Landing Problems!

[tomahawkflyer]

Can someone help, I fly a PA 38 Tomahawk and i failed my solo checkride, because of a bumpy landing! Can someone give me any advice on getting down smoothly? or knowing when to flair?

[BJBATMAN]

Watch your instructors face. When he looks scared. Flare!!

[DeltaTango]

The trick is allways to bring yourself to the flare at the exact same speed and configuration. only then can you correct your mistakes.

another useful source of information is your back side..... :)

hope this helps

DT

[Genghis the Engineer]

Lots and lots and lots of practice.

Practice normal approaches, steep, flapless, powered, glide, straight, constant aspect, etc. until any variation just becomes natural.

G

[Mr Magoo]

Try to flare rather than flair, that may help too.

[calltheball]

If I knew the answer to this one I'd grease em on everytime!! However, greasing them on every time probably shouldn't be what you are trying to achieve. Consistantly safe is the way forward. The advice above is sound, most ropey landings don't start over the runway they begin with the approach. Consistancy is the key, once you are into the groove (and the picture starts getting familiar) you are halfway there. Experience is the other bit of sound advice mentioned above, after all it is only by smacking it on a few times that you begin to recognise when things going wrong! Thats what the instructor is for, letting you see when things go wrong without letting them get dangerous!
One tip my instructor gave to me that helped.
Look at the far end of the runway (it provides better height perception for judging the flare).
Don't give up, if the instructor thought you were good enough to take the solo checkride, you can't be too far away!!!!
Best of luck.

[tomahawkflyer]

well thanks for the help so far, I guess i will just have to keep practising.

[kabz]

Look in here:
http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/
(hope this is the right reference for what follows)

Flare about two seconds before you would otherwise hit the ground. This is easy and works in any reasonable aircraft including GA and gliders.

It's also quite easy to practice, just by looking at a pretend runway and just moving your head and thinking.

EXACT REFERENCE is ...
http://www.monmouth.com/~jsd/how/htm/landing.html#sec-flare-timing


[This message has been edited by kabz (edited 26 April 2001).]

[foxmoth]

Flare first, look well ahead of the aircraft and keep looking well ahead, only AFTER you have flared, close the throttle, then try NOT to land by raising the nose as the aircraft tries to settle. Only worry about the nose being to high if the end of the runway dissapears under the nose.

[Whirlybird]

Well, I failed about three solo checkrides!!! I think it was nerves basically. So I ran around trying to work out how to land with my brain, but it didn't do any good. Practice did it for me, practising till I got to the point that my hands and feet and eyes knew what to do, even when I was nervous.

BTW, despite my name, I'm talking about solo for my PPL(A). Landing helos is easier; you can slow down first :)

------------------
Whirly

To fly is human, to hover, divine.

[kennedy]

Any landing you walk away from is good landing!

Seriously, just keep getting stabilised on the final part of the approach is the best advice I can give, then relax about the landing flare as the technique will come.

When you go first solo you will appreciate the hard work you had to put in, the feeling is nearly better than sex!

One piece of advice I used to give to students was that landing is like pleasuring a woman, flare, hold it off as long as you can, and then she (the plane) will settle with that contended sigh! Get it wrong and she'll definately tell you!!!

[deltahotel]

Try this. Make sure you cross the threshold at the correct speed/height and in trim. As the ground comes up to meet you and the edge of the runway appears somewhere at ear level (periphally), look to the far end of the runway, smoothly close the throttle and simultaneously select the landing attitude (ask your QFI to show you.) With the aircraft in this attitude and no power, it can only go down and settle on the mainwheels.

1. As you close the throttles, the nose will tend to drop - don't let it.
2. Once on the ground, the nosewheel will tend to drop (C of G in front of mainwheels) - don't let it. Lower the nose under control.

[Sensible]

airspeed. trim, airspeed and trim that's the four most important things to remember about landing!!

[Basil]

Good advice from several contributers here.
Fly towards aiming point - Flare AND Look at end of runway - DON'T let nose drop!
Always MAKE the plane do what you want - it may sometimes take a little muscle, esp if you're out of trim. Don't get depressed!
I'm still learning and refining after over 15,000 hrs. http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/confused.gif

p.s. Old trick is to apply a little nose-up trim as you approach the flare http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif

Problem is, you can be inundated with advice and, to be honest, I can't really remember how the heck I learnt to land. (Some would say that day has yet to come :))

[This message has been edited by Basil (edited 29 April 2001).]

[airforcenone]

In addition to the above, try to remember the picture in front when the aeroplane is on the ground before you take-off. Try to achieve the same picture by looking at the far end of the runway when you flare and hold the attitude.