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Landing RV-7

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Hey Guys

I am flying a RV-7A in South Africa at the moment, but having a bit of a problem with the landing.

The aircraft floats down the runway, my speed are approach at 90mph and landing at 80mph. I think it speed is a bit fast but that what i was taught to use in the plane.

What speeds and technique do you guys use.

Regards
 
Yes, that is waaaay too fast.

If at idle (and yes it does matter) I like to do 65-70kts on final and slow to 60kts over the numbers. If I'm trying to land over an obstacle or if I'm high, I will drop the approach speed to 60kts and the descent rate really picks up. I never see a need to slip these airplanes to drop altitude.

If you continue to float after slowing the airplane down you could have your idle set too high. Check that too.
 
OK cool flying it on Friday so will try it with those numbers, other then the landing the rv-7 is a awesome aircraft it surprises me on every flight.
 
Keep in mind that each aircraft has its own airspeed system errors. ASI instrument error, static system position error, and possible static and pitot system leaks all may differ from aircraft to aircraft. So, just because one pilot says that an approach speed of XX IAS works well in his aircraft is no guarantee that XX IAS will work well for you in your aircraft.

But, your approach speed does seem a bit high. The fact that the aircraft floats before touching down seems to confirm it. Do some tests up at altitude, doing simulated approaches and landing flares, using the same throttle movements that you would use during a normal approach and landing. Note the slowest IAS that will allow you to stop the descent and hold the aircraft in a constant altitude for a couple of seconds.

Then, do some approach and landing testing on a day with smooth air. Decrease the approach speed a bit more on each landing, until you find the minimum speed that will allow an acceptable flare and touchdown. Add a few knots to this to have some margin for turbulence, pilot inattention, etc, and declare this higher value as your minimum approach speed. Also keep in mind that you'll need to add a few more knots when flying at much higher weights.
 
AOA

Also, if you have an angle of attack indicator, pay attention to where the things that Kevin mentioned are happening. AOA will not vary with increased load/weight
 
Try a couple stalls too

"Do some tests up at altitude, doing simulated approaches and landing flares, using the same throttle movements that you would use during a normal approach and landing. Note the slowest IAS that will allow you to stop the descent and hold the aircraft in a constant altitude for a couple of seconds."

Great suggestion! I would add that you should practice a few stalls paying particular attention to speeds - it will be good to be aware of where the bottom will fall out on you, before you get down low on final! Try them with full flaps and then do a couple accelerated stalls too. There are too many accidents that happen when a plane is dirty and turns too tight from Base to Final.
 
We will try all of the stuff before we even try slowing it down in the landings

rather safe then sorry.

unfortunately i don't have a AOA indicator would be nice, will have to make do with good old fashion instruments, the aircraft is also fixed pitch
 
Brand new airplane, I am shooting final at 80 knotts. Yes, I know, it is really fast. But, I am starting to slow it down as I get comfortable. That said, when I pull the power to idle with the field made, it slows down quite nicely. ANYTHING above idel and it will not slow down enough and you will float.
 
ANYTHING above idel and it will not slow down enough and you will float.

You can land slower WITH power than without. Power is also a good way to MINIMIZE your float should you really need to land on a pre-determined spot.

To the OP - sometimes you have to forget what you were taught. :) With time in the airplane, I think you will feel less of a need to see a certain airspeed indication to feel comfortable on approach. You will be able to slow it down and feel through the stick exactly how much lift is left in the wings as you fly final and start to break your glide. It becomes less about trusting any particular airpeed indication (which varies from plane to plane). I usually find that the slower I can safely fly the approach, the better and more consistent my landings become. Try practicing approaches at incrementally reduced speeds. You'll find that you have a lot of margin over what you need if you are flying 90 mph true airspeed right now.
 
we are still in the early phase on our plane (15hrs).
transitioned with jan bussell and he taught 70kts as final speed.
glad that i had the possibility for transition training, we've yet got to screw up and do a bad landing, our airplane certainly thanks us.
we also have an AOA installed, which gives us closer to 65kts (at more or less MTOW) as "ideal" approach speed.

i certainly wouldn't approach faster than 70. also, it's amazing how different the airplane handles between 70 and 65 with just 5kts difference. it also might have something to do with our constant speed prop, though.

