On 04/13/2012 09:46 AM, Carl Meek wrote:
> I'm interested in what speeds people use? Most relevant to me is a 450m
> grass bumpy strip in a Tri-Gear XS.
>
> I'd like to know speeds on Final, "Over the fence" and round out.
Depends on the stall speed/features of your ship. I have seen Europa's
that have a 10 knot higher stall speed than some others. I wouldn't
recommend my landing speed to them!
> I'm trying slightly different speeds on each landing, but feeling
> generally I'm a bit fast
This might be due to your experience in other aircraft. Europa's tend to
float a bit more than Cessna 172's.
To give you an idea:
My avarage particular landing speed (well, the short final at least) is
60-65 kots, if the runway is long enough and there is no wind shear or
heavy turbulence. In a short field I tend to land with no more than 60
knots, and in the mountains with lots of wind shear and thermals I
prefer to land with about 70 knots. I find these speeds giving me a
large safety margin and at the same time not causing an excessive flare.
Stall speed of my ship (high top tri gear) is 42 knots (no wing drop
tendency) with flaps fully extended.
I usually come in high enough to perform the final glide with the power
fully idle, except for very short fields where I like to drag the ship
over the threshold: then power off and flaps up and the bird immediately
settles right on the spot.
(If you want to practise this, don't do it initially at the numbers but
choose some other spot on the runway so you have a reasonable margin in
both directions).
Like I said, I prefer to glide to the runway with power fully idle.
Approach speed can be a bit lower if you like to come in with more
power. Also, the Europa side slips reasonably well, this too can be part
of your landing technique.
I always land with flaps fully extended, even with cross winds; the
rudder is powerfull enough to line up with the runway even at low
landing speeds. It may be beneficial to land in cross winds with a bit
more power so the air flow over the rudder remains higher.
I'm wondering what speeds are recommended for
> best safety without compromising control.
Don't copy others landing speeds blindly! It depends on the particular
features of the bird and the abilities and landing technics of the pilot.
Frans
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