[Video] F-15C landing tips

[Fishbreath]

 

I saw a lot of people talking about trouble landing the F-15, so I thought I'd share what works for me.

[Maximus_Lazarus]

Many will argue that your speed must be a lot lower still

[HiJack]

Good landing but should have been 140 on an clean aircraft like this one. Trim to the AoA 22 and adjust with throttle only and you hit 150-140. Dial in the ILS for the correct strip also ;)

[badger66]

How do you dial in ILS info in the F-15 ?

 

I thought that landing was great . I wish I could get it that right all the time . Well done .

[GC1993]

How do you dial in ILS info in the F-15 ?

 

I thought that landing was great . I wish I could get it that right all the time . Well done .

 

Just make sure your ILSN mode is set to the aerodrome you're approaching, switch them around with the next waypoint keystroke.

 

Honestly, I wouldn't call that an amazing landing. AOA was too high too early on in the approach, touchdown speed was too high for an F-15 with no externals and no munitions, and the touchdown itself wasn't exactly pleasant. IRL in fact, that would have put a worrying amount of strain on the undercarriage.

 

If you had been slower, you could have flared it so that the wheels were literally hovering a foot or so off the tarmac and let gravity drop the bird to complete those final few inches.

[Fishbreath]

One more degree of AoA would not have shed 15-20 knots, but three degrees is also a steeper approach than book, I'm pretty sure. High AoA all through final is just the habit I'm in, especially with planes I'm not all that familiar with. (I'm more about things with whirly wings, or at least things which shoot at the ground.) I have no excuse for the bounce. :P

 

Generally speaking, I saw a lot of people smacking the Eagle into the runway hard enough to break things, and I figured giving them an easy example of how to not do that would be a good starting point. There are plenty of people a lot more qualified to correct them further.

[strikeeagle]

What ever works right?

[Kenan]

I didn't really see any flaring but, IMO, solid landing. A bit too fast (and a touchdown was a bit rough) but then again, I can't tell how much fuel did you have onboard.

[GGTharos]

The F-15C's landing struts are configured to take 600fpm maximum on touchdown for a 35000lbs aircraft, IIRC. That's a 10 foot per second drop.

 

That's 3000lbs of fuel + sparrows and sidewinders. If you're clean, then it's about 5000lbs of fuel.

 

This is also IIRC the reasonable overhead configuration. If you're significantly heavier, you should be doing a straight-in.

[Fishbreath]

Good to know. The video was full internal fuel, less an afterburner takeoff, and no external stores.

[GGTharos]

So you probably landed with a 40000lbs aircraft :)

[NineLine]

 

I saw a lot of people talking about trouble landing the F-15, so I thought I'd share what works for me.

 

 

Thanks for sharing!

[leafer]

I didn't really see any flaring but, IMO, solid landing. A bit too fast (and a touchdown was a bit rough) but then again, I can't tell how much fuel did you have onboard.

 

So, Kenan, the new landing physics make you happy now? :D

[johnv2pt0]

Nice video. Can I make a few suggestions?

 

You were flying what I would call a "bomber pattern." You wouldn't really see such a long straight in unless you were damaged or having some type of emergency. Work on making your patterns much tighter. Expediency is pretty important IRL, plus you'll learn that much more about the airplane. Also, a good altitude for your patterns in a jet is 1500' agl.

 

The flare you did wasn't much of a flare at all. It wasn't anything terrible or anything, but as far as a teaching video, I think you could make it much softer without floating too much. That's where airspeed control comes in.

 

And lastly, when you aerobrake, you don't want to stall out. Keep the nose off the ground, but fly it to the ground before you stall out. Otherwise it will slam down hard and do damage. Along with this, you never touch the brakes while aerobraking for the same reason...brakes on nose slams down.

 

Good job though and thanks for the vid. I'm sure it will help a lot of people!

[tsumikae]

Gee, as other said, you're coming in fast. Still, that was smooth.

 

On a sidenote, I'm surprised to read that landing that plane could be a problem in the first place. I may be a jerk, here, but I never had any problem at all landing that thing, even without any lesson on the matter. From the first try to the latest. Even wondered if it was supposed to be that easy. I started FC3 not so long ago, so maybe hours of training on the landing procs in the A10c have smoothed things for me. Also, I don't bother too much with strict procs on that one, I tend to trust my judgement. Bad, I know.

[WildBillKelsoe]

just now I learned that NWS is a hold switch for those tight turns... imagine me replaying bear trap 1 for skidding onto grass short of runway apron...

[GGTharos]

He's coming in at the right speed for the weight. He's landing a 40000lbs plane, and his AoA is almost right on the money for the landing.

 

Gee, as other said, you're coming in fast. Still, that was smooth.

[HiJack]

On all the real landings of the F-15 there is no flaring before touchdown. At present I think the gear is a bit to fragile but it's still in beta :)

[GGTharos]

Maybe you're not looking close enough.

 

0:27, you will see the flare:

 

Yes, it is only a few degrees so you will barely notice.

[tsumikae]

He's coming in at the right speed for the weight. He's landing a 40000lbs plane, and his AoA is almost right on the money for the landing.

 

So It's me who's too slow. Hey, KA 50 and A10 pilot here, what can I say :D

 

Then again, I still have to actually learn to fly it by the book.

[GGTharos]

Landing by the book means 21 units AoA on approach (11 degrees total) - it will take care of the speed for you. Just mind the flare when you're landing heavy :)

[tsumikae]

Landing by the book means 21 units AoA on approach (11 degrees total) - it will take care of the speed for you. Just mind the flare when you're landing heavy :)

 

Well right now, my landings in that plane can be resumed by "gears? check. Flaps, check. Speed? Still going forward, so check. Aerobrake? mmmh who needs that?".

 

So yes, maybe "by the book" was a bit of overkill. "Properly" would be more accurate.

[HiJack]

Maybe you're not looking close enough.

 

0:27, you will see the flare:

 

Yes, it is only a few degrees so you will barely notice.

That was a terribly bad example GG. Se if you can spot the flare here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eUFn6zpKSyQ

[GGTharos]

Sort of, but most of those look like they're already in the flare when they show up on camera from a timing perspective.

[HiJack]

He he, you'r the man GG :)