Watching bad landings

benyflyguy

benyflyguy

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benyflyguy
Today was up the airport hanging out drinking coffee and checking progress of hangar we are building. Was a veritable beehive today for our home drone. We were watching everybody come in and out. There was this one guy in a 172 he was having a day of it. Wind was out of the south leaving about a 5-10 kt direct cross. Winds out of the south are tough at our place with the way the trees set up.
He was practicing full flap landings, coming in real high, little power, trying to flare early and just slamming it on. we Watched over and over just waiting for him to either change the plan or bend metal. Tail number checked out for a rental south of here.
Tried to do a touch and go with all those flaps out.
Kudos to Cessna engineers for that gear. This was the first time I was watching so I can describe to the ntsb later.
He finally pulled off and I thought he was going to get out and fuel up but he ended up taking off and heading back out.
I don’t think I would ever have the balls, but I would love to have seen him get out and just talk to the guy a bit.
Seemed like he was trying to use the 20deg flap set up with 40 deg flaps.
 
hindsight2020 said:
Lotsa this on this forum :D
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Those guys are the real thing. I think you meant this:
lsovaq137platcam.jpeg

Nauga,
who watches the watches
 
This seems like a really really stupid post. One of the dumbest things I've read here. My idea of a bad landing is when someone bends metal (or something else), which I've seen a number of times. Most recently I saw a Variety Eze pilot forget to lower his nose gear. I've seen all kinds of gear collapse and mishaps. I'll not get on anyone's case if they're not breaking anything. Thankfully I haven't witnessed anything fatal with my own eyes.
 
I do virtually all my Warrior II landings with full flaps and a higher than "normal" approach. I like the few seconds of added options the extra few feet gives me. It has to be a ripping crosswind and a long runway to get me to back off from full flaps. 5-10 kts is not ripping. I am a big believer in shedding energy before touchdown.
 
Half Fast said:
Those of you who enjoy watching bad landings should come out to KGIF when I’m doing T&G practice. I should sell tickets.....
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Maybe I can fly down from Sanford and we can have a high wing/low wing contest and/or show?
 
I typically use 30-degree (max flaps in an R/S-model 172) flaps for normal landings. A 5kt crosswind isn't likely to make me change that setting, but if it's fairly gusty I might use 20-degrees. It's a rare day when there isn't a fair bit of wind in Okieland, so side/forward slips are pretty much standard fare. It actually seems harder to land when winds are calm, and I still end up using a slip because it "feels right" lol.
 
Lachlan said:
Home ‘droMe. As in “aerodrome.” You critiqued his landings; I critiqued your vernacular.
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You critiqued his spelling, Im critiquing vernacular:)
Was he really "trying to flare early," or was he flaring too early?
 
I had a doozie a couple of weekends ago. Winds were 15G25 anywhere from 30 to 80 degree crosswind. I bounced twice but was able to keep the nose up, so both bounces were on the mains. But that had to have been the ugliest non go around I've done since I was a student. On the plus side, I was only about 6" off the centerline, but that was definitely a test of the landing gear.
 
Robert Gee said:
You critiqued his spelling, Im critiquing vernacular:)
Was he really "trying to flare early," or was he flaring too early?
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Noble attempt, sir, but what you are referencing is syntax, not vernacular which is the common language of a region, for example. Commonly calling a local airstrip the “home drone” because others nearby mistakenly label it as such erroneously does not make it as simple as only a spelling error.
 
Rental plane - guy was practicing landing in cross wind. So....... make fun of his landings? Nah - I'll pass. We all sucked at one time, some of us continue to have spells. He wasn't a PITA on CTAF, he wasn't a pattern hog, he was just practicing.

Somewhat related / same kind of theme here. I'm practicing for the IFR check ride. New CFII asks me if I've done any unusual attitude work. "Yes sir - every time I line up for an approach!"
 
These bad landings are what makes sitting at the airport entertaining. But only my true friends will rip on my bad landing to my face.
 
