Posted by: Worr

I'm getting fired up to do my first solo flight, and I'm book sharp at the moment for FFA regulations, so I though I would start a thread now before 2.1 comes out and everyone is scrambling on how to land.

It should come as no surprise to you that the landings will be more realistic. You will not be able to drop flaps at high speed, nor gear. And you will not be able to drop flaps and then speed up and land either...you'll stress and damage them.

So now is a good time learning how to land at around 110ias instead of 200ias.

My suggestion is that you get your speed set before you drop your nose over for a landing. If you do this most of your troubles will abate right from your first flight on 2.1.

Try this...take off off-line at F1 and climb out to 2k heading. Make left traffic and the pattern you will fly will look like a rectangle(this would be called cross wind as you take off into the wind in real life). Make another left turn (downwind leg). As you fly parallel now to the runway you just too off from you will be in level flight going the opposite direction.

Since you will no longer be climbing your speed will rapidly increase. Here is where you need to cut power and keep your nose up. Do not push your nose over to begin your rate of decent. Control altitude with power, and speed with pitch. (Say, this about 7 times a day when you get up in the morning).

So cut your power and maintain that altitude. As the plane looses power its nose will get soft and mushy in the controls...apply more back pressure. Your angle of attack will increase. You will seem to be in a climb attitude, but you will not climb.

Now get your flap down and gears. When you have your speed set then begin your left turn to base. So let's say you took off on runway 36 going straight north. You cut your power and got your flaps down and gear down while you were heading straight south 180. Base leg in left traffic will have you pointed 090 due east.

Get your next flaps down.

One more left turn to final...360 due north. Touch down and roll out atabout 100ias depending on the air craft. Check your pilot operational hand book, or ask HOOF. :)

Do not loose your altitude too soon or the runway will disappear. You shouldbe 2-500 feet above the runway on your final approach. Most of your earlymistakes will be to get slow but by dropping alt too soon and pulling up. Sodrop speed with pitch up, and your alt with power down.

If you damage your gear or flaps on approach you need to do it again without power. Itwill be nearly impossible to land from high altitude without a forward slip or some other fancy move all which will be possible in 2.1 I'm sure.

Worr, out IMOL Staff Trainer

Posted by: jedi

You could do just as Worr suggests...the standard rectangular traffic pattern--great for getting a feel for how your plane handles at low speed. BUT the manly man does what the real guys did--the "overhead."

Line up with the runway, 1500 AGL (above ground level) speed 200-250 (your choice, but start at 200). Note the runway heading. As you reach the near threshold of the runway, make a 180-degree turn to the left, reduce power to idle, heading back the way you came. As you pass through 200 knots, extend your gear. At 180 knots, drop half your flaps. You should see the runway off your left wing. You're on downwind. Slow to and maintain 150 knots. When you see the near threshold in your back-left view, i.e. you're about 45 degrees displaced, you're at "the perch." Drop full flaps and begin a 180 degree descending turn to final. Use your descent and a little power to hold 120-150 knots. Halfway around the turn, you should be halfway to the ground, i.e. 750 AGL. You should roll out on final about 30 seconds from touchdown. With your flaps full down, you can slow to 100-110 knots or so for the landing. I've found that putting the near threshold at the bottom of your gunsight glass gives a reasonable glide path.

Putting the crosshairs on the end of the runway will put you in the grass short of the field, which may not be good in 2.01.

You would approach the carrier in exactly the same way, although I think a CV approach was typically from a lower altitude, 750-1000 AGL or so.

It's cool to do this in formation with your wingie as well. Stay in close formation. Lead will make his initial 180 ("the pitch") as he crosses over the threshold. Wingman watches him go, (and takes a screenshot, perhaps ;-) counts to six (count thou not seven, neither count thou five, excepting that thou then proceedeth to six), then he follows. Any other wingmen break at 6-second intervals.

That's the standard military landing pattern, in use since WW2. Commonwealth types call it "initial and pitch," US terminology is "overhead traffic pattern." Whatever you call it, it's fun, and a lot more realistic than the 200-knot, brakes on, retract-gear-at-touchdown dweeb-o-trick that guys use ;-)

--jedi

Posted by: starry

Message: : So if you were flying in WB 2.01 or in RealLife(tm)

: 1. How would you land on a runway without losing your gear and flaps when coming back with stress limits on.

Gently. You should remember to keep your speed to about 1.2 of stall speed (on final) and flare just before touchdown. The flare should hold you level just above the runway and bleeds of the last bit of speed (above a stall) before you settle down and land gently (at the stall speed, or close to it).

A big mistake would be to try to descend to quickly, 'cos you'll just be going too fast to make the runway. The traffic patterns used in RL help by setting you up correctly.

Once you have a good idea of the approach angle and speeds you need you can make long finals without to much trouble.

: 1.5 How do you slow down enough to have a safe landing? Sideslips? S-turns? circling? break turns?

I don't think it matters in WB 'cos you can't collide with someonewho's doing brake turns in the pattern anyway. In RL I've used S turns in the pattern (after getting approval from ATC) but only to make the final longer (giving another plane OTR time to get off).

For emergency landings (practice :-) I've used slips, S turns and circling to get set up. If you use a traffic pattern this shouldn't really be necessary.

Remember: Pay very close attention to airspeed. A stall will be fatal on final.

Watch the runway. You will land at the point on the runway which doesn't appear to move relative to you. If the place you're aiming at appears to be moving away from you you are going to land short. If the point you are aiming at appears to be moving under you you will land long. Don't land short of the threshold. :-)

Flaps are used to increase the rate of descent (and they have the advantage of reducing the stall speed).

Use power, not pitch to alter rate of descent.

Use pitch, not power to alter airspeed.

(These two are really important at the low speeds and altitudes ssociated with landing). It doesn't take long to learn how to land if you practice a standard traffic pattern.

: 2. How would you land on the carrier without losing gear/flaps.

Same as for a runway but don't flare, fly it all the way down and make the trap. Never done it in RL though, and almost certainly never will!

Hope that helps a bit.

Steve