Hover Taxi

We probably won't have a chance to work on the Contact Flying project again until after the HSF. In the meantime Jim requested that I put up some of my practice clips for discussion.

Shannon,

That was an excellent apparent brisk walk rate of closure approach. We could hear the roar of that 65 hp Continental as you added power to hover taxi to the turnoff.

Some may ask why? Tell them that as in the basic low ground effect takeoff, we find the airplane to be more comfortable and safer flying than rolling very fast on the ground. Landing long works but is far less controlled and is much easier to mess up.

Keep up the good work. You are making me look like a little green Jedi.

Jim

Thanks for the video; looking forward to more.

Blue skies,

Tom
KCMA

Angled take off demonstration for use in cross wind situations.

Energy Management Turn

Some linked rudder turns, and energy management turns.

Here is an Apparent Rate approach to a hilltop, and a couple rudder turns. We call this hilltop "The Carrier Deck", and I like the perspective it offers because you can focus on the rate of closure to the hilltop aiming point without all the other distraction of the ground moving under and around you. The rudder turns were thrown in just for fun...don't go out and do this stuff without some quality training, scout the area thoroughly, plan your maneuvers carefully, and stay waaay ahead of the airplane. As basic as it looks, it is very easy to get yourself into trouble quickly with no options. These clips are for discussion purposes, and may or may not demonstrate proper techniques and good judgment. I'll leave that for Contact to comment on.

Apparent Brisk Walk Rate of Closure Landing

Shannon demonstrated the really big bite we can take out of a really nasty crossword. That is why we need to be proficient and current in the basic low ground effect takeoff. At the upwind big airplane touchdown zone white square, we zoom up to be able to make an energy management turn down the runway or make a rudder turn in low ground effect.

Energy management turn 4 , after the hover taxi, was a 180 degree (for those who look at the numbers ) return to target. That is why Shannon zoomed the nose up so high. He wanted both a little more altitude and a little slower speed than what is needed in a shallow turn to a far target under a wing (90 degree turn. )

CFOT,

What is the difference between your energy management turn and a half of a lazy eight?

Energy management turns 3 was two turns. At the 3/4 of the way around point of a return to target, Shannon found the ground to be coming up pretty quickly. He wisely leveled the wing and used the airspeed, now coming up in the dive, to zoom up into the second, much more shallow energy management turn to complete the return to target. Any attempt to rather pull up and continue the turn level would have resulted in graveyard spiral and possibly a cartwheel.

Shannon hasn't entered wind into the equation yet, but working crosswind so that an energy management turn into the wind results in a much tighter and quicker turn using the same bank but giving up much less altitude. We still release the back pressure in the turn, but we travel less distance and get around much quicker.

Shannon has been doing this for some time. Start with shallow energy management turns to far targets under a wing and /or get with Doug Lumgair for some dual.

The rudder turns are to maintain speed without putting a wing into the brush and trees. There are only two safe turns while crop dusting or river running or such : the energy management turn or the wing level rudder turn.

CFOT, Shannon,

The old lazy eight was very much like the energy management turn. The only difference was that we dove to maneuver airspeed before the zoom up, we started turning in the zoom up,and we almost stalled at the 90 degree point before releasing back pressure to let the nose fall through. The lazy eight was changed, late last century, to an instrument maneuver. The bank is limited and there are many heading, altitude, and airspeed requirements all the way around. Neither the old lazy eight nor the energy management turn can follow a procedural track with bank and altitude limits and be useful in maneuvering flight.

Lost wrote:CFOT,

What is the difference between your energy management turn and a half of a lazy eight?

Remember too that "energy management turn" is a broad term, and the principles can be used for everything from a slight heading change to a turn back to the point of origin.

Thanks contact

Apparent rate landing 1 was Doug Lumgair in his 170 at Truckee. It was a good one with just a little clunk. By the third one Shannon's battery was dead and Doug did a perfect one. Perfect is a slow, soft touchdown on the numbers without having to pull power off until touchdown.

After thirty minutes with Doug, we put Shannon up front with Doug and went through everything. Shannon did excellent as well. After flying with Shannon in his Champ, however, I realize he has been doing this stuff for a while. His uncle being a crop duster helped with orientation.

In all the apparent rate of closure approaches, concentrate on the numbers. Notice that they appear to close with the camera in the cockpit at the same rate throughout the approach. This apparent brisk walk rate of closure, while useless at altitude, becomes very useful on short final. Using elevator to prevent its speed up as we get lower and closer, allows amazing accuracy and consistency in landing. Of course we have to add power as we use elevator to keep the apparent brisk walk and actually lose airspeed.

The objective is to arrive at the desired touchdown point with no altitude and as little airspeed as possible. This approach allows touchdown on the numbers at less than Vso. You can't hardly get a deal like that anymore.

To illustrate how old and senile Contact is, he finally figured out that "Lost " is a call sign. My Jedi green is fading.

contactflying wrote:Norris is talking about dynamic reactive rudder pressure which just increases the swerve. We have push the nose left before it goes on its own. Then we have to push the nose right before it goes right on its own. This is the one place the designers admit they messed up. Here we didn't want to do what the airplane wants to do. We aggressively capture control and maintain control of the design problem by setting it off ourselves so as to have the timing to be ahead of the aircraft. Every athlete does this. Coaches call it staying on our toes, which we literally do. Athletes shift their weight dynamically and proactively.

Jim, thanks for sharing your techniques. I am experimenting with them and learning...

With regard to dynamic pro-active rudder application, say that while in flight a strong gust has started to move the tail to the right (nose to the left). Does the dynamic pro-active technique let the pilot 'feel' this event coming on via the rudders before noticing it via the aircraft heading? In the example I just gave, the left rudder would feel light and the right rudder would feel heavy. Push harder on the heavy rudder to fix? To equalize so that both rudders feel the same in the dynamic inputs?

I would like to understand this but I could just let the technique work? Thanks again.

Blue skies,

Tom
KCMA

Tom,

The different rudder pressure you describe may happen, but I have never considered it.

What happens when we stay dynamic and proactive on the rudder pedals on final (in flight ) is that we stay ahead of the aircraft's longitudinal alignment with the center line. When the gust happens, we are already moving the nose just left, just right, etc. Already moving, even if the wrong way, is better than static. Ask any coach.

The most effective way to get a wing wagging gyration going, however,is to use the aileron to correct longitudinal alignment or to dampen minor gust spread. Use the rudder pedals dynamically and proactively to nail it.

Thanks for the question,

Jim