flickroll
Well Known Member
I've got about 50 hours in my RV-8. Previous tailwheel time was 350 hours in a Citabria, and 200 hours in a Christen Eagle II. What I found early on was the -8 does not like to be landed in a 3 point attitude. So I started using wheelies for landing and after a few hours could do a pretty good job of it. At this point I believe I'm relatively competent at it and more times than not can grease it in, unless Mother Nature throws me a curve and humbles me with a few wind gusts. But all in all I feel pretty confident landing the airplane.
HOWEVER, almost all of my flying has been solo. I have found that the few times I've had a passenger in the rear seat I NEVER get anywhere close to a greaser, and usually get a couple of hops before things get steady. And the other bad thing is that since I rarely have a passenger I don't get much practice at it. Sooooo.......what is the best method of landing an -8 with a rear seat passenger (~200#)? Wheelie with a little power carried during the landing? Something else?
Thanks in advance for any advice.
HOWEVER, almost all of my flying has been solo. I have found that the few times I've had a passenger in the rear seat I NEVER get anywhere close to a greaser, and usually get a couple of hops before things get steady. And the other bad thing is that since I rarely have a passenger I don't get much practice at it. Sooooo.......what is the best method of landing an -8 with a rear seat passenger (~200#)? Wheelie with a little power carried during the landing? Something else?
Thanks in advance for any advice.