Dave
I also have the XS, and I agree with you about the long tail wheel arm. I also
make my landings with the far end of the runway in my sight picture. I keep the
same distance from top of the cowl to end of the runway until wheel touches
runway.
To get this sight picture, set on the end of the runway and and look at the
other end. The sight picture is the distance the end of the runway is above the
top of the cowl. This will set your angle of attack to land. I usually
transition to the sight picture as I approach the threshold.
Jim Brown
N398JB
David DeFord wrote:
>
>
> > Simplest way is to feel for
> > the ground with the tailwheel and as soon as it touches stick
> > hard back. The plane can't pitch up so it just quits flying.
>
> I have seen this advice from quite a few pilots, but I wonder if any of them
> fly the XS, which sits at a shallower angle on the ground, and is more than
> willing to keep flying at that attitude. In addition, the long tailwheel
> spring is quite flexible, and can be easily bent downward (increasing the
> angle of attack) with modest force on the tailplane. I tried the quick
> "stick full back" method a few times back a couple of years ago, and was
> typically rewarded with a re-launch. I find it better to wait a second or
> two after touchdown before easing the stick back. There is still plenty of
> rudder authority at that point, so you don't immediately need the strong
> force on the tailwheel (but don't count on that as the airplane slows down
> too much). While the airplane can be landed guaranteed bounce-free from a
> very nose-high attitude, it feels better to me to keep the nose down enough
> that I don't lose sight of the far end of the runway. What to other XS
> pilots do?
>
> Dave DeFord
> N135TD
>
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