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