I used to land my Cherokee 140 like an Ercoupe, never had a problem, it seemed more natural to me to do it that way. Landing gear never suffered.
--- In [email protected], "Ed Burkhead" <e...@...> wrote: > > > Whether the landing gear has a trailing arm has nothing to do with crabbed > crosswind landing ability. > > Syd mad an excellent analysis and Bill's comments are interesting and have > merit, too. > > Fred Weick came to most all the National Conventions and a lot of regional > ones in his later years. I **cherished** the moments I spent following him > around as he talked with pilots and owners about their Coupes. Then there > were special moments when I got to ask questions, too. > > One question I asked or a comment I made caused Fred to discuss four-place > planes that could handle crosswind landings for disabled pilots. > > I was shocked at Fred's comment. This comment was made casually but fairly > firmly, as I recall. I can't corroborate it. It was out in the plane > parking area and if anyone else was around, I don't recall it. Perhaps if > I'd aced Engineering Calculus 1 and 2 with vectors 40 years ago instead of > crashing, I could do the calculations. > > As I best recall it, this is what Fred said (paraphrased, not word for > word): > >>>>>>>>>>>>>> > The side loads on the plane touching down in the crab are NOT that great. > If you have an egg on a saucer in your lap, it won't go flying. All the > heavy parts of the plane are near the center and the parts far from the > center of gravity tend to be the light parts, structurally. > > Hence, a Cherokee could be safely landed in a crab like an Ercoupe. Its > landing gear structure is not specifically designed for crabbed landings, > but it really doesn't have to be. > > So, a paraplegic pilot needing a 4-place plane could use a Cherokee and just > do crosswind landings like a Coupe, in a crab, nose high, at minimum > touchdown speed. > <<<<<<<<<<<<<< > > Back to my voice, now. Again, that's my memory of his points. > > If you go out and break off your Cherokee's landing gear (or another > plane's), you can't say I guaranteed any of this. > > Since that conversation, I've paid even closer attention to the instant of > touchdown. Yes, there is a lateral surge at the moment of touching in a > crab. But take note, it isn't that strong. > > How many of the planes out there have NEVER had a ham-fisted pilot touch > down with a significant side load due to a gust, misalignment or other > clutziness? How often have you heard of a landing gear being damaged by > side loads from such a landing? > > Me, I can't remember EVER having heard of such side load damage. > > (Still, with some brittle or especially weak landing gear structures and > materials, I'd intensely avoid any crab to my touchdown.) > > I'll grant Syd's point that a low center of gravity is desirable for a > crabbed landing. If the CG is high, there's the question: Will the plane > tilt and touch a wing touch before it finishes it's alignment turn or tilt > enough that the wind gets under a wing and it can't recover to upright? > Yet, I suspect that a lot, if not most, individual high wing planes used in > training have tried a side-load touchdown and survived. > > If any of you have the math and engineering ability to do a structural > analysis on an aircraft model or two to support or explode this thesis, I'd > be interested in hearing about it. > > Ed >
