Landing Technique

[CTLSi]

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[CharlieTango]

The debate rages between stall landing guys and power to idle guys. The FD CTLS is a slippery, low drag plane that begs to be flown power to idle, and in fact lands the best in that way.

There are tons of reasons to turn final and fly at 62kts till flare, then idle back and let her touchdown almost on her own, slight back stick for the nosegear.

This technique will insure safety in cross wind, gusts, and is a life-saver to the gear.

But there are those that will simply NOT accept this, one of them doesn't own an FD CTLS, which is the aircraft I refer to in this post.

Your idea of crosswind technique will side load the gear. If you want to be kind to your gear a side slip leading to a one wheel landing will minimize stress on your gear.

Slight back stick vs full aft stick means higher energy and more stress on your gear.

[Flocker]

A noted aviation mag recently stated that LSA pilots have found that carrying power all the way thru the flare helps with making smooth touchdowns.

I recall that article specifically referring to LSAs. I'd like to revisit it. What month/issue was it?

[FastEddieB]

A noted aviation mag recently stated that LSA pilots have found that carrying power all the way thru the flare helps with making smooth touchdowns.

Repeating myself for emphasis...

...yes, it may help "with making smooth touchdowns", but...

...it will also get in the way of ever perfecting the skill of making smooth landings power off - which I still hold is a worthwhile skill to perfect.

And I do not see why LSA's would stand out in the "need" to carry power. In my experience, the need for some power in some loadings has generally come about in heavier planes that end up with a forward CG with just the pilots - Cessna 210, Cherokee 6, Aztec and the like. Not seen it at all in the (somewhat limited) selection of Light Sports I've flown.

[drseti]

Always carrying power into the flare is like always driving a car with an automatic transmission. Yes, you can, but why limit yourself, when with a little study and practice you can easily acquire a new skill?

[FastEddieB]

As a minor point...

...with the ROTAX idle set as high as is recommended here...

...even "power off" most of our little Light Sports are already landing with a bit of power.

The question is, "How much more do you need to get a smooth landing?"

[Merlinspop]

I read that, or a similar, article. The author said that the airplane rep (in the case of the article I read, Bristell) told him that the planes are so light that the have no inertia, and thus if you pulled power before the flair, it'd drop out on you. Raised my eyebrows.

Silly is exactly the word that popped into my mind!

Unless something was lost in translation, that makes no sense at all. A styrofoam airplane more likely to "drop out" than a lead airplane? I don't think so.

As a bonus exercise, given identical airframes, which will glide farther, a heavier plane or a lighter plane, each at their best glide speed?

For some reason, I never responded to this... when I said it "raised my eyebrows" it was because I thought it was silly/incorrect. Keeping power on in the situation described in the article, to me, seemed to be a crutch for poor airmanship.

[FlyingForFun]

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[Merlinspop]

I would just say that a good pilot needs to learn to fly an approach pattern appropriate for the situation. It can vary depending on airport, traffic, weather, controlled or not, etc. The actual touchdown can vary depending on similar situations, full flaps, partial flaps, short field, soft field, other traffic, length of runway, etc. Primary students probably are better off to use one technique, but when you start flying cross-country, it's time to learn to adapt to various situations and conditions, etc. Your pattern and landing technique at a 2500 foot dirt strip over 50 feet pine trees might be a little different than landing on a 7000 foot controlled airport with a Lear jet on final approach behind you and you're following a B737.

Absolutely agree! But to make a blanket statement, in an aviation publication, that LSAs need power to overcome a lack of inertia in order to make a smooth landing is questionable. Every landing presents a unique situation and we must draw from our bag of skills that which is necessary to ensure a happy ending. But to me, a no-power landing at an airspeed approaching stall is the foundation that all other situation-specific adjustments are based.

[FastEddieB]

Absolutely agree! But to make a blanket statement, in an aviation publication, that LSAs need power to overcome a lack of inertia in order to make a smooth landing is questionable. Every landing presents a unique situation and we must draw from our bag of skills that which is necessary to ensure a happy ending. But to me, a no-power landing at an airspeed approaching stall is the foundation that all other situation-specific adjustments are based.

Very well put.

I get a tiny bit perplexed when I'll qualify the heck out of a statement, only to have it "straw manned".

Like me saying, "I like to teach that, all things being equal and dependent on conditions and aircraft peculiarities, in general the goal should be to land at the minimum speed possible, which will, also in general, involve maximum flaps as consistent with conditions. Here's a list of times when a faster landing and/or some power and/or less than full flaps may be appropriate..." and then go on to list them.

Which can get the response: "I can't believe you think there's only one correct way to land a plane!"

Sigh.

[FlyingForFun]

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[CharlieTango]

Someone did say that many times to Eddie and me as well.

[FlyingForFun]

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[FrankR]

Help me, I'm still new, less than 100 hours.

Light sport aircraft are... light. They get bounced around by the wind a fair amount. And rarely do I fly in calm conditions.

Gusty winds, even mildly gusty winds can affect 5 or 10 feet of altitude.

I find it hard to be precise with airspeed near stall speed in ground effect.

So I practice. Land. Add power and get back up a few feet, in ground effect. Then land again. Two or three or four times down a long runway.

I'm still a bit freaked out by landing in 7kt gusts near stall speed.

Am I thinking right?

[FastEddieB]

7k gusts should be allowed for, but in the general scheme of things are not that strong.

The rule of thumb would be to add about 1/2 of the gust speed to your approach. That's only 3.5 knots, which I'd round up to 4 or 5 knots added to the calm wind approach speed.

This is a case where a full stall landing might be avoided, but only by a few knots. Adding too much speed can cause problems of its own.

If you're really having issues, best to get with an instructor, who will have an easier time diagnosing the issue than we can, long distance.