Hey Guys, just shy of 200 hours and have learned SO much on this forum I figured I would get some advice. I was out in the 150 today doing some pattern work in breezy conditions (Right at the edge of my comfort level - there was definitely some hand wiping going on). Our strip is grass & 3,000', tree lined with a little dog leg and is in the Adirondack Mountains. It is still soft enough on most of one end that I didn't want to land on that part of the strip. I could take off just fine. By the time I got to the soft section I was either light on the wheels or in the air. I needed to land about 1,500' down the strip, so since it was gusty I was concerned about sink rate on the soft end of the field, so I came in faster & steeper than normal - about 75mph with not much throttle, almost at idle - but flying my normal patten other than that. I started my flare a bit higher than normal and once I got into ground effect just let it float until I got a little sink and then added just enough throttle to fly in ground effect - maybe 5' - until just past the soft area, cut power and landed. This seemed to work great, with a ground roll of less than 400' with almost no brakes. So my question is, does this make sense or should I be doing something else? Any advice/critique is appreciated.

Thanks, Pete

pburns,

You're doing just fine. Don't add too much speed and get into trouble on the other end. Go out and practice low ground effect on a long runway. Set up for an normal slow power/pitch approach with full flaps. When you get to the numbers, rather than cut power to touch down, add enough power to just stay in ground effect. Down the runway a bit, reduce power enough to touch down. Add power to come back up a bit. Practice staying in as low ground effect as possible.

Don't forget that the throttle must be used, here, like any other control. Move it as much as you need. If you get too much move it the other way. Start with gross movement and then fine turn it. Trying to fine tune before you have experienced how quickly it will maintain altitude, will result in late reaction which will result in both ballooning and touching down inadvertantly.

The same with the elevator. Gross first and then fine tune. As long as we move any control dynamically, the distance of movement matters little. The advantage of gross, when learning, is that we can see what the controls do that way so much better.

The purpose of all this is to get comfortable with low ground effect, say one to three feet. This will help with your soft first fifteen hundred feet, because you will be more comfortable and less likely to let a gust get ahead of you and touch down before you want. In one to three feet ground effect, rather than five feet, you will be riding a much more compact, higher pressure, cushion of air. You will be much less likely to touch down prior to where you wish.

Good question. Keep them coming.

Contact

Just keep on burning the juice, have fun and eyes outside the cockpit [emoji106]

P.S. Contact is spot on with his advice, I've learned a lot from his hard earned written wisdom [emoji1]

I'll sound a bit like an echo to Jim's comments. Even in gusty winds, you don't want to add too much to your airspeed. The Airplane Flying Handbook recommends adding 1/2 the gust factor (i.e., if your normal final approach speed should be 65 mph, for instance, and the wind is 15G20, you add 2-3 mph, since the gust factor is 5), and that's a pretty good recommendation.

Then learn to fiddle with the throttle as necessary, to maintain in ground effect until you're ready to touch down, then gradually pull the power for a nice easy sink. But in gusty winds, you need to be prepared to suddenly add and subtract throttle, just like you move the yoke.

Good "for instance" the other day. Winds were a bit too extreme for comfort, 26G35 according to the GXY (Greeley) AWOS. Flying around wasn't bad, but when I came back in, I added 5 to my usual 70 mph approach speed, but staying at 75 with rapid gusts wasn't too easy. The airspeed indicator was bouncing, the Angle of Attack indicator was bouncing. I had picked my spot, touched down right on it, pulled off the throttle and was rolling, when suddenly a big gust that I'm sure was a lot more than 35 launched me into the air again and just as suddenly "ungusted". Nose down, add throttle, land again, this time it stuck because the wind didn't gust again. I'm sure it looked like a bounce, although it really wasn't one. If I hadn't been ready with the throttle, though, when the gust stopped, the airplane would have pranged down pretty hard.

The trick that we all learned at one time or another is to be the PIC and make the airplane do what you tell it to do, and not let the airplane dictate where it will land. Sounds to me like you have that pretty well in hand.

Cary

Thanks Contact & Cary,

Great advice! We have a nice wide 5,000' runway about 1/2 hour away that will be perfect for that.

Pete

Whoops,

You too Skalywag!