Short field technique poll

[Matthew Rogers]

I just use the technique SWA uses at Burbank.

Roll off the end and let the frangible concrete stop me.

Works every time.

Why not just land directly in the frangible concrete area? That gives you a nice and short ground roll. If you are steep and slow, you might even get to consider it a VTOL landing. Although I don't know if they count the depth of your crater in the total landing rollout.

 

[Shepherd]

What kind of power setting are you talking about?

I've used the techniques shown in the videos that were posted, but I have also flown the Remos and the Cub in using a (almost) full power nose up stall configuration all the way to the ground.
Essentially, I am high, with enough altitude to make the field if things go wrong, transition to nose up with almost full power, and use the engine to control the descent rate.
Of course you reach a point (altitude) where if things go sideways, you can't possibly recover, but there are a lot of variations of this technique from almost vertical descent to easing off to a closer to normal STOL as currently taught.
I DO NOT recommend this unless you have had some excellent teachers, and practice the hell out of it. Screw this up and it will make you dead faster than you can feel it.
I thought I had a video of the extreme technique, but it's totally useless. All you see is sky until the Cub touches down, then you see mostly sky. I need to mount the camera outside the plane.

 

[Stewartb]

You’re talking about a J-3, right? Try it in a Supercub. Better yet, try it in a 225hp Cub with leading edge slats and deep chord 9’+ split flaps that deploy to 70*! This topic doesn’t apply equally to all planes. I don’t fly my Cessna the same as my Cub. I can take both to the ground behind the power curve and do, but it’s different. The same is true for your Cub and my Cub.

In high power-high AOA it’s all about rudder. This pilot is one of the best STOL guys there is and he got bit while trying to maintain that attitude without landing. Nobody’s immune.

 

[Witmo]

Here's the links to two videos of an F-18 doing a carrier landing and an F-18 doing a high aoa pass at an airshow. I still say that an F-18 landing on a carrier is not on the backside of the power curve until an F-18 aviator advises me differently.

 

[Silvaire]

...In high power-high AOA it’s all about rudder. This pilot is one of the best STOL guys there is and he got bit while trying to maintain that attitude without landing. Nobody’s immune.

GoFundMe? He’s joking, right?

 

[Stewartb]

That was a year and a half ago. He repaired the plane and returned to the Talkeetna fly in to win the gross weight STOL contest this past summer.

I think, like with must Go Fund Me efforts, it was created by somebody other than the subject of the account. I don't pay much attention for and have no criticism against. Not my circus, not my monkees.

 

[SoCal RV Flyer]

You’re talking about a J-3, right? Try it in a Supercub. Better yet, try it in a 225hp Cub with leading edge slats and deep chord 9’+ split flaps that deploy to 70*! This topic doesn’t apply equally to all planes. I don’t fly my Cessna the same as my Cub. I can take both to the ground behind the power curve and do, but it’s different. The same is true for your Cub and my Cub.

In high power-high AOA it’s all about rudder. This pilot is one of the best STOL guys there is and he got bit while trying to maintain that attitude without landing. Nobody’s immune.

Wow, he didn't seem to touch the rudder at all. Just a brain fart, I guess.

All my high-Alpha flight/hovering will be done with my highly expendable $200 rc Pitts S-1S.

 

[Shepherd]

Oh crap. I forgot to mention: I have never done this nose high, throttle high, in a low wing Piper.
In fact I don't remember doing it in any low wing plane.
I've never even seen it done in a low wing plane.
There must be a reason for that.
So, all you Grumman, Mooney, Beech, Piper etc, etc, drivers are on your own.

 

[Stewartb]

I had a flight review once where the instructor asked me to perform normal patterns to landing. 10, 20, 30, and 40* flaps in a 172XP. He paid attention. Then he told me to do the same pattern at the same speeds simulating flap problems, so no flaps. I did it but the view of the sky on short final was uncomfortable. Very nose high. Not high power, but without flaps the view was very different. I like flaps. Especially the new split flaps on a Cub. Pulling each notch rotates the nose down. Very different from stock flaps. That's a game changer and most who don't live in the Cub world won't recognize it when watching STOL contest videos. Consider different planes have different equipment before you go out and try to duplicate what you've seen.

 

[IK04]

Oh crap. I forgot to mention: I have never done this nose high, throttle high, in a low wing Piper.
In fact I don't remember doing it in any low wing plane.
I've never even seen it done in a low wing plane.
There must be a reason for that.
So, all you Grumman, Mooney, Beech, Piper etc, etc, drivers are on your own.

I flew bush in Alaska in Cherokee Sixes, Archers and a Seneca 2. Guess what? It works just fine... (It's much harder on the landing gear, horizontal stab and propeller than a Cessna 185 or 207)

 

[Shepherd]

I kind of thought the "low" tail feathers, flaps and different ground effect might cause problems, so I never tried it.
Also, every "master" I flew with did it in a high wing.
Old lessons stay with you the longest, I guess.

 

[Sundancer]

What you describe is how I was taught, except we cheated a bit, reserved some power - this was in Cessnas, of course, with 40 flaps available.

 

[asicer]

I had a flight review once where the instructor asked me to perform normal patterns to landing. 10, 20, 30, and 40* flaps in a 172XP. He paid attention. Then he told me to do the same pattern at the same speeds simulating flap problems, so no flaps.

Odd, why did he ask for the same speed instead of the POH recommended 70kts? Or did you do the 10/20/30/40 at 70kts?

 

[Stewartb]

I’ve never landed a Cessna at 70kts.

 

[Maxnr]

Precisely the way that Uncle Sam checked out Marine, Army and USAF pilots in the O-1 Birddog. Nothing scare-y here.