outcome of a landing 
  >(deadsticks, other airplanes, strange topography, unusual wind gusts, 
  >etc.) *I* have never heard of anyone who DID *NOT* "break" landing gear 
  >(or parts) sometime in their career.
  >The record you quote, George, is ENVIABLE!!!  20 years without ever 
  >breaking landing gear stuff....I think we need a "Landing How To" article 
  >from you for the K-Factor!!!  (As I'm fortunate to make it through a days' 
  >flying without some sort of off side/ends/surface landings which 
  >potentially hurt things - Then there's those horse hoofprints off the end 
  >of the runway...)

  Well I've also had my Private Pilots license for as many years and that is 
  one great way to learn the physics behind who to make good landings.  That 
  includes deadsticks, other airplanes, strange topography, unusual wind 
  gusts.  Once suggestion is that if you know someone with a Pilots license 
  give him a few bucks (ok $60/hour if the plane is rented) and go with him 
  and do an hours worth of Touch AndGoes.  You'll be amazed at what you'll 
  learn!  After all in a real plane bad landings, bent gear, and in most 
  cases bounces are not acceptable......

  The most common mistakes I see is people landing too fast!  An aircraft 
  which is not stalled when landing isn't landing but CRASHING!  All good 
  landings start with good approaches.  Start by making long 
  approaches.  This will give you a chance to SLOW down the airplane and 
  evaluate the wind conditions.  If at all possible learn what's called the 
  Wing Low method to compensate for crosswinds as opposed to Crabbing.   Most 
  modelers will crab right down to the ground, that will result in an instant 
  BAD landing as you're landing gear are going a different direction then 
  what the airplane is flying resulting in a massive side load.  That's a 
  large reason you see people "bouncing" (both model and fullscale) during 
  crosswinds.

  With the wing low methods the landing gear are going the same direction as 
  the plane.  To land using this method you use aileron to hold the upwind 
  wing low.  To correct for the tendency of the plane to turn that same 
  direction you would use just enough opposite rudder to keep the plane 
  aligned with the runway center line.  If done correctly you'll have the 
  upwind main landing gear hit the ground first, followed by the downwind 
  main gear, and finally the nose gear if you're flying a trike.

  George
  http://www.MilAirComms.com





  =====================================
  # To be removed from this list, send a message to 
  # discussion-request at nsrca.org
  # and put leave discussion on the first line of the body.
  #

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.f3a.us/pipermail/nsrca-discussion/attachments/20030723/0a9638ef/attachment.html