Veering left after touchdown

Are you flying a Cessna? This used to happen to me and I couldn't figure
out what I was doing. The plane also needed a tremendous amount of right
foot while flying. We moved the maintenance to a more knowledgeable shop
which found that the little metal block in the nose gear that centers it in
flight was worn. When the nose gear was extended, the wheel was cocked and
acting like a rudder. As soon as the block was replaced, the swerve when
the nose came down went a way. The wheel was cocked when fully extended.
Until the strut was compressed enough to let the steering become effective
again, the plane was trying to follow the nose wheel.
--
Roger Long

I had a student do this yesterday. He landed with some inadvertant
left brake, because he didn't have his foot low enough on the
pedal/heel on the floor.
I think an added problem for some students in that left feet are
generally less trained (coordinated) than the right. In a car you
operate gas and brake with your right foot, and develop a keen sense
of position control/pressure control, while the left foot never gets
any training. In a standard, the left foot operates the clutch. This
is usually a "all the way to the floor" exercise with a regulated
release.

Having said all this, I think it is common for students (and newer
pilots) to experience left rudder problems such as inadvertant
braking, and over control.

Mitch - CFI




"C J Campbell" wrote in message ...
I have had students with that problem. It invariably results from not
keeping your heels on the floor -- the student is touching the left brake.
It is a subconcious thing. I would recommend practicing on narrow strips,
about 30 feet wide, with an instructor. Barring that, try imagining that the
runway is that narrow and that you don't want the centerline to veer off to
left or right.

"Gerald Sylvester" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hmmm, how about adding an 'H' to your GUMPS pre-landing checklist.
It's
for making sure your heels are on the floor.

great. So we have
TIT = tune - identify - twist
HUMP


ROTFLMAO!!! Good one!

During landing it is Very important to keep that ball centered.

My God, no! The ball is the LAST thing you should be looking at
during a landing operation. Look outside!

stalling above the runway is scarey enough without the added troubes
caused by being uncoordinated

Stalling a few feet above the runway is no big deal.

When the nose gear was extended, the wheel was cocked and
acting like a rudder.

Makes you yearn for a taildragger!

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! weblog www.vivabush.org

I'm surprised nobody brought this up.... Are you trying to align the axis
of the plane with the centerline of the runway? Don't. It's less than a
foot in a cessna. Align the centerline with you. If that's you're problem
then you're likely overcompensating for what the centerline should look like
while your "paralleling" it, and, as a consequence, touching down pointing a
bit to the left.... possibly perfectly coordinated. And, if you are
uncoordinated, like other posters suggest, this will help you recognize
that.

I did the exact same thing you did for a long time.

Regards



"Karl Treier" wrote in message
...
OK so 4 or so flight hours after attaining my PPL, I find a problem i
don't
recall experiencing during flight training at all. Hoping for some
insight
or maybe i'll consider a few recurrent hours with my CFI.

Anyway basically the problem is that I land straight (or so I think) and
almost immediately after touchdown I start to veer to the left
(disconcerting for passengers), now on LUK's 150ft wide runway no problem
I
get it back on centerline but i'm concerned about thi.s happening on a
75ft
or narrower runway.

When I went from my Tri-Pacer to my Cherokee, I had the same thing
happening. I am still not sure exactly why, but over time it has gone
away.
--
Gene Seibel
Hangar 131 - http://pad39a.com/gene/plane.html
Because I fly, I envy no one.


"Karl Treier" wrote in message .. .
OK so 4 or so flight hours after attaining my PPL, I find a problem i don't
recall experiencing during flight training at all. Hoping for some insight
or maybe i'll consider a few recurrent hours with my CFI.

Anyway basically the problem is that I land straight (or so I think) and
almost immediately after touchdown I start to veer to the left
(disconcerting for passengers), now on LUK's 150ft wide runway no problem I
get it back on centerline but i'm concerned about thi.s happening on a 75ft
or narrower runway.

So how about this -

you are in the left seat of a cessna.
You think you have the plane lined up , but you are actually lining up
centerline thru the spinner...so the plane is actually cocked a bit to
the left.
Touchdown , veer left.
I had this problem...had to conciously alter my perspective to lineup
a bit left of the spinner (compensate for the left seat displacement)


Pavan Bhatnagar
student pilot.

"Karl Treier" wrote in message .. .
OK so 4 or so flight hours after attaining my PPL, I find a problem i don't
recall experiencing during flight training at all. Hoping for some insight
or maybe i'll consider a few recurrent hours with my CFI.

Anyway basically the problem is that I land straight (or so I think) and
almost immediately after touchdown I start to veer to the left
(disconcerting for passengers), now on LUK's 150ft wide runway no problem I
get it back on centerline but i'm concerned about thi.s happening on a 75ft
or narrower runway.

An excellent observation, and probably what it actually happening.
It only takes a slight mis-alignment (due to perspective) to cause
the aircraft to veer a bit immediately after touchdown. As has been
stated, this usually passes with time.

Pavan Bhatnagar wrote:

So how about this -

you are in the left seat of a cessna.
You think you have the plane lined up , but you are actually lining up
centerline thru the spinner...so the plane is actually cocked a bit to
the left.
Touchdown , veer left.
I had this problem...had to conciously alter my perspective to lineup
a bit left of the spinner (compensate for the left seat displacement)


Pavan Bhatnagar
student pilot.

Thanks to all for the tips, I went and did some pattern work and sure enough
it was not heeling my feet coupled with some inadvertant left foot pressure.