>Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2001 23:40:20 +0100
From: Graham Singleton <grasingleton@avnet.co.uk>
>Subject: Re: Squirrely handling
>
>>We now have about 7 hours on our Monowheel
>>XS, and have found the roll out after landing to
>>be very challenging. The plane darts to the side
>>and once going that way, does not want to stop.
>>Our outriggers are slightly shorter than recommended,
>>with both just touching the ground with full fuel and
>>no crew on board.
>>Terry Seaver
>>A135, N135TD
>
>The main wheel can have an effect, especially on tarmac runways. Have you
>tried 23 psi tire pressure?
>Having the outriggers hard on the ground with the tail down will help too.
>Remember grass runways will always be easier than hardtop.
>
>It is technique that has the most effect. Do a bit of armchair flying and
>think about the effects of the various variables.
>As Henk says, it is vital to get the tailwheel down firmly and then hold
>it down. As soon as the tail is on the ground the stick can be pulled hard
>back. The airplane cannot pitch up because the tail can't go any lower. I
>have often found myself touching down mainwheel first. Not a problem
>usually (until you hit a bump) but you have to keep on flying the plane
>until speed decays and the tail drops. This is the time of minimum yaw
>control authority. No slipstream over the rudder and no tailwheel
>steering. If a yaw starts it will be very difficult to stop, the more yaw
>the harder. This is where accurate and instant perception of what the
>airplane is doing is vital and equally instant use of rudder is needed. I
>used to find that frequent jabs of full rudder in both directions were
>what worked for me.
>So , I would suggest a few basic primary variables to concentrate on,
>1 Control speed in the flare and hold off until you feel the tailwheel
>touch, then stick firmly back to the stop.
>2 Concentrate hard on recognising and preventing any yaw with large
>amounts of rudder but letting the rudder centralise as soon as the yaw stops.
>3 If you bounce high, resist the temptation to push on the stick, give it
>full power and ease the stick forward. Then either go round or reduce
>power and start again with the flare.
>4 Many of us reckon that landings tend to be more graceful {{:-) with a
>little bit of power to reduce the rate of descent. but keeping the speed
>just below 60 kts over the fence. Chop the power after touchdown.
>5 One other thing that I have noticed is that as the wing comes into
>ground effect, a couple of feet off the ground, elevator authority is
>reduced and the nose will drop. This feels like a stall but isn't. The
>stick needs to be pulled back significantly to restore the correct AoA.
>
>Graham
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