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14A landing attitude - how close is tail to ground

JDA_BTR

Well Known Member
Does anyone have any video or pics of the 14A close to the runway on landing? I'm curious how close the tie-down ring gets to the ground when landing very slow.
 
Tail strike

I suspect that it’s not possible to hit the tail without extenuating circumstances. I’ve landed my 9a slow enough that it’s stalled as it hits, I’ve then kept the nose very high to aerobrake. A tail strike has crossed my mind a few times, but I think you’d have to really work at it. Maybe with an aft CG and an abrupt pitch up below stall speed or a porpoise type event.

-Andy
 
You can figure it out, assuming you have an EFIS that records the pitch angle. See this post.

The 6A has shorter main gear legs than the 7, 8 and 9A models, so I would expect those to have a much higher deck angle upon tail contact, most likely well greater than that during a stall. I do not know how the 14 compares.
 
It can be done

Yep...it can be done if pilot technique is waaay off. During transition training instruction in my 6A, a bounce on landing had the student ‘chasing’ the airplane with a resultant porpoising. During one of those ‘moments’, he happened to jerk the stick aft abruptly and smacked the rudder bottom on the pavement, wrinkling the trailing edge a little.

So yes, you can make it smack but not with good, gentle stick motions.

Cheers,
 
2m Ham Radio Antenna

The reason I was asking was because I didn't mount any antennas at the tailcone since my transponder handles ADSB in with only one antenna. So I got the bright idea to install a 2m ham antenna. A Delta-pop Com antenna was modified for 144-148MHz and it fits that spot perfectly. But will it hit on landing?

It is about 11" high at the tip, and the bend is a few inches lower.

Thanks for the EFIS tip, my max pitch on landing is 7 degrees. Using the RV14A drawings there is 19" of ground separation where the antenna mounts, so it won't drag. At 10 degrees it will just touch. I'll check my drawing dimensions against the actual plane next time at the hangar. But the paper check is a go.

I will describe the 2m setup in more detail after I have all the kinks worked out. I am using a radio that works like a cell phone with my headset bluetooth so I don't have to incorporate anything through the panel.
 
Normal -You are OK, but there is that possibility . . .

The reason I was asking was because I didn't mount any antennas at the tailcone since my transponder handles ADSB in with only one antenna. So I got the bright idea to install a 2m ham antenna. A Delta-pop Com antenna was modified for 144-148MHz and it fits that spot perfectly. But will it hit on landing?

It is about 11" high at the tip, and the bend is a few inches lower.

Thanks for the EFIS tip, my max pitch on landing is 7 degrees. Using the RV14A drawings there is 19" of ground separation where the antenna mounts, so it won't drag. At 10 degrees it will just touch. I'll check my drawing dimensions against the actual plane next time at the hangar. But the paper check is a go.

I will describe the 2m setup in more detail after I have all the kinks worked out. I am using a radio that works like a cell phone with my headset bluetooth so I don't have to incorporate anything through the panel.

Yeah, good question. My friend as a 7a and allowed a friend to fly it. On landing hit a gust and he pulled up and touched the rudder bottom. You can pull a string from the wheel pivot point to see what hits first, then you can select what you want to fix if it happens.

I was thinking about a 2M rig too, good idea. Let us see the final result!!
 
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