VERY good summary. You have the essentials and my comments here are only tweaks, though maybe valuable.
Greg Bullough wrote: > > By approaching, in a 90-degree crosswind, at 5MPH more than > I would have ordinarily, I exacerbated the problem. Adding 1/2 the __gust__ factor to the approach speed is so that a sudden un-gust won't leave you with TOO LITTLE airspeed near the ground. The penalty is that, if the wind drop doesn't happen, you have a little bit extra of speed to bleed off. > I made it even worse by failing to hold the airplane off, that > is, by 'rushing' or 'driving' it onto the ground at excessive > speed. Right. > The only appropriate time to have increased the airspeed would > have been to allow for the gusts coming DOWN the runway, > not across it! Here, I'd disagree. Your plane is crabbed into the wind and ANY un-gust can cause you to lose airspeed, it doesn't matter if the un-gust is down the runway or from 90ยบ to the runway. > Duh. I ended up with a floaty airplane that was neither bird > nor land animal. Right. > I was also incorrect in placing higher priority on the errant > upwind wing's behavior than in keeping the airplane on centerline. > As someone pointed out, it's not going to flip over, it's just going > to feel and look a little silly (really no different than the case where > one wing is up on a crosswind landing in a more conventional craft, > except it's the other wing). > > I did do the correct thing in poking at the brakes to get slowed > down (I had recalled that recommendation from the manual). > Also, doing so brings the nose down to make the nose wheel > effective and kill the wings' lift. > > What I should have done more of was to continue crabbed, and > to continue to increase the crab angle as the airspeed bled off > in the flare. Right, right & right. > Then, on contact with the ground, I should have steered to > centerline and allowed the upwind wing to settle down > on its own. Close with this qualification: at touchdown, hold the yoke loosely so it can be yanked into a turned position by the nose wheel's castoring. Then steer down the runway. > > I recall that, early in my Ercoupe check-out, when Jerry Eichenberger > had me making my approaches at 80MPH with power on, I also had > trouble with the wing on the outside of a ground turn lifting up. Keep in mind that EVERY Coupe has a DIFFERENT pitot and static system, different weight at landing, different aerodynamic shape and (above all) DIFFERENT quality of air speed indicators. The numbers for one plane are only vague starting points for another plane. Find the minimum flying speed for every plane you get into and you won't go far wrong by doing your approach at 1.3 times that speed. > And, of course, I must get the nose down and not hold it off > when I'm ready to stop flying (which of course will happen naturally > if I'm not carrying a bucket of extra airspeed). Yes, but don't push it down -- just release back pressure. > So there it is. Now to wait for another crosswind day to work on it. It's > March. Should be coming right up. Ain't that the truth! Your summary was really well reasoned and thought out. I hope I haven't muddied the waters with my qualifications -- you've got the idea. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. Ercoupe N3802H, 415-D __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] _________________________________________________________ Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15
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