Landing an RV8 or RV7 taildragger.
I have written a brief on landing the RV8.
It's too big to fit.
Here is the first part.
Pete.
Landing an RV8, or RV7 taildragger
There is some good advice in this ?Thread? regarding C of G and relative undercarriage stiffness. However, whilst these may effect the behaviour of the aircraft, getting the landing technique right will almost nullify these effects.
Landing technique.
Difficulty in landing any aeroplane is usually the result of a few easily corrected faults.
They are:
Incorrect approach speed.
Making an unstable approach with varying airspeed and power.
Apprehension causing the pilot to grip the stick fiercely, causing loss of feel of the aircraft.
Failing to look, in the flare, to the FAR END OF THE RUNWAY,
This, in my years of instructing, I have found the most common landing fault and the result of ensuring this IS done, achieves an immediate and almost magical improvement.
Dual with a flying instructor.
A few circuits with an instructor is likely to correct any flying faults. Having said that, it is really necessary to find and instructor with RV time. If this is not possible, dual with any experience RV pilot is the next best thing. Instructing is an art and takes time to acquire. Many excellent pilots can show you a great landing, but they may not be able to give you the guidance as to how to achieve it. But watching them will help.
The best approach would be to have an experienced pilot demonstrate a few landings, whilst you observe the approach angle, airspeed, flare height, hold off height, smoothness and stability of the approach. And then, for you to work towards replicating his approach and landings.
Flying RVs.
Two finger control.
RVs are very light on the controls and should therefore be flown with a very light grip on the controls. Holding the pole with the grip necessary when holding an axe whilst chopping wood, will result in very little feel and feedback from the aircraft. Hold the stick lightly and only REST your feet lightly on the rudder bar.
This may take a while to achieve and you should develop the habit of asking yourself frequently whilst flying, ?Am I using a light touch?? Relax your grip.
Practice low speed flight at altitude.
To get a feel for slow speed handling characteristics, climb to an altitude of at least 3,000?, reduce power and fly at low speed (70-80kt), carrying out some gently turns. Eventually reduce to approach power and reduce airspeed gradually until in a descent, flying a few knots above the stall. This will give you the feeling of the control available in the flare and hold-off. This is a very valuable exercise as we spend most of the time flying at high speed where RV controls are very crisp.
Rv 8 v. RV7
Use the same technique.
Despite the differences between RVs the approach and landing technique should be the same. Until you can personally detect their different flying characteristic between an RV7 & and RV8, there is little point in trying to deal with them. When you can detect them, you will deal with them almost unconsciously.
Gear stiffness.
Gear stiffness will only cause a poor landing to manifest in a different manner. That is, the amount of bounce, skip and ?RV dance?.
It shouldn?t change your technique.
Rear Centre of Gravity. (C of G)
Once again, changing the C of G should not mean a change of landing technique.
Deliberately changing the C of G may make the aircraft slightly easier to land, but if you concentrate on getting the technique right, this will become irrelevant.
Besides, moving the C of G aft makes the aircraft more prone to ground loop. I?ve seen one from the back seat of an RV8. My 90kg didn?t help.
Approach speed.
Approach speed is normally calculated as 25% higher than the stall speed, written as 1.25Vs. For an RV this means with a stall speed of 48kt the approach speed should be 48 + 12 = 60kt.
However, the very short wings on RVs produce significant ?Induced Drag? (the vortex drag from the wingtips at high angles of attack) and so there can be a significant airspeed loss in the flare. Consequently, a higher approach speed than 1.25Vs provides a useful little margin; and also is comforting if you encounter strong windshear in the flare. One day you will!
I have found that 70Kts is a more comfortable figure, but this is a personal choice and I am sure other RV drivers use a different approach speeds.
Also, a gently flare will produce less airspeed loss than a big pull which puts the wing at a higher angle of attack.
Wheeler versus three point
This comes under ?Battle Stations? as in, Tailwheel v. Nose Wheel, High-wing v. Low Wing, so I will treat it as a preference to avoid all out war However, it is well advised to be aware of the pros and cons of each.
Wheelers.
A good wheeler looks fantastic and brings the pilot great kudos. Particularly if a strong crosswind is kicked off in the flare.
However, get wrong, and you can really scare yourself. As the aircraft is still flying well above the stall in a wheeler, an even slightly firm touchdown can cause the tail to drop, the nose to pitch up and aided by the infamous RV spring undercarriage you will find the aircraft instantly climbing. But is won?t last long as the throttle is closed and the drag is high (that Induce drag again) and it will all be manifest as a bounce, or two, or three.
Three point
In a true three pointer the aircraft is stalled, so in can bounce, but not fly again.
Having said that, RVs (taildraggers) sit on the ground at an attitude less than the Stall attitude, so they are not stalled when landing in the three point attitude. (Tiger Moths can stall on, Callairs can?t. It?s all in the undercarriage geometry.) So RVs will be flying above the stall speed in a three-pointer; but only just. They may bounce, but will very quickly be below stall speed if the stick is kept back, and will settle on the ground, rolling out with the irritating ?RV dance?. But, they won?t execute a frighteningly high bounce. Unless, of course, you have dropped in on from 10?.
It?s hard to do a three pointer without a skip; but it won?t bite like a wheeler can.
Watch any youtube clips of Spitfires landing on grass and you will see the same thing. And Spit pilots don?t let there egos push them to try for a wheeler, they three point the aircraft, hold the stick back and wait for it to settle, excepting a few skips. The ?Spitfire Dance?, I suppose.
My complete brief is above the limit of the forum posts.
Contact Peter James
[email protected] for complete and formatted PDF version of this brief.