Wheel Landings

[redbarron55]

If you have the mental picture of "rolling up" on the mains then if you are several inches off the ground as you "roll up" the plane rotates about the CG and the wheels come down as the tail goes up and the forward pressure puts the gear down and a little more holds it there.
If you land at 65 and are trimmed to 75 the airplane will pretty much roll on with little or no additional forward pressure.
Stop descent and flair with a little power ease off on the power roll the gear on and ya\ou are there.
By the way at touchdown speed I doubt you have enough elevator to push the plane forward enough to hit the prop (no brakes). As the tail goes up the elevators down the stabilizer in now "up" and the tail can only go as far up as the equilibrium between the stabilizer and elevator. Of course when you add breaking the pitching moment will bring the tail up and you hold the angle correct with the elevator.
So you can really bear down on the brakes if you want as long as you compensate with the yoke. If you maintain a negative angle of attack the added pressure on the tires will allow for better braking effectiveness than ANY other method and better than any trigear ( no negative angle other that nose strut compression (and that prop is closer tho the ground, usually).
If you take advantage of this and learn to wheel land more slowly you can easily land shorter total approach, touchdown and brake to a stop than a willowy three point landing.
Wheel landings do not have to be an 80 mph touchdown!

JDB.

[Wheelie Wayne]

After being away from a tailwheel for awhile, I wanted some Pacer time before flying my "new to me" Pacer. The instructor had me coming in at 90 mph for a wheel landing?????? That seems awfully fast to me but that is what he wanted me to do in his airplane. When I got in my own Pacer, that approach speed came down rapidly. After adding VGs, I come over the fence at about 60 instead of 90. I think my tires are much happier this way.

[MN_flyer1]

The instructor had me coming in at 90 mph for a wheel landing?????? That seems awfully fast to me but that is what he wanted me to do in his airplane.

All I can say is WOW!

[Rollie]

Thats how my instructor had me do wheel landings too, come in with power in a level attitude, which put us at 85-90 and fly it onto the ground then pull back the throttle. Also he likes the trim full forward (nose down) so when you touch down you can just let the yoke go forward on its own. It works, you do land on the wheels, but I'm not sure what the point is in landing 30-40 mph above stall. You eat up a lot of runway and wear out tires quickly.

I didn't like that technique and yesterday I got a chance to try it as described in this thread, easing the yoke forward just before touchdown at normal touchdown speed and it works great. I only did one because on take off I had found that I really need to balance the 26" tires I just put on, so now I'm off to search other threads to learn how to do that.

Thanks, I've been trying to find a better way to do wheel landings for a year and I'm really happy with this technique.

[BrettL]

I've heard the extra power and extra speed a lot for wheel landings, and I consider it sloppy technique. I believe that wheel landings are best done by simply modifying the flare. In trying to paint the picture, I ask if you have ever accidentally made a very flat, all three wheels at once, but very smooth landing in a tricycle gear airplane because you didn't flare enough for a full stall landing. That is the flare that you want for a wheel landing in a taildragger. I do find getting the flare precise a bit more of a challenge in our short airplanes than in a longer airplane like a Cub.

My first attempts at wheel landing a short wing were in a friend's Piper Clipper. With the mains a few inches from the dirt I tried to pin them down to the runway, and ended up bouncing higher than the airport fence. It took me a few tries before I could roll the mains on smoothly.

[Gilbert Pierce]

My first attempts at wheel landing a short wing were in a friend's Piper Clipper. With the mains a few inches from the dirt I tried to pin them down to the runway, and ended up bouncing higher than the airport fence. It took me a few tries before I could roll the mains on smoothly.

Clipper's don't like wheel landings.

[Stephen]

Clipper's don't like wheel landings.

How do they differ from a Pacer landing without flaps?

[Gilbert Pierce]

Landing gear bungee system is different, no hydro sorbs, plus the full span ailerons give much more control at low speed negating the need for higher landing speed. For me three pointers are easier and provide as much control. Three points are controllable in 30 mph direct cross winds. I have never run out of aileron and rudder rudder control. My Kitfox required wheel landings in any cross wind so I can do them. Just don't see the need in the Clipper. If I am fast over the numbers and high I will just go ahead and wheel land but don't normally plan to do it.

[Pacerfgoe]

Rich....Your description of "keep it straight don't touch the brakes" got me thinking .....I'm curious to know if during your training your instructor had you go the whole length of the runway on the mains, with partial power, and had you use the rudder pedals to move the airplane from one side of the centerline to the other.
I found this a very effective way to get someone comfortable with using the rudder, and not afraid of it.
To answer your Question about technique, I tend to do a tail low landing most of the time.....landing on the mains with the tail about 6"-12" up then let the tail settle on. If I'm doing a wheel landing, I'll get the mains on then "check" forward on the control yolk to pin the mains on the runway. When I say "check" I mean move the column forward 2-3". I've never tried the full forward motion that you describe.

[richas]

Rich....Your description of "keep it straight don't touch the brakes" got me thinking .....I'm curious to know if during your training your instructor had you go the whole length of the runway on the mains, with partial power, and had you use the rudder pedals to move the airplane from one side of the centerline to the other.
I found this a very effective way to get someone comfortable with using the rudder, and not afraid of it.
To answer your Question about technique, I tend to do a tail low landing most of the time.....landing on the mains with the tail about 6"-12" up then let the tail settle on. If I'm doing a wheel landing, I'll get the mains on then "check" forward on the control yolk to pin the mains on the runway. When I say "check" I mean move the column forward 2-3". I've never tried the full forward motion that you describe.

Yes, I do remember that exercise. I am going to try to use less forward yoke, when the Pacer is out of annual...

Rich