[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Hi list , Yippee i'm finally an Ercoupe owner. I have only a few hours on my > coupe, all little or no wind conditions. I keep it a little hot on landings > ,70 mphor a little higher. My qustion what is the correct procedure for a > cross wind landing? > Any help welcome. > Thanks Kevin in TN N87299
Here's a section of a frequently asked question document I am /we are preparing for a web site. It may help. I don't think this information is complete, yet, but it's a good start. See below. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. Ercoupe N3802H, 415-D Never open an attachment with a ".exe" or ".com" or ".vbs" suffix. To be safe, turn off Microsoft's Visual Basic Macro execution option. Consider not using Outlook for mail - lots of viruses target its security flaws. -------------------------------------------------------------- copyright Ed Burkhead Not for reproduction without permission. We'll probably allow re-posting or linking later after completion and peer-review. Speaking of which, any of you peers want to review this and return comments? I know I don't know it all, or even most, but I do have fun writing stuff up. I count on groups of us to review what I think I know to sort out the wheat from the chaff. At the end, I hope we can have documents useful to everyone. (Is this my month for stirring up discussions, or what? I have three weeks off between my spring night classes and the summer session starting next week.) <P><B>Question: What approach speed should I use?</B> <BR><BR>For approach speed, the 1.3 times stall speed rule general aviation uses works well for Coupes, too. On the next flight, pull power back to idle and, as it slows, pull the yoke full back. Note the airspeed as indicated ON YOUR AIRSPEED INDICATOR IN YOUR AIRPLANE! These are old instruments, some of them, and installations differ some. DON'T GO BY BOOK VALUES OR OTHER PEOPLE'S SAGE ADVICE FOR THE APPROACH SPEED. Measure your own plane's minimum flying speed, with your indicator. Then for normal approaches, 1.3 times that speed give good cushion but not too much float. If it's bumpy, add 1/2 the gust factor, just like the rule says for most other small planes. You'll get good approaches, good cushion against gust/shear, and not too much float.</P> <P><B>Question: How do you land in a crosswind?</B> <BR>The short answer is, you just land it crabbed. The tricycle gear can handle a great load, and since it is a tricycle, the plane naturally straightens out once your main wheels land. It's simply a different technique than using the rudder. You do want the nose to be as high as possible and touch down to be as slow as possible for good technique. But don't raise the nose way high till you're level in ground effect and then, just raise it slowly to keep from touching till it won't stay off any longer. <BR><BR>A normal coupe can handle a 25kt X-wind with little trouble. The technique is simple. You hold it off until it settles down, preferably at minimum flying speed. The object is to reduce the forward speed to as little as possible to put less stress on the landing gear. Leave the plane wings-level, in a crab. Also, on a gusty day, as you get near the ground, the ground effect will dampen the lateral bumps helping the wings stay level. When it's bumpy, I get near the ground in ground effect then let the speed bleed off.</P> <P><B>Question: How high a X-wind can a coupe handle?</B> <BR>Like most planes, pilots report having landed in crosswinds <I><B>much</B></I> higher than the demonstrated crosswind component. Many don't think twice about 30 kt. direct crosswind component, others have done 45 as measured by the FBO's instruments. Try that in your tail dragger (or most other planes)! When you really learn the Coupe, it will do things you would never attempt in any other plane, rudder pedals or not."</P> <P><B>Question: I heard the wheels castor?</B> <BR>Nope. The wheels don't castor. This is a common misconception that people have. The landing gear has hinged L shape simply to allow good shock absorber travel, not for handling the plane in a crosswind. The misconception arises from the use of the word castor when describing how the plane lands in a crosswind. Nosesheels castor, and occasionally those who haven't paid attention still assert that a Coupe's landing gear castors. <BR><BR>When you touch down crabbed, there is a side-ways push on the <I>laterally firm</I> main gears. But the nose wheel castors like all other tricycle gear planes and provides almost no side-ways resistance. The plane just rotates (yaws) around its center of gravity to line up with the direction of motion. An egg in a saucer on the pilot's lap will stay right in the saucer.</P> <P><B>Question: I rode in a Coupe on a crosswind landing and the up-wind wing lifted so high I though we'd flip!</B><FONT color=black face=Times size=3> <BR>A few people have ridden in a Coupe which, during this yaw motion, lifted the up-wind wing quite a ways -- and that ride is scary. Ten or twenty years ago, the majority of Coupes were sitting on their landing gear with the tails drooping low. Some of this was caused by aging and compressed rubber donuts in the gear (or by old Belleville springs). More was caused by replacing the original nose gear single-fork with a later designed (and slightly longer) double-fork. <BR><BR>We didn't think much of it, at first. But it was realized that this on-the-ground position gives the wings more angle of attack that was designed into the plane. Bill Coons of Lombard, Ill., went to an FAA engineer in Chicago and got shims approved for the landing gear and he passed the technique around the club. Added into the shock absorber stack, the shims return the on-the-ground attitude of the Coupe to the designed angle of attack in spite of compressed rubber gear donuts, aging springs, or a longer nose gear fork. Subsequently much of the fleet has gotten maintenance and/or shims as needed to raise the tails on the ground to the designed 75 inches and no-lift angle of attack. <BR><BR>Also, per Sanders, the original ERCO development team test pilot, feel free to push firmly on the brakes after touch down. This helps kill any wing lift. You probably shouldn't over do it though, no reason to skid and wear the tires in normal circumstances. <BR><BR>With the tail at the right height, the Coupe's crosswind landing behavior is the best in the industry, bar none.</P> __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
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