I guess when I landed at KSAA last august with the wind blowing 13-27 at 80 degrees to the runway with full 40 degrees of flaps in a 1953 Cessna 180 with 29" bushwheels I would have been good entertainment.
The jet holding short got on the radio and said "now that is a helicopter landing"

I'll admit I was pretty puckered, I was only going to give it one attempt, if it didn't look right I was going to go land on a dirt road instead. (the ramp was full of jets)
 
TommyG said:
These bad landings are what makes sitting at the airport entertaining. But only my true friends will rip on my bad landing to my face.
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Few days ago I had a landing as the sun was setting on the horizon. Turning final I realized it was quite difficult to see the runway with the tremendous glare on the windscreen. As I got closer to the runway the sunlight had a strobing effect as it was shining through the trees making it more difficult to see. When I finally got a clear view of the surface I was coming down quickly and knew I was going to bounce a little. A shot of power and I caught the bounce but still was having a difficult time seeing through the glare and strobing effect of the light through the trees.

Mixture rich, carb heat off, throttle to the firewall, milk the flaps up, reset the trim, and away we go ...
 
Lachlan said:
Noble attempt, sir, but what you are referencing is syntax, not vernacular which is the common language of a region, for example. Commonly calling a local airstrip the “home drone” because others nearby mistakenly label it as such erroneously does not make it as simple as only a spelling error.
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404 Syntax Error.
So in their vernacular, maybe they do say drone? Things you learn by watching the Stooges could be its own thread.
If I ever hear Home Drone Im going to assume they are referring to their wife/husband.
 
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Domenick said:
I do virtually all my Warrior II landings with full flaps and a higher than "normal" approach. I like the few seconds of added options the extra few feet gives me. It has to be a ripping crosswind and a long runway to get me to back off from full flaps. 5-10 kts is not ripping. I am a big believer in shedding energy before touchdown.
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He might have been at the old airport café in KPWT. I always saved my worst landings for that airport because I knew that other pilots were eating at the café and were grading the landings. A good day flying weather would be a good time to go up there now as the airport is building a new facility and the café won't be operational until next summer. :D
 
One thing I have noticed, or at least I hope is true. My landings look worse from the left seat than they do from the bleachers?
 
Watching planes....This is one of the major reasons I miss living near JGG. I have lived several other places since then & never lived anyplace else that had a decent airport bum set-up. Spent many an evening sitting on that patio about 300 ft from the runway's edge watching planes do their thing.
I've got several GA airports near my current place and none of them have anything similar.... well they do have a porch at HEG, but it's hard to see much from there....
 
bflynn said:
I had a doozie a couple of weekends ago. Winds were 15G25 anywhere from 30 to 80 degree crosswind. I bounced twice but was able to keep the nose up, so both bounces were on the mains. But that had to have been the ugliest non go around I've done since I was a student. On the plus side, I was only about 6" off the centerline, but that was definitely a test of the landing gear.
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We had a similar landing at Ocracoke one time when the normal crosswind was especially vicious. Mark was wrestling the yoke like it was a wild animal, feet on the pedals, all four limbs in action, he valiantly kept the plane from exiting off the side of the runway, finally got it down with gear, wings and prop all undamaged. The kid in the back seat says, “What was that?!” Mark and I both said, “A good landing.”
 
Rushie said:
We had a similar landing at Ocracoke one time when the normal crosswind was especially vicious. Mark was wrestling the yoke like it was a wild animal, feet on the pedals, all four limbs in action, he valiantly kept the plane from exiting off the side of the runway, finally got it down with gear, wings and prop all undamaged. The kid in the back seat says, “What was that?!” Mark and I both said, “A good landing.”
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Sounds like a recent landing of mine with a ripping direct, gusty crosswind. I touched down just as I ran out of rudder... It was a plunker and about 5' off centerline (on a 100' wide runway), but I said to myself, "Good job there, boy. Nothing broken. Pilot in one piece. Well done."
 
I had one like that a number of years ago flying into KHNZ, direct xwind 19G26. I played baseball, I went around the first two attempts, told the wife if we got strike three we're bugging out to KRDU and using the GA runway to land directly into the wind. I altered my approach tactic the third time, and we got in.
 
Rushie said:
We had a similar landing at Ocracoke one time when the normal crosswind was especially vicious. Mark was wrestling the yoke like it was a wild animal, feet on the pedals, all four limbs in action, he valiantly kept the plane from exiting off the side of the runway, finally got it down with gear, wings and prop all undamaged. The kid in the back seat says, “What was that?!” Mark and I both said, “A good landing.”
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More like a great landing. I assume you could use the plane again immediately after. :D
 
Ghery said:
More like a great landing. I assume you could use the plane again immediately after. :D
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Actually you’re right. Come to think of it we may have said “great”.
 
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