Carrier landing-how much nose down is too much

[CBStu]

On 2/17/2022 at 4:21 AM, Razor18 said:

You are basicly right, but during miniscule thrust corrections it never hurts to note which speed value was "right" for the proper descent speed or for horizontal flight on the downwind leg for that matter. Also, by peeking at the speed (especially its "trend", just if it is increasing or decreasing), you can better predict and lead your thrust corrections, as the difference between "sinking 500 f/min" or "climbing 500 f/min is a matter of only a couple of knots of forward speed, which is in turn a matter of only a couple of mm (or tenth of an inch for the imperial guys' sake  ) in throttle position.

Simple reason for it is, Velocity Vector vertical position (change) is always lagging behind speed change, and speed change is always lagging behind throttle change. By a quick look at the speed once in a  while, you can "split the difference" for a better outcome.

 

I agree, I like to use the speed as a 'secondary' reference. Particularly when I have screwed something up and realize I am way out of wack. We know that once you have the E bracket centered you can make some throttle change to change rate of decent and the E bracket will stay locked. But at some point a throttle change will affect the E bracket. So, if I look at the E only, I might decide to change trim to center it, but, if I also note that I am doing say 145k (and my typical is 135k) then maybe I should fix the throttle/airspeed first. 

Edited February 19, 2022 by CBStu

[Razor18]

On speed AoA always depends on gross weigth at that moment. Unless you always reach Mother with the same gross weight...