Landing Practice

[TimTall]

Here's a couple videos from an interesting perspective....

This strip is 600' long with 100' trees about 900' before the touchdown point. Great place to practice getting down quick with no extra energy. I can reliably get stopped at the half way point so I have enough room to take-off again. (this strip is beside a 2500' paved runway with no hazards ahead, it's just not mowed - great for practicing with minimal risk)

I'm at the point now where I can hit my spot accurately but I'm still working on getting the attitude just right. In one of the videos I touch down on the mains with the tail wheel really close but not touching the ground. I've got just enough extra energy to bounce a little. In the other video the tail touches first but once the mains touch I'm out of energy and on the brakes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj8Rq4xMFza/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj7AVxPrhui/

[Nev]

This is great. These videos really capture the two types of Bearhawk slow speed landings very well - either slightly tailwheel first at minimum speed (no bounce), or main wheeler with the typical "Bearhawk bounce" (more of a skip) as the shocks rebound. Certainly getting short ground rollout there. I haven't been able to eliminate the bounce at these speeds, I get it pretty much every time if I keep the tail in the air, but it still seems to result in a short ground roll.

[RobinDeMarco]

Neat videos, Tim. It’s one thing to read how little distance these planes use, but it’s entirely different to see it.

[TimTall]

We had a little bit of STOL trial last night on the grass. My 4-place, a Super Cub, a Murphy Radical, and a Maule M4-210. Suprisingly similar results considering the differences in weights and power between the 4 of us.

The results were:
Murphy Radical - 225' T/O - 250' Landing roll
Bearhawk - 250' T/O - 275' Landing roll
Super Cub - 275' T/O - 300' Landing roll
Maule - 350' T/O - 350' Landing roll

We were all single pilot, roughly half full. Zero wind. Sea level. 13 C.

[Utah-Jay]

Interesting results, all 180hp?

[TimTall]

The Murphy is 180hp. Super cub is 150 i think, The Maule is 200 or 210. The Bearhawk is 260hp.

The results aren't that scientific but they're close.

[Utah-Jay]

TimTall, what’s is your empty weight?

[Mark Goldberg]

Skill of the pilot is very much a factor in these kinds of comparisons. Mark

[Utah-Jay]

250’ TO in the BH seems in the ballpark, I’m just guessing that 4 place with a 540 weighs in close to 1450-1500

[TimTall]

My empty weight is 1560lbs. I’m running a Continental IO-470 which is a bit heavier and about 5” further forward. I have to run ballast to stay in the fwd c of g limit. I’ve got 25lbs of survival kit and tools plus a 50lb weight.

Mark is right, skill is important in getting these
numbers down. All four of us practice quite a bit. Not specifically for STOL contest type flying like this, but we do get to work the limits of the planes quit a bit. We’re fourtunate that we have a quiet airport. We cut a grass strip on one side and we can pound out short, tight circuits. We’ve also got gravel bars less than 3 miles from the airport. The only way to build skill is to practice a lot.

[kestrel]

Practice, practice, practice... Also, in a STOL competition, they count your best landing. In the backcountry, it is your worst one that counts. After a trip to AK this summer, I'm feeling pretty good with my backcountry work where you keep a little margin but always have a solid short landing. I'm feeling very rusty on my STOL competition landings where you leave zero margin and it doesn't really matter if you mess up a landing or two. Each skill complements the other and proficiency at both is best, but they aren't quite the same.

I'm still lobbying for a STOL competition where the the worst of your three takeoffs or landings that you are scored on, as that determines the shortest runway you could have operated from. ...or determines that you would have landed short and wrecked your airplane. Preferably with classing based on payload carried during competition and cruise speed.

I'm 1635 on 31's. When I'm proficient at the competition landings, I'm in the 225-250 range for both TO and landing without much for headwind or low temperature. The results get arbitrarily better or worse depending on conditions. I once beat the regional STOL champion on landings when we were in the same heat with a tailwind and he was flying a Carbon Cub. ...I've had more practice doing landings in adverse conditions.

For backcountry work with some payload, I like at least 600 ft of usable space. More as the deck gets stacked against me. I've worked off of 800 ft of usable space when the density altitude was above 6,000 ft. Those lengths leave PLENTY of margin and comfort. Battson is probably comfortable with half those distances.

[TimTall]

I'd be interested to see what kind of difference the bigger tires make. I'm on 26" Goodyears at the moment with the 10" Bearhawk tailwheel. Having a little more angle of attack would be helpful in both take-off and landing.

It would be nice to have different categories for sure. Competing against tiny experimental things with hopped up snowmobile motors is pointless. Although it is fun getting beaten by a little bit, but then going back to camp and sitting in my lawn chair while drinking beers from the cooler and cooking on the BBQ. that came out of the plane while they eat their sandwhiches on the ground.

[kestrel]

I've never flown the 26GY. I've flown 6.00x6, 8.50x6 and 31's. Definitely notice the difference in braking as the tires get larger, but most off airport ops on soft terrain have limited braking anyway, so it only matters when playing sill STOL games. I absolutely love the 3 point AoA with the 31's and Bob's tundra tailwheel (built by Eric). The attitude is just about perfect. With the 8.50's I was almost always tailwheel first unless I dropped the nose to set it on the mains just before the tail touched. On the 31's, it sits just barely below stall AoA. I also love how the 31's soften the landing. They can absorb a lot at 8.5 psi (that's what my gauge reads).

Agreed on having a useful airplane that carries the stuff and the family. That's why I fly a Bearhawk instead of those super lightweight planes that can't do much more than STOL games and single person backcountry work.

[Utah-Jay]

Thanks TimTall and good stuff kestrel

I am not a competition minded guy, been there and done that in a different arena. I am all about getting to my fishing spots. Shortest spot I have been into with a S-21 is 800’ and that was with about 7500’ DA, only used half to land, but more to takeoff in that plane. There is a 700’ strip I want to use when the Companion is flying