I'm beginning to realize that video capture and editing take a lot of time and effort.

Videos I post here in the near future are part of my desire to capture video I can share with family and friends. I'm trying to work out camera mounts and also figure out what is even interesting to watch. Oh, and still getting comfortable in the Citabria.



Unlike the one I posted in my "2nd happiest day" thread, the camera with the prop filter is inside the plane this time and my lower end Hero is out on the wing mount.

At about 1:00 I'm going over McChord AFB
1:08 I'm dropping down to inspect WA49 (cougar mt)

1:48 I'm on final to land at WA49. I did my best to keep the plane up on the mains - learning to pump the stick back and forth as Contact says in his writings.

2:45 is the turn around and blast off
3:25 is maneuvering for landing at Puyallup (KPLU)
4:14 some ugly sasquatch does a cameo and then it's take off time again
5:20 is another view of McChord. I don't post close ups because I don't want to be on anyone's watch list, but the view of the ramp is great.
5:36 is a view of Steilacoom (the first town, library, jail etc in the state of WA). A little patch just barely visible at the 2 o'clock position from the pond is a knob of land which was the original Ft Steilacoom. It eventually became an insane asylum.
5:45 is me turning final to my home airport.

Feel free to throw dirt at my video, editing, flying or my shoes. I can take it.

Nice video. Takeoffs look to stay in low ground effect till plenty fast. Apparent rate of closure seems to speed up on short final. The long, low approach without obstacles got you down on the numbers. The extra speed becomes an issue on short fields and when we are distracted by various conditions or just tired. Your airplane can be landed slow enough that a ground loop is just a short turn in the grass. Ground speed is what gets the gear and then the wing tip.

Your foot work is good but it helps a lot to get started with the dynamic proactive rudder movement on final rather than the small coordinated turns. That way there is no need to transition to rudder only for longitudinal alignment on the surface. Longitudinal alignment is best done rudder only anywhere.

I trained a lot of Ag guys in Champ and Citabra. Several ground loops without damage.

contactflying wrote:Nice video. Takeoffs look to stay in low ground effect till plenty fast. Apparent rate of closure seems to speed up on short final. The long, low approach without obstacles got you down on the numbers. The extra speed becomes an issue on short fields and when we are distracted by various conditions or just tired. Your airplane can be landed slow enough that a ground loop is just a short turn in the grass. Ground speed is what gets the gear and then the wing tip.

Your foot work is good but it helps a lot to get started with the dynamic proactive rudder movement on final rather than the small coordinated turns. That way there is no need to transition to rudder only for longitudinal alignment on the surface. Longitudinal alignment is best done rudder only anywhere.

I trained a lot of Ag guys in Champ and Citabra. Several ground loops without damage.

I appreciate your input Contact. I've downloaded your book and also your Safe Maneuvering Flight PDF, but only part way through them. I have to admit I've had a bit of a struggle visualizing the brisk walk thing. I was taught (and taught many others) to use pitch for airspeed, and power to keep the touchdown point in the same spot in the windscreen. Then as you flare it is eyes down the runway and the rest is all by feel and visually gauging the descent rate.

From a ways out on final I can "see" the brisk walk but as I approach all I can do is revert back to the hundreds of previous landings which didn't break anything.
I'm not sure where you're suggesting I focus my attention clear to the numbers, because that touchdown spot has a habit of going under the airplane right before you touch unless you're doing a lawn dart landing, right?

Are you suggesting that I use that same calibrated visual reference I use in the flare to slow the plane as I get closer (still using elevator) and still using power to keep the dead bug on the windshield on the numbers with power, and damn the airspeed?

It seems like that is a transition to dragging it in at least a little, so I'm not sure if I'm misunderstanding.

For the record, part of the video I edited out was where I did some slow flight before going back to Tacoma. I got slower and slower until the stick and trim were both fully back. It just hung there on the bottom of the green arc (48mph) in a descent. I held the stick solidly back and kept the ball centered with rudder pedals. It never did break into a stall.

I'm going to get out in the next few days and do some steeper approaches at slower airspeed, and measure some stop an goes to see what my landing distances are. Right now I'm very consistently using 500' of runway for takeoff without using any short field technique at all.

CG,

Just keep doing it the way you are doing it and refine as necessary. Try steeper approaches and try to get away from the drag it in shallow method. The brisk walk closure technique is better suited for helicopter operations. Don't get too slow, a stabilized approach is desirable and don't be hesitant to go around. Have fun!

You have the idea and it is hard to convert after many iterations of normal.

When, on short final, the rate of closure seems to speed up, slow up a bit more with elevator and add more power as needed for the sink/mush. No need to do so high or far out. High and out, the rate of closure always seems to be a brisk walk. The trick is to keep the apparent brisk walk to touchdown.

As you stated, it is like changing to the drag it in on short final. Use the numbers as the target until they go under the cowl and then do as you stated looking on down the runway and feeling it down with pitch and power. The best indication that we have failed to slow down by maintaining the apparent brisk walk is that we have to pull power here on short final.

No problem with using power/pitch to grease it on further down as in the soft field. It is just not as short. Few soft field landings result in ground loop damage. It is nice to be able to say the same with short field. Maintaining the apparent brisk walk to touchdown on all landings makes the rare ground loop just a walk in the park.

The huge advantage when instructing in tailwheel airplanes​ is that we can let them learn quickly by staying off the controls more. With real green students, we only have to be almost on the rudder only the first twenty feet or so after touchdown. If we touch down at or slightly below stall airspeed, we will slow very quickly to an undamaging ground loop speed.

Have you tried the hover taxi down that long runway? That makes the short final to touchdown a snap. We prevent the apparent brisk walk rate of closure from speeding up (as always happens with constant airspeed approach) just as we are coming into ground effect and add power as necessary to stay a foot or two AGL without speeding up.

Taken it into Vashon yet? Forward slip over the trees coming down final (rwy 17), side slip around trees to get to the threshold if King County hasn't trimmed them back......... a lot more fun than asphalt. It'll take your landing lab work up a notch.

Railchummer wrote:Taken it into Vashon yet? Forward slip over the trees coming down final (rwy 17), side slip around trees to get to the threshold if King County hasn't trimmed them back......... a lot more fun than asphalt. It'll take your landing lab work up a notch.

I'm pretty sure Vashon is closed for repairs right now. I'll be doing Ranger Creek and Tieton pretty soon though.

aftCG wrote: I'm pretty sure Vashon is closed for repairs right now. I'll be doing Ranger Creek and Tieton pretty soon though.

Talked to friend of mine from Vashon just this last weekend.
Still open... although the month-or-so long closure for construction is supposedly scheduled for this summer.

BTW the annual potluck fly-in at Cougar Mountain is coming up sunday June 25.
I went last year & had a good time. Not a lot of airplanes & people but enough.
First time in there for me, it's a real nice strip.