HELP

Bob Mackey, Vice President of Falcon Insurance Agency (the official insurance agency for the EAA's Aircraft Insurance Plan), has graciously agreed to moderate this forum and answer your aircraft insurance questions. Thanks Bob!

Moderators: drseti, Bob Mackey

Post Reply
HARDLANDING
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:50 pm
Location: NORTH PORT, FLORIDA

HELP

Post by HARDLANDING »

Hello;

I am glad to have found your forum. I have a keen interest in the CTLS; and I had planned to purchase one, based on the CT's roomy inside dimensions, speed, and range. My primary purpose, aside from the sheer joy of flying, would be to travel between North Port, Florida; and Del Rio, Texas...a 1500 mile trip, which I drive frequently.

Now, I'm not sure the spiffy CT is worth the landing anxiety, and plethora of miswired, unattached instrumentation problems.

I had 10 hours of flight instruction in a new CTsw last September (seems like a century ago). I have dim, foggy memories of being unable to see over the panel...which was cleared up by reading postings on your forum which indicate that no-one can see the cowling or nose... and of chasing the Dynon electronic ball which shot from one side to the other, like watching a ping-pong tournament (no viscous dampening).

I am soliciting advice on landings. I have a problem with judging where to begin the roundout, my height above the runway, and when to begin the flare.

I believe a large part of my problem is with parallax. From my seat, it always appears the nose is pointing to the right of the runway, so I use a lot of left rudder...and all the while my instructor is yelling "more right rudder...more, more". I do as he advises, but I always land with the stick way over to the left...an instinctive reaction to the parallax error.
It's a seemingly insurmountable problem for me.

I have 10 hours in a CT, 1 hour in a Thorpedo, 1 hour in an Allegro, and 34 hours in a Technam Super Echo.

Any advice? And does anyone ever fly the CT from the right seat (where it would be more hueristic for a right-handed person to control the throttle and brake with the left hand)? Ciao
User avatar
scottj
Posts: 87
Joined: Sat Dec 15, 2007 1:08 pm
Location: Eagan (Twin Cities) MN, USA (KLVN)

Post by scottj »

I fly the CT from the right seat every time I fly. I am an instructor. :P

Personally, I find it easier from the right because I am right handed. I had a hard time with my left hand from the left seat, but find the right side easy. Ask your instructor to trade seats, there is no regulation that requires you to fly left/right seat.

To your question on judging distance...this is a common student problem. I teach my students to look "far" down the runway and not up close. At the same time, try to fly down the runway at 2-3 feet instead of landing. By looking long, your aiming point will remain straighter down the runway.

Just hold it level (or slightly nose high) and fly down the runway at idle. Eventually the airplane will land. Keep looking down range. Keep flying until you come to a complete stop on the center line, no turning off onto taxiways yet. Straight ahead, easy braking, stopping straight ahead. Then turn off.

To your comment about miswiring ... I have never seen that in our airplanes that we sell. You get what you pay for, and we must have good mechanics. The warranty is one year nose to tail, so you should be happy no matter what.

Lastly, check out www.ctflyer.com for more tips and tricks on landings.
Flight training begins on the ground, not in the air.℠
2011 FAASTeam Representative of the Year, Great Lakes Region
http://www.SticknRudder.com
Jim Stewart
Posts: 467
Joined: Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:49 pm

Post by Jim Stewart »

I'm a CTSW owner and a student pilot with 75 hours in my plane. Yes, I am a slow learner, but I'd rather give my money to an instructor than pay it to have my plane repaired.

The first and cardinal rule of landing the CT is you can alway go around. Be ready to go around and do it if anything looks or feels sketchy. I've bounced high several times and I've always had plenty of time and control to fly out of it and make another approach. Once I finally understood this principle, I lost much of my fear and my landings started to get better.

Fly with full or nearly full fuel. It will steady the plane and make landings easier. I know that you'll want to fly cross-country someday and land with low tanks. Don't worry, it will come with time.

Put a reference dot on the windscreen to help you line up with the runway. Roll the plane out of the hanger, stand behind it and sight along the tail and nose at something in the distance. Then mount up and sit straight in the seat. Look at the target and put a dot on the imaginary line between your eyes and the target. That will help with aligning the aircraft yawwise.

As to flair, I don't have any good suggestions. It just seems to come with time. In the beginning, I'd flare when I thought I could read a newspaper laying on the runway. Now I tend to look at the end of the runway as I was trained. I'm not sure which way works the best. I've made some sweet landings at sunset when I could see the shadow of the landing gear out of the corner of my eye. Unfortunately, that's not usually an option.

Sorry about the QC issues with the aircraft. I had to sort out some minor issues with mine as well.

I'm looking forward to flying the plane from the right seat some day. I also think I could do better with the stick in my right hand.
HARDLANDING
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:50 pm
Location: NORTH PORT, FLORIDA

Post by HARDLANDING »

Fly with full or nearly full fuel. It will steady the plane and make landings easier. I know that you'll want to fly cross-country someday and land with low tanks. Don't worry, it will come with time.


Hello Jim;

Thanks for the advice. The Super Echo can hold 22 gallons of fuel, and I've flown it with the whole spectrum of fuel possibilities, but I've never factored the fuel weight into my landing conundrums. I will keep the issue in mind when I fly tomorrow.

The wind was from 130 @15G19 last time I flew, and I used runway 14, so while my airspeed was the usual 60 kts, the ground speed was about 45 kts and everything seemed much more manageable. I think I learned a lot. Hope this translates into a first solo.

I have cogitated quite a bit about purchasing a CT and finding an instructor to fly with me. The idea has a lot of appeal and would save me mucho pesos in the long run. The show-stopping caveat is what if I am unable to get a sport pilot license. Ciao, Philip
HARDLANDING
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2008 4:50 pm
Location: NORTH PORT, FLORIDA

Post by HARDLANDING »

At the same time, try to fly down the runway at 2-3 feet instead of landing. By looking long, your aiming point will remain straighter down the runway.

Just hold it level (or slightly nose high) and fly down the runway at idle. Eventually the airplane will land. Keep looking down range. Keep flying until you come to a complete stop on the center line, no turning off onto taxiways yet.

Hello Scottj;

The above is stunningly savvy advice; I will try your technique tomorrow.

The 1 hour in which I flew the Allegro; we departed and returned to SRQ. I made a landing midway at VNC during the lesson, but after doing the roundout on return to SRQ, the instructor said "There's no good reason to touch down here and taxi 5000 feet", so he took the controls and flew just inches above the runway for the entire 5000 feet before touching down. I was greatly impressed. The instuctor has 30,000 hours flight time, 15,000 in a twin engine Lear Jet which he owns. A very admirable gentleman.

I didn't even think of trying to duplicate his feat, but I will try to do a small portion using your advice. Ciao, Philip
Post Reply