Landing a Tailwheel

[dmccormack]

I sure am enjoying landing on grass in this tailwheel airplane!

I fly the pattern at 60 MPH, turn base, then final (more like a continuous turn with a short straight stretch to look both ways for traffic).

I'm usually offset a bit and slip aggressively once the field is made.

50 or so once over the trees, aim for the cross taxiway, hold it off, hold it off, hold it off.

The intended touchdown point is always a bit before the actual touchdown point. I'll have to practice a bit more to get the spot landings down to within 20' or so.

Touchdowns are so gentle I hear the wheel rolling before I feel the landing.

Gotta love early morning flights!

 

[Pilawt]

Ohh, yeah! Love those landings where the mains are caressing the tops of the blades of grass a second or two before the airplane's weight is actually on the ground.

Then just when you get to thinking you're hot stuff, your next landing really exercises those bungees ...

 

[dmccormack]

Ohh, yeah! Love those landings where the mains are caressing the tops of the blades of grass a second or two before the airplane's weight is actually on the ground.

Then just when you get to thinking you're hot stuff, your next landing really exercises those bungees ...

Well, yeah!

But I don't have bungees -- the Pre-war Chief used an oleo gear. It's an interesting setup that drops down a bit once airborne. On crosswind takeoffs you have to really keep the upwind wing down to keep the gear compressed and rolling.

Until you get used to it can be a bit disconcerting.

 

[wabower]

The primary-use R/W at KADS has a displaced threshold, so I get to practice aim point vs. touchdown point on many flights. In order to touch down on the top of the 15 number, I've learned that at 70 KIAS final slowing to 60 KIAS over the boundary with flaps 30, solo with half fuel, I must aim for a point equidistant (short) of the end of the runway, which I think is about 500'.

After touchdown, the ground roll without braking is surprisingly short. Both the total distance required and ground roll numbers appear to jive reasonably well with book numbers for total distance and ground roll over 50' obstacle, based on the facts that I'm not that high but probably a few knots faster than short-field approach speed.

 

[dmccormack]

The primary-use R/W at KADS has a displaced threshold, so I get to practice aim point vs. touchdown point on many flights. In order to touch down on the top of the 15 number, I've learned that at 70 KIAS final slowing to 60 KIAS over the boundary with flaps 30, solo with half fuel, I must aim for a point equidistant (short) of the end of the runway, which I think is about 500'.

After touchdown, the ground roll without braking is surprisingly short. Both the total distance required and ground roll numbers appear to jive reasonably well with book numbers for total distance and ground roll over 50' obstacle, based on the facts that I'm not that high but probably a few knots faster than short-field approach speed.

That makes sense.

Some runways permit aiming short. Fairmont (4G7) is that way for me -- I aim for the last arrow head before the displaced threshold and still touchdown a bit past the runway start (though once I touched down on the line).

The approach to 27 at Waynesburg (KWAY) is complicated a bit by a small hill with decent-sized trees right before the threshold. The only way I can put it down on the numbers is with a decent headwind or with a very aggressive slip to just before pavement.

I've done it but prefer landing on the grass, which begins after the first taxiway. I'll avoid the pavement until the snow comes back.



Ground roll on the grass -- when I keep the speed low and touch down truly 3 point (and don't force it down) -- is amazingly short. Usually I'm stopped in 500' with just me and 8 gal or so of fuel.

Takeoff from turf adds a few dozen feet. I need to pump the tires up a bit more to get better grass takeoff performance.