Chris,
The main impression you want to take with you is that a tri-gear
can be landed at any speed below that which touches nosewheel first - so you
can slide in a few knots fast and nail the main gear then lower the
nosewheel. That's what the 'big guys' do. It gives them latitude and
flexibility. This is mainly true also for the conventional tailwheel types
(with some reservations).
BUT the answer to the monwheel Europa is that it should be landed on the
stall, so that the she's not flying when you touch. Thus the tailwheel (if
not first) is prompted to earth quickly in order to transfer directional
control from the limpid rudder.
Crosswinds are, yes, trickier. Fore the first two types
(kiddycar and conventional) the trick is to fly in, dip the upwind wheel
onto the tarmac and rudder the aircraft straight before the rest of the main
gear takes the weight. All this happens in a short time with a heavy machine
because of inertia. Again that's what the 'big guys' do. Slight misjudgement
as to height makes a jolt but little else. BUT on a monowheel, you are like
a Tiger moth - feather in the wind - susceptible to every whim and fancy of
a gust. The difference in the Europa is the wonderful pitch control the
stabilator gives you. The real answer is to practice landing into a steady
wind and mark yourself on the accuracy of your estimate of the touchdown
instant. When you can say "now" as the mainwheel touches, five times in a
row, you are ready for crosswinds, and later gusts. The entire exercise is
based on your knowledge of the impending stall and that takes practice. You
don't want to be untrained in that before you try crosswind approaches and
landings. Be prepared to go around the instant you are unsure of the
touchdown - hand on throttle and stick. Having instructed on Harvards and
Otters, I can bet Tony K and Nigel will agree with me. The best place to
stall any aircraft is one inch off the surface. When you can do that, you
are master.
Flames invited.
Ferg
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Beck" <n9zes@verizon.net>
Subject: Re: Europa-List: wheel landings [was: Flying a heavy Europa XS?]
|
| Jim Brown wrote:
|
| >
| >I would also suggest, to those of you who want to "TRY" to wheel land a
mono
| >wheel, you need to do one thing first. With the engine off, have a friend
or
| >helper raise the tail to normal flight attitude, then take a look at how
close the
| >prop is to the ground or pavement. One bounce on landing, and you may be
buying
| >new prop blades.
| >
| >The center of gravity is behind the mono wheel, which will make the tail
drop
| >down, as soon as the wheel touches the runway, if you counter with some
forward
| >stick, re-read the above paragraph.
| >
| >
| >
| Jim, what sort of clearance are we talking about?? 2"? 6"? I've got a
| mile on the 140. I'd have to be looking straight at the dirt to get the
| prop grounded.
|
| Regarding the C of G, it's the same issue on any taildragger. It's
| behind the mains, which causes the tail to drop when landing due to the
| inertia. Trick is to zero out the rate of descent just as the mains
| touch, then nail it with that bit of forward stick (as I'm sure you know
| very well from the Pitts). Again, is it strictly a prop clearance issue
| that prevents wheelies in the monowheel? Has this been beaten to death
| in the past where I can look it up in the archives?
|
| I'm just very curious about the mechanics of landing a monowheel. I've
| flown in a few different ones (a Classic and an XS). Now that I'm
| flying a tailwheel plan, I understand a lot more of what's going on.
|
| Chris
|
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