PPRuNe Forums - Tail Strike

PPRuNe Forums (https://www.pprune.org/)

- Professional Pilot Training (includes ground studies) (https://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies-14/)

- - Tail Strike (https://www.pprune.org/professional-pilot-training-includes-ground-studies/648310-tail-strike.html)

Why land a plane pitched up so that the rear wheels touch down first and risk tail strike?
Why not land at 0 degrees pitch angle?

Why not make the nose-wheel long enough so that you can land on all three at the same time, even if pitched up? Or, even better, provide an extra tail-wheel so that tail strikes would be harmless? Or land nose-wheel first, like the Stratocruiser or twin Comanche. Lots of possibilities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcasdescend (Post 11277799)

Why land a plane pitched up so that the rear wheels touch down first and risk tail strike?
Why not land at 0 degrees pitch angle?

In order to land at the lowest flying speed we need to do a couple of things:

Reduce the rate of descend so we don’t just thump it onto the ground, we do this by bringing the nose up (slightly) to transition from a descent to almost level flight. This is called a ‘round out’ and a ‘flare’.
Flight at minimum (low) speed requires a higher angle of attack. Since the wings are at a fixed angle to the airplane (angle of incidence) we need to bring the nose up (slightly)
Nose-wheels are not intended to be landed on. They’re not strong enough and just there to taxi around on the ground. Once you touch down on the main wheels the nose it to be lowered gently onto the ground.

Every flight student should see their airplane with the cowlings off and learn about construction and the mechanics.
The nose wheel on Cessna single engine series are pretty much just bolted right onto the firewall that separates the engine compartment from the cockpit. Any bump is transferred straight into the structure and it is very common to find firewall damage during inspections.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....5fffe49d79.jpg
See the damage ?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....8816d76d5.jpeg

Quote:

Originally Posted by B2N2 (Post 11278273)

In order to land at the lowest flying speed we need to do a couple of things:

Reduce the rate of descend so we don’t just thump it onto the ground, we do this by bringing the nose up (slightly) to transition from a descent to almost level flight. This is called a ‘round out’ and a ‘flare’.
Flight at minimum (low) speed requires a higher angle of attack. Since the wings are at a fixed angle to the airplane (angle of incidence) we need to bring the nose up (slightly)
Nose-wheels are not intended to be landed on. They’re not strong enough and just there to taxi around on the ground. Once you touch down on the main wheels the nose it to be lowered gently onto the ground.

Thanks for reply.
But why not design a plane with better nose wheel in the first place?

Quote:

Originally Posted by tcasdescend (Post 11278572)

Thanks for reply.
But why not design a plane with better nose wheel in the first place?

They did, loads of them

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....fe41e9be7.jpeg

Again the nosewheel is intended to maneuver on the ground. Don’t try and give it a different function.