Back in the days when PPLs learned on tailwheel aircraft, a correctly fully-held-off flare was mandatory; the aeroplane demanded it! If you touched down too soon (i.e. not properly held off) the mains would bounce the aeroplane nose-high which the pilot has to sort out either with a bit of power to cushion the subsequent touchdown, or with a go-around. Do the same in a trike, and the mains bounce the aeroplane nose-low, slamming the nosewheel on whereupon the pilot resorts to the brakes to slow down.
Just see how many broken nose gears there each month in the AAIB reports.
3-point landings are for taildraggers, yet how many trikes do you see touching down on all 3 together at any GA airfield any day of the week? It is sloppy and expensive (in nosewheels) technique. ALL landings on SEPs should be fully held-off (with the possible exception of extreme cross winds) except wheelers in taildraggers. Even here there is an intial hold-off until the mains kiss the runway, then a tiny forward movement of the stick to pin them down. You can then either let the tail down gently as the speed decays, or (my preferred method!) progressively apply forward stick until the tail gently descends despite full forward stick (in a decent wind you might well have stopped by then!).
I have never, in 32 years of GA flying (mostly tailwheel) ever experienced aquaplaning either on strips, airfields, or major airports even in heavy rain.
The main thing about landing a light aircraft is.... try to keep the aeroplane in the air as long as possible - try to stop it from landing - so that when it does touch down it is fully held off with most of the energy dissipated.
Last edited by Shaggy Sheep Driver; 12th Aug 2011 at 10:32.