I'm not saying it's the only game in town however; my Ercoupe has landed in a 30 knot direct 90 degree cross wind on at least two occasions. I know Ed has 'been there & done that' too. Wish I could say it was because I'm the Ace of the Base, but I'm not; the Coupe's design made it possible to do safely.
IMHO - 15 knots is too low a number for a properly rigged & flown Coupe. It can handle twice that and possibly more IF properly flown. Dan Hall N3968H @ CNO ----- Original Message ----- From: "robertbartunek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, March 06, 2008 1:20 PM Subject: Fwd: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: Importance of training in crosswind situations > --- In [email protected], john brier <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > wrote: >> >> Ed, > You really need to look at the Lufthansa landing video again. The > sequence is not as you describe. And la te da, I too flew an airplane > for several years that used the crab landing in a crosswind as a > mandatory technique. You seem to think the Ercoupe is the be-all end- > all airplane for crosswind landings and I say it is not, except in > fairly light crosswinds i.e., less than 15 knots. > >> Note: forwarded message attached. >> >> >> Best regards, John Brier >> >> You guys have it right. I am type rated in the Boeing 747 and flew > them for a number of years with a major airline. The reason the wing > down method isn't used in any four engine aircraft is because the #1 > or #4 engine, depending on the direction of the cross wind, will > drag. Happened to a friend of mine while making a very tough landing, > low on fuel and thunderstorm in the vicinity. He ended up with a > complete simulator check ride and the feds dogged him for months. Not > fun. >> >> When I first flew my coupe with the seller instructing me the > first thing I exclaimed on final was that you flew it just like the > the 747!! He thought I was a little nuts till I explained what I > meant. Same rule of thumb, just keep the damn thing in the middle of > the runway, wings level and let id do it's thing. I have a Forney and > the airplane sits correctly, correct height etc. >> >> N26C, Lakeland, Fla. >> >> Ed Burkhead <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> Robert, >> >> I'll agree with Bill here. >> >> You wrote: >> > When you watch the Lufthansa landing depicted on the news >> > and You Tube, the hairy part starts when the upwind wing >> > comes up just after the pilot tries to kick the crab out prior >> > to touchdown. >> > >> > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1O8CjKBsCEo >> >> The last I heard, airliners like the one shown don't "kick out" the > crab >> before touchdown. They touchdown in the crab, fully Ercoupe style. >> >> This pilot was not in control of the plane. At about one wingspan > high, he >> was drifting left so he lowered the right wing (too far) to > correct. By the >> time he reached the centerline, he had a right-ward vector that > would have >> taken him off the runway - so he raised the right wing (too far) to >> compensate and the wind pushed him WAY too far left. Then, he > dropped the >> right wing WAY too far to compensate and something sprays back from > either >> the right wingtip touch or right engine blast just above the ground. >> >> Finally, the pilot does the go around and, we presume, gets it > right on the >> next try. >> >> > The Ercoupe displays that same characteristic even when landing > in a >> > crab because you must steer downwind after touchdown to keep the >> > aircraft from weathervaning further into the wind on landing > rollout. >> >> This would be true if you land too fast. As Fred Weick emphasized, >> touchdown should be at the minimum possible speed. >> >> In gusty conditions, I did add airspeed to my normal final approach > speed. >> But, I found that even in blustery, gusty conditions, once I got > down to a >> yard or two high, the ground effect dampened any roll. I could slow > the >> plane in low ground effect with confidence, raising the nose until > I touched >> down at a fairly low speed. >> >> With the plane's gear properly maintained and the window sill level > on the >> ground, there's so little lift that wing lift isn't a problem. > Combining >> that with Bob Sanders's procedure of stomping on the brake right > after >> touchdown to dump more speed, there's no problem with wing lift. > The wing >> is at low angle of attack and is also well below flying speed. >> >> Taxiing at low speeds doesn't make for wing lift either. >> >> Not only was Bob Sanders the distributor of the Ercoupes when ERCO > quit >> doing so, but he was an aeronautical engineer on the design team > and test >> pilot for the development of the Ercoupe. He knows that of which he > speaks. >> >> Here are the words of Fred Weick and Bob Sanders: >> http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/coupe_landings.htm >> linked from my page: http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/coupe_flying.htm >> >> My strongest crosswind operations were in the close ballpark of 30 > mph >> direct crosswind or a bit higher with no problem. Been there > (repeatedly), >> done that (repeatedly), got the T-shirt (several). >> >> Ed Burkhead >> http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/index.htm East Peoria, Illinois >> ed -at- edbur???khead.??com (remove the ? marks and change -at- >> to @) >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Best regards, John Brier >> > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.21.6/1316 - Release Date: 3/6/2008 > 6:58 PM > >
