On 25 Dec 2004 02:00:24 -0800, "Ramapriya" wrote:

Has anyone seen wheelbarrowing occur? Prima facie, it appears too

I've seen it a couple of times, but porpoising is much more common.
Wheelbarrowing is due to forcing the plane down when it's still going
too fast to land.

Porpoising OTOH is from not getting the nose up soon enough. The plane
is rotating (nose coming up) when the nose wheel hits first, this
leads to the nose rebounding up and the mains come down and rebound.
You can get some pretty dramatic bounces this way.

The best way to stop a porpoise is to just give it the power and go
around.

The typical porpoise ends up with the pilot behind the airplane (OK so
it started that way), and each bounce gets bigger. They say three
times and out. I saw two instances where this was true. On the third
time they busted the nose gear right off on both planes.

improbable (ludicrous almost) a thing to happen but even the FAA
Airplane Flying Handbook copy that I have mentions it!

Some well known planes are quite prone to porpoising if the pilot gets
behind it. They are a bit heavy up front although the CG is fine. The
problem comes in landing. That is why you see cautions about checking
firewalls for wrinkles when purchasing a used plane.


Also, while the ways of performing a flare is mentioned at many places,
the reason for a flare is conspicuously absent everywhere. Just why is

Actually it's not. *Almost* anything that flys flares on landing
whether it has jet engines or feathers.

a flare needed vis-a-vis a 3-point landing? After all, birds just come
in and sit, without having to flare...

Virtually all the birds I've seen flare and they are really good at it
with many almost coming to a stop just before their feet touch down.

As some one else mentioned, with your interest you should take up
flying if you haven't already.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com


Ramapriya