Jon B. wrote:To get back to the original question...
I fly a 7EC Champ with what Aeronca (mine's a Champion) originally called the "No-Bounce" gear. They're like the standard gear but have a longer stroke and are nearly fully compressed when the aircraft is on the ground.
They can stand a very hard landing. In fact, my preferred three-point landing is to pound it onto the ground pretty solidly. If you grease it on, the oleos tend to compress slowly as the weight comes off the wings. They also do so asymmetrically, making it feel as though the wind is lifting one wing. It's weird. It no longer surprises me but it still bugs me.
Wheel landings with these is a no-brainer. You can drive it on with power, or come in in a near-three-point attitude then roll it up onto the mains.
Somewhere in between "greaser" and "wham" is a zone where you *can* bounce a touchdown. It's usually caused by too much speed and not having the stick fully back before the wheels touch.
If you (or I) tried to land a Cub, Cessna or Citabria the way I land the Champ, you'd either bounce or break something. Short-field landings are a breeze, cause the thing sticks to the ground and you can get on the brakes. Champs have heavy tails, too, so they stay on the ground with anything short of maximum braking (and you need really good brakes to lift the tail). With a passenger, it would be very, very hard to nose one over. Not impossible, but you'd have to be asleep at the stick, I think.
Jon B.
Thanks for this comment, Joe. I really appreciate it. It was invaluable during my training in the Champion 7EC (1959) with "No-Bounce" gear. Since most of my landings are three-point (ideally touching the tailwheel first), I'm trying to put her down a bit more firmly than I was used to in the J-3 or PA-11—and she absorbs it very well. I'm still getting used to the asymmetrical slow compression of the struts when, for some reason, I'm more gentle with the landings. I’ve learned that if you just stay on the centerline, she eventually levels out.
Question: I'm having some challenges with takeoffs on pavement. It feels fine at the start of the rollout, but around 40–50 mph, she wants to fly. When I begin to gently pull back on the stick, she gets very “squirrely” (I know that’s just above stall speed), and I have to keep her rolling until I pass 55 mph before lifting off. Here again, I feel that asymmetrical decompression, and it feels like an eternity until I finally get some ground effect around 60 mph and start climbing at Vy or Vx, depending on the mission.
Any tips or suggestions? Should I keep her rolling longer?
I'm used to the J-3 and PA-11, and those would start climbing just seconds after the rollout.
Thank you again for all the comments.
