Forward stick for balooning and directional control

[round_peg]

Thinking back to my primary training, it seems to me the real hazard that we were taught to avoid is porpoising. Probably every student pilot had at least one experience with getting behind that curve. It is both scary and dangerous. The rule of never reducing pitch attitude in the flare is the way to avoid developing the bad habit of trying to chase altitude. I think we all get that.

 

What we may be hearing by reference is that many CT pilots are based in high altitude locations. Adding power and never lowering the nose even a little may work great for them as the cure for a balloon, because they are often looking at a mile or more of runway and can wait for it to settle in. Sea level pilots based at small airports have to land in maybe half that much runway. A balloon or float that puts your touchdown point 1,000 feet beyond the numbers just isn't going to work, and most of us aren't going around every time we get lifted by a wind gust in the flare.

 

Per what Dave said above, I find my best CT landings come with a touch of power, as it keeps the nose up. But executing requires coming in over the fence at not more than 55 knots and flaring close to the numbers.

 

I'd really like to hear the CFIs on the board weigh in again on this issue.

[knolde]

By the way, this thread seems to be in response to some of the comments in this thread. http://ctflier.com/i...gs/page__st__20

 

In it, I stated that if a person leveled off too high off the runway and found oneself losing lift that what I do is to put the stick forward before the plane stalls, to trade altitude for airspeed and maintain lift and then level off and eventually flare at the new, proper height off the runway. This is my response instead of adding power. As I explained earlier, relaxing the stick to allow the nose down slightly will maintain airspeed and lift. One "rounds out" or levels off or whatever you call it just as you did when you make any other landing. One does not jam the nose into the runway. The action is a very slight correction.

 

I prefer this slight control movement to holding the stick steady and adding power. If one adds power, one increases lift and stops the descent to some extent. One has to adjust the trim, even if that is only with the stick, due to the increase speed and consequent increased lift and greater elevator authority.

 

Maybe I should has said I "relax" the stick. I said before and I say again this is a very slight, gentle movement that is done as soon as one realizes one is too hgih and is not going to descend properly and the new altitude is attained in a second or two.

 

Somehow, my procedure got translated inaccurately as pushing the stick forward when one balloons. I do not advocate pushing the stick forward if one balloons. Ballooning happens when one transitions from descent to level flight with too much authority or one flares with too much force. As the AFH handbook defines it, ballooning involves an increase in altitude. If one balloons, my interest is in stabilizing the airplane and then restarting a descent and subsequent landing or if the balloon is too high, there is not enough runway or one is not comfortable that the airplane is stable, to add power and go around.

 

The technique I use is one answer to the dillemma one finds ones sefl in if one is a little too fast, has a little too much lift and finds oneself leveled off a little higher than desired. It is an alternative to adding power and continuing the landing process down the runway. It is not needed if one flies in slower and rounds out at the correct height off the ground.

 

Jim: You have said, perhaps more correctly or more precisely, what I said in "rounding out" for landing. Yes, I try to fly the airplane onto the runway, I believe the POH says about a meter (3') "above the ground (runway), retard the throttle completely and smoothly flare the aircraft," presumeably for landing. This is precisely the area that I have long had a problem with-- YOU SHUT THE THROTTLE AND FLARE at 3 feet you are bringing the nose up and you will bound more times than not!! What Jim. Roger, CT and others have alluded to is that the nose should be a bit more down--a roundout if you will. I take these comments to mean that you gently "adjust" the landing attitude so the nose gear does not touch before the mains.

 

Not withstanding a lot of time and landings, I had difficulty at first until I was shown the "correct" method. The point is that I found that if I did flare (in the manner gernerally accepted by Piper and Cessns drivers), the plane lost speed--right now--and it dropped in and there are a number of ways to handle a bounce, power and attitude, go around. However, it wasn't until I began to fly it on with a gentle nose up, that my landings became consistently good. I also have found that the less than a flare works well in severe crosswinds (with 0) flaps a 60/65 or so kts at touchdown.

 

The ancillary question of how much flap to use? How many angles can dance on the head of a pin---to cite a Medieval College philosophy final question. From my perspective, it boils down to what feels comfortable; up to 8 and 9 kts in non gusty conditions, I will use 30 degrees, anything else higher speeds up to around 15-17 kts and gusty conditions, particularly gusty conditions I use 15 degrees. However, I have modified this a few times as conditions dictated. I should again mention that in nasty crosswind conditions I have found that using 65Kts at touchdown works well; at least at Pecos, Demming, and other places it did.

 

Anyway, the discussion is intesting and I hope I have not muddied the water too much.

 

See ya, Ken Nolde, N840KN