to me, at 70 the airplane feels better, more agile and with more margin for maneuvering vs at 65. 65 feels like a "sitting duck" further on the backside of the power curve. however it allows for steeper approaches of course.

that said, with 70 you just have to cut the throttle and inititate the flare earlier accordingly, letting the speed decay to 60-65 without getting scared and correcting for it with power in the very short final. with 65, power stays in noticeably longer, almost to touchdown, and the flare needs to be shorter and more firm.
also note, that IMHO the weight has a way bigger influence on handling/feel/float at landing than on any other light airplane that i've flown so far.

my purely subjective impressions from the first few hours of flying, your mileage may vary...
have fun flying!

rgds, bernie
 
Hey Guys

I am flying a RV-7A in South Africa at the moment, but having a bit of a problem with the landing.

The aircraft floats down the runway, my speed are approach at 90mph and landing at 80mph. I think it speed is a bit fast but that what i was taught to use in the plane.

What speeds and technique do you guys use.

Regards

Stall speed in landing configuration x 1.30
What is your IAS at Stall in landing config? Check at safe altitude!

Vans Website Says Stall = (51 mph Solo) to (58 mph Gross)
x 1.3 = 64 - 75 MPH if airspeed indication is correct and corresponds to stall.

My IAS is correct and Stall corresponds with Vans
I land at 70mph ussually. 65mph on short fields.
FP tends to float more than CS
Also check your engine idle speed is nice and low.
 
Hey Guys

thanks for all the help, did some testing today and the approach speed of
80mph works great and landing speed at 70mph just perfect.

Still floats but not so much. We could of dropped it to 65mph for landing but
had some strong winds with mild turbulence so rather safe then sorry kept it at 70mph
 
I also have experienced problems with consistent landings. All your suggestions are extremely useful. I find a longer final approach helps too.
Lee
 
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CS vs fixed pitch

It makes a big difference which prop you have. The CS prop will slow you down easily while the Fixed pitch requires a lot more attention to your air speed on final for a short landing. I have had both on my RV7 and the CS is much easier to land where you want to.
 
Landing speeds

I like to be half flaps by base leg and then turn final. On final I like 70 knots and add the rest of the flaps there. By short final, I'm reducing power and slowing to 65 there. If it all comes together, I'm pulling power here and crossing the numbers flaring and touching down near 55 knots. (63 mph). Practicing this at altitude to insure your ASI is accurate is a good idea. The airplane likes to float as long as you are adding back pressure to the near stall point at touchdown. I personally find it very gentle at landing when compared to some standard aircraft. Have fun and be safe. I recently acquired hour number 25 on my 7A and am still amazed at this greats plane!
Mike
 
I find with an IO360 and constant speed Hartzell Blended airfoil prop that 75 crossing the threshold in smooth air works great. Taking the power to idle really puts the brakes on and slows the aircraft down. There are some that believe that 1.3Vso is the right final approach speed.

I will interject my own thoughts on this. 1.3Vso was taught for short field landings speeds and this was the speed that the aircraft was suppose to be at 50' over a obstacle with a smooth flare beginning at this point to assure there was no float in the short field landing.

My RV7 stalls at 53 indicated with full flaps and an idled engine which equals 68.9mph. using 70 at the threshold and beginning a flare at about 10 feet will usually result in a nice touch down at full stall in a 3 point attitude. much slower or higher flare results in a sinking and the aircraft losing a lot of speed very quickly. During wheel landing basically use the same but carry a tad of power and usually target around 75 for the approach.

In any turbulence I will add half the wind to my approach speed. It gives better controllability to the aircraft.

Jack
 
Van's transition training syllabus is 1.35 to 1.4 Vso

Stall speed in landing configuration x 1.30
What is your IAS at Stall in landing config? Check at safe altitude!

Vans Website Says Stall = (51 mph Solo) to (58 mph Gross)
x 1.3 = 64 - 75 MPH if airspeed indication is correct and corresponds to stall.

FYI Van's transition training syllabus calls for a Vref {speed on final} of Vso x 1.35 or 1.40 vice 1.3.

As I recall the reason for Van caling for the higher Vref speed is energy management due the short wing span in combination with a landing gear system that is NOT designed to absorb unarrested impact from high descent rates.
 
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