landing

[Scott]

Reduced/reducing power, lowering the tail, should cause a right yaw if anything. Make sure your heels are clear of the brakes, but check to ensure the brakes are not binding, and the tailwheel is pointed in the same direction as the rudder.
S

[Mark Bowden]

Hi Sam,

Here are some points to start at. You should be practicing at an airport with a "short" runway and keep you pattern tight as you train with a goal of geting 10-12 touch an goes in an hour. If you can't do this even at a long runway, your pattern is too large.

Place the runway about at the jury strut or a bit farther out on downwind entry. At midfield pick your landing spot now, not on base or on final but now.

At mid field reduce power to 1400-1500 rpm, add one turn of trim up and airspeed should be 70. Control pressure should be about netural. Get the descent sarted.
Gumps check, wing tank off, main on, gear down (lol), mixture - carb heat on, prop @ 1400-1500 rpm

Turn base at 45 deg off the end of the runway
Add one more turn up of trim, airspeed at 65
maintain selected touch down point

Turn short final and fly at 60 IAS.

Power and pitch to hit touch down point. When spot is assured, gradually pull power and start to flair to 3-point attitude.

As mentioned above 1.3 * Stall is about 55 thus 60 gives you a bit of gust factor pad.
Practice descent at 53-55 mph at altitude to get a feel for slow speed decent.
- Notice how much faster the descent rate is at 55 vs. 60.
Same for practicing slips, slip nose into wind. Practice a lot and get a feel what it does and decent rate as you approach control stops and manage/maintain your airspeed.

Unless gust factor demands it do not fly faster than 60 on final or you will float forever. People that say Tcrafts float are not filying them correctly.
You may have to adjust power on base and final as the realative wind blows you around.

Watch your airspeed and be preicise. Also practice going around. If you don't like it go around, practice making this decsion and act on it. so you are ready when you have to be.

If you do a slip with a passenger brief what you are going to do as it will un-nerve them.

Practice, Practice, lots of nice fall days now.

[mikeg]

I have found if you wheel land with one wheel first any bounce will actually put the other wheel down on the runway instead of sending you back in the air. Watch cross wind wheel landings as the rudder can loose effectiveness before you get the tailwheel on the ground.
58 year love affair with my 1941 A-65 powered BC12-65 DeLux.
Mike.

PS: Remember-boats float-airplanes land too fast

[slam555]

greatr info just what I was looking for we\ve been real close on this for a while and my instructor has been practicing with mine, his landings are really good,
its in the shop now for the radio repait, then we'll have the time and place for some pattern work

[astjp2]

I will say other than my deluxe with the o-200, the only B models I have flown were all post war. I know the prewars are lighter, and may be easier to wheel land than postwars. Big baggage compartments, full interiors, dual wing tanks. all weight aft of cg.

my 41 is has different position of the wing to fuselage than a post war, they just fly different

[braol]

60 mph seems to be the magic number for everything initially. Once i got used to my airplane I have found that 55mph is a good approach speed on final and that the airplane climbs faster (Vy) at about 70mph than it does at 60, although 60mph is a good target for best angle of climb (Vx). To avoid 'float' my old tailwheel instructor demonstrated an alternative method to me that if it looks like you're going long to pitch to aim just short of the runway to scrub some altitude (yes, I know, you'll pick-up speed) and then pull it back to 60 (or 55, or whatever) to get your stabilized approach back and and then land normally. You can, of course, side slip as well but that is, indeed, unnerving to passengers. It took a while for me to get my daughter back into the airplane after doing that unannounced. I'd rather enter a steeper, athough faster, approach in order to go get a shorter runway than to wave-off and go around again.

[Scott]

Remember, drag increases at the square of speed eg if you double your speed, you'll experience 4 times the drag.

So yes, increasing speed will help you decend on a net basis.

Side slipping is not an all or nothing proposition however, and because it increases drag at a given airspeed, a small airspeed increase combined with a more subtle side slip, will result in significantly more drag and a comfortable and more controlled approach.

Unless the wind is runway heading, passenger may not even notice your slip.
S