Shawn Coyle
Oh..how wrong you can be..............
Try landing a heavy [or light] B412 / 212 on the summer tarmacs of the mid west....
The skids do indeed indent and spread the hot soft black bitumen.....and we were just landing for refueling......and cost our owner heaps of $$$$ in tarmac repairs.
Yet alone if we hit the runway surface with some downward vertical force and slid a few yards or so!!!................many more $$$$$
[However I do understand your point........landing on a hard surface is smart and less painful]
But of course the BHT School use Tungsten Carbide shoes on their skids to slide on their prepared hard surfaces.........no one elese has the luxury of knowing where and when their emergency landing will occur.......thats only training not reality.
However, please don't misunderstand my comments.........all OEL or NEL should be made to the hard runway ....if possible!!!!
Last edited by Old Man Rotor; 15th Feb 2003 at 22:51.