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dd (flyin' is fun) |
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how to get these 'suckers' to slow down fast?
I have just a few hours on my -9a, and agree speed in the circuti/descent control is a big challenge.
I plan lots of higher altitude practice slipping until proficient. We managed to invoke a pretty violent forward pitch from a full flap/ power on straight stall. No wing drop, just everything hit the canopy, nose past vertical (down) and at least 600+ feet to recover, while the speed ran thru 140 kts. good chance to overstress flaps etc if not managed properly. I think the -9 is a real pussycat to land etc. in most situations. Train to be ready for those 'other' situations! |
I pull the nose up
As I am approaching the airport I pull the nose up and trimit and allow the speed to bleed off to flap deployment speed. Then I lower the flaps, get in close and slip it all the way down to just short of the runway the roll out to landing attitude and fly it on with the nose wheel held off. Let it roll until it is very slow then I softly let it down. If you are high on final it is important to slip it down to a practical altitude rather than trying to bleed off the speed up high.
If you are very fast as on an expedited approach (keep your speed up a Falcon is following you on the approach) and you are approaching the runway far too fast but you managed to get rid of the altitude before the runway you can slip the plane in level flight sidways down the runway until you feel the excess speed has been disipated then straigten it out and land normally. Bob Axsom |
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Obviously David D must be watching the traffic out our small grass strip as well. :) Because of possible "wildlife FOD" on the runway, the accepted practice is to clear the runway first. Then, during David's "zoom up", the throttle is yanked to idle, flaps are going down, turning/slip is intiated all the way around and in the end you've manged to both lose speed, make sure the runway is clear of fowl/deer/coyotes/badgers/anything else that could cause an incident and land all in one nice and gracefull maneuver. Naturally these are not approved maneuvers and shouldn't be replicated nor repeated! My 2 cents as usual! Cheers, Stein |
Thinking that you are going to plan ahead and enter the pattern at a reasonable speed, say 135 MPH or less, the landing should be easy enough.
I slow it on downwind and abeam the numbers I get the speed down to 90 MPH (top of the white arc), deploy all the flaps and trim for 65 mph solo, 70 mph with two, and fly the entire pattern at one of those two speeds. Full deflection slips are safe at 70 MPH but I wouldn't try one slower than that. Any faster than that and the -9 will float and float and float... One thing I have noticed is how far the -9 will roll down the runway when doing a wheel landing. When three pointing, the thing will slow stop in short order. Those of you who have -9A's don't have this option but for the few of us with -9's, this is a consideration. |
9A Landings
After 25 hours of phase 1 time I am finally getting the hang of properly executing a 9A landing. I have enjoyed the thread, and plan to try some of the suggestions with the possibility of including them in my bag of tricks.
Took my transition training with Pierre Smith (super guy, and great instructor) in his real nice 6A. First, I must warn that the 9A is a very different aircraft to fly than the 6A. But the training in the 6 prepared me well for the speed management and "feel" that I needed to start learning the 9. I will share below some of the technique I have learned so far. First, make sure you know what your stall speeds REALLY ARE!!! Mine are at higher indicated than spec. Practice power off stalls with varying amounts of flaps, and don't expect much pre stall warning. Understand that the operating envelope during approach is narrower than you may be used to, so pay attention. I started fast and worked my way down in approach speeds to get the feel of the airplane and how it acts and flares at different speeds. This is all good practice, and taught me a lot about my airplanes flying characteristics. I can tell you,at 80 MPH it takes all 4000 feet of my runway for a no brakes rollout with the nosewheel off the tarmac. It's kinda fun though. My technique has evolved into much like some have described here. I 45 into the pattern at around 140 mph and pull power to 1000, nosing up the plane into a shallow climb. Once established, I reduce power gently to bleed off the speed, and hold the nose up until I get to 90. Half flaps and lower the nose, trim to 85 for the base. You will find that half flaps really do very little to arrest your speed on these slick airplanes. (That's not what they are for anyway, as mentioned by a previous poster.) The base will bleed more speed, so I trim for 75 MPH. Gentile 20 degree bank to final, add full flaps, and that will lower the nose with little effect on speed. Power back a touch, and trim for 70 and carry that over the numbers. Round out with full flaps seems to put me right where I need to be for a "tiny squeeker" almost every time. With full gross ballast I have added 5 MPH to smooth the landing touchdown, and eliminate the bump. This all sounds like a a lot of work, but it has become very natural, and I have been pleased with my landings, although I will admit it certainly is not short field technique. I raise my flaps on rollout to keep the nosewheel up, and just use a little brake at the end. Folks on the ground comment that it's a real pretty landing to watch, for what it's worth. Just a note about slips. We could all go on and on about that, as the 9A will slip just fine. I believe that to be a good option to use if you choose to incorporate it into your landing. My advice is to practice some cross control stalls at altitude before you start slipping your plane, and pay close attention to your indicated airspeed. Mine differs with slips left and right by about 5 MPH, as I have 2 pitot tubes installed. Right wing is tied to my Dynon, and left is hooked up to my redundant steam gauge. This gives me some real numbers to consider in terms if indicated speed. Nail your numbers down. You will find that the cross control break is violent indeed, and may scare the beejeebers out of you. I was able to arrest and recover fairly well when I was expecting it, But could easily visualize an inverted ship if I was not. I would have to say if the 9 has any bad habits, recovery from a CC stall would be it. I think it is safe to say that most 9 pilots are like me, non acro, easy does it types. Recovery from violent maneuvers may not be our strongest skills. Just be sure you understand what happens if you get too slow in a full slip close to the ground before you start doing them. It is to note that I have still a lot to learn about this wonderful little plane. It's easy to fly, docile and loads of fun. But it is indeed challenging to perfect the speed management and approach. But that's what aviation is all about. Practice and improvement of our skills! Hope this helps, and thanks to all contributing to this very informative thread!! Regards...Chris |
I neever ever fly slow in a slip
In the slip I am looking to lose altitude quickly or slow the airplane by presenting a lot of drag and shorter wingspan (less lift) to the direction of flight. It is a speed and/or altitude control method and not something you want to do near stall speeds. I always have a comfortable margin of speed above the stall when I slip the RV-6A. With 3 ft of difference in in the wingspan of two configurations of my specific airplane (N710BJ) I notice no difference in the slip function. It is not a hard over control everytime function it is infinitely variable in the range from 0 to full control stops and it is not something to play around with near a stall. Slips come very naturally to me and they always have so it was a surprise when I read the previous writeup I realized that done improperly (timidly?) you could get into trouble.
Bob Axsom |
Slips
I slip only to lose altitude, although I fly a -6 with a CS prop so decelleration is usually not a problem. Does Vans have any limits on slips relative to flap deployment?
I would never slip to lose speed if already slow. Mark |
9A slips
Just to clarify... Not to say that the slip is a bad maneuver in any way. We all need to use it, and practice it. It can be a lifesaver in an emergency, as we all know. My point was to make sure your new aircraft was registering speeds properly in the slip. It is clear that my plane is inaccurate indicating airspeed in a slip, and it is difficult to judge when the plane will really stall in that configuration without testing it. All part of phase 1, that's all.
Hope that clears me....Chris |
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