My best landing yet..

[Shaderhacker]

I took off from the runway with some trouble (even that's not easy) but I managed to get lucky with the landing. I've always bounced off the ground at least once, or destroyed the landing gear. :( Even after I landed safely, I had a little hard time trying to keep the plane straight as I came to a stop. Amazing how hard this plane is to fly. I commend those that flew it!

 

[159th_Viper]

Got the convertible model there I see :D

 

Good Job on the flight :thumbup:

[TurboHog]

Nice three point landing! I always try to land three point (as well?) to reduce the chance of bouncing back.

 

Check out this Nice article about bouncing back and three point landings.

[MTFDarkEagle]

Got the convertible model there I see :D

 

Good Job on the flight :thumbup:

Actually I never take-off or land with the canopy closed, apart from a very small number of times...

[G-Lock91]

Actually I never take-off or land with the canopy closed, apart from a very small number of times...

 

How come?

[Headspace]

Stick and rudder has one of the definitive guides on what causes the ground loop. The CG being aft of the main gear is the primary contributor.

[Shaderhacker]

Thanks guys for the comments. I'm going to keep practicing to get it down. I don't like landing with the 2 front wheels as I almost always make the plane nose over. LOL!

 

-M

[LankNZ]

When you settle on the runway make sure you pull the stick rear of center to lock that tail wheel. I was having the same issues as you after touchdown and pulling back on the stick does go against all instinct but once you do that you should manage to keep her straight. As long as you are below 90KTS of course.

[leafer]

Well, it appears three-point landing is almost guaranteed due to the nature of this beast. I haven't been able to land on just the main wheel with the tail level with the horizon. And I've tried...and tried...

[WildBillKelsoe]

good job there mate

[Fox One]

Shaderhacker, smooth landing :)

 

This is just my humble advice - the first thing you should try to improve about landing approach is SPEED. Above runway edge you were having 160 - this is HUGE! There you should have 120, there's no need for more. Try to practice takeoffs and landings with 50% fuel or even less. If you're having difficulties observing the runway during approach try to come from a bit higher - not much, just a bit. Slowly you will become comfortable with barely seeing the runway just above the lower edge of the windscreen.

 

With practice there will come a moment (at least when flying in good weather) when you will be 100% sure, you will have NO DOUBT that after the next landing the plane will be perfectly intact. Really.

[Suchacz]

Check out this Nice article about bouncing back and three point landings.

 

Thx, this article helped me a lot.

 

Now you can se my improvement. I know, that it's not perfect yet, but I'm on a good way.

 

In my track you can see my first attempt to take off, seccond succesful attempt, traffic pattern and landing. No one was harmed :thumbup:

TO+L.trk

[Shaderhacker]

UPDATE:

 

Here is my cross wind landing. Sheesh this is hard to do. I can NOT keep the plane straight...

 

 

Any pointers would be helpful.

[Suchacz]

IMHO you should be aproaching directly to the runway and the slide due to the crosswind should be corrected by the rudder input or rudder trim... :music_whistling:

 

As I said IMHO! I'm still training landing at fair weather and with no wind, I'll add some crosswind later...

[159th_Viper]

I haven't been able to land on just the main wheel with the tail level with the horizon. And I've tried...and tried...

 

Try it with a 20% fuel load and keep an eye on your descent rate. Any more than the following pic and she will bounce:

 

 

You also want to keep an eye on your speed and touch down a wee bitty faster, ie at 110mph or so, otherwise it'll just transition to a three-pointer. Coming down, just keep her in a nose-down attitude and fly her into the runway. Once down, stick forward a wee bit to keep the tail up. Keep on the power until you are ready to drop the tail.

 

Herewith a quick clip and track so you can see from In-Cockpit what is going on and attempt to replicate. It is easy once you know to watch the descent-rate and the out-of-cockpit view when you are about to touch down. After a while you can judge how far from the ground you are by looking left or right out of the cockpit.

 

Ygx8r4ULRBA?hd=1

 

Track: Wheeler.trk

[Shaderhacker]

Shaderhacker, smooth landing :)

 

This is just my humble advice - the first thing you should try to improve about landing approach is SPEED. Above runway edge you were having 160 - this is HUGE! There you should have 120, there's no need for more. Try to practice takeoffs and landings with 50% fuel or even less. If you're having difficulties observing the runway during approach try to come from a bit higher - not much, just a bit. Slowly you will become comfortable with barely seeing the runway just above the lower edge of the windscreen.

 

With practice there will come a moment (at least when flying in good weather) when you will be 100% sure, you will have NO DOUBT that after the next landing the plane will be perfectly intact. Really.

 

I like approaching the runway at a little over 150mph. It keeps the controls stable. I've tried approaching the runway at slower speeds, but I find that keeping the airplane straight becomes too much of a chore as the plane starts to move all over the place. The P-51D also appears to bleed airspeed rather rapidly the closer to the ground you get. When I see the runway, I approach it at a higher speed so that I can line up along with it and coast it down by flaring. By the time I touchdown, I'm below 100mph.

 

-M

[SimFreak]

150mph / 1200AGL in the pattern, 120 approach. Touchdown around 90.

 

I'll post my landing practice trk for anyone interested.

[Shaderhacker]

150mph / 1200AGL in the pattern, 120 approach. Touchdown around 90.

 

I'll post my landing practice trk for anyone interested.

 

120 approach is ideal.. but 150 approach at a lower altitude will still get you good landings if you flair her longer and let the plane slow down before touchdown at 90-110mph or so.

 

Learning to land from the landing tutorial is a little unrealistic as it places the hoops right where you should be in 3D space. Trying to picture those hoops from a mission without them is impossible. You have to *feel* your way to the runway. There were many times that I got the right altitude and speed, but was too far away from the runway.. ended up pushing the throttle to gain more speed and then losing control of the plane as I approached.

Edited May 23, 2012 by Shaderhacker

[Fox One]

Shaderhacker, I haven't suggested you should fly the entire glidepath at 120, but surely it can be done. The manual for the real aircraft doesn't say the approach speed, it just says to have 120 above runway edge. I also fly the landing approach a bit faster like you, otherwise I get bored :D

 

I actually fly the landing approach while continually, slowly decreasing speed. But above runway edge I always have between 115 and 120. ALWAYS. If your speed there, right before landing flare is high you will land way too long. If you will practice landing on a short runway you will understand why this is important.

[Shaderhacker]

Shaderhacker, I haven't suggested you should fly the entire glidepath at 120, but surely it can be done. The manual for the real aircraft doesn't say the approach speed, it just says to have 120 above runway edge. I also fly the landing approach a bit faster like you, otherwise I get bored :D

 

I actually fly the landing approach while continually, slowly decreasing speed. But above runway edge I always have between 115 and 120. ALWAYS. If your speed there, right before landing flare is high you will land way too long. If you will practice landing on a short runway you will understand why this is important.

 

Yes, I understand. My approach requires a long runway. :megalol:

 

As I get better, I'll take the more practical approach.

[SimFreak]

Here's my touch-n-go practice session. Hopefully it will help someone

topractice.trk

[Shaderhacker]

Here's my touch-n-go practice session. Hopefully it will help someone

 

I'll take a look when I get home. Thanks!

[leafer]

...

 

Track: [ATTACH]66392[/ATTACH]

 

Thanks, Viper!