Landing a Mooney

Jon Kraus wrote
We just purchased a'79 M20J 4443H. I am in the middle of getting my 10
hours with a CFI for Insurance purposes and I have to tell you that this
thing is a lot different to land than a Skyhawk.

Yes it is. It's also a lot different than other airplanes in its
class.

It's not really that it's harder to land - it's that it advertises
even your most minor mistakes to everyone watching. Some airplanes
make you look good even when you are sloppy - true of the C-172, and
also true of the Bonanza (and pretty much every Beech product I've
ever flown, though I admit I haven't flown and Beech taildraggers).
Some airplanes make you look bad if you do anything short of a perfect
job.

I've got the speeds down good (100 on downwind,
90 on base and 80 on final) but getting it to the runway smoothly has
been a challange.

Those speeds sound right. However, all the correct speed buys you is
a landing that is WHERE you want it. The Mooney gear has very little
shock absorption. In something like a Bonanza, you have long oleo
struts - so a few inches either way is no big deal. Three inches high
and you will never know it. In a Mooney, three inches high is very
noticeable. Those rubber donuts simply are not very good for shock
absorption. Bottom line - you're not just transitioning into an
airplane that lands differently, you're transitioning into one that
requires more skill to land well - not just airspeed control, but
judging your altitude and rate of descent in the flare precisely (and
I mean down to the inch).

I've never flown a low wing plane before the Mooney and I am having a
problem with the sight picture working out for me. Is this a pretty
common issue in transitioning to these planes or should I just resign to
the fact that I'm not going to get as nice a landings in my Mooney as I
did in the Skyhawk .

It's not a low wing vs. high wing issue - it's just that you are being
called upon to judge and control your altitude and rate of descent in
the flare more precisely than was ever necessary before. You are
extending your skills. So get a CFI experienced in Mooneys (not some
guy who has 10 hours in one, but someone who actually owns and flies a
Mooney) and practice man, practice. With time, it will come.

Michael

Michael wrote:

It's not really that it's harder to land - it's that it advertises
even your most minor mistakes to everyone watching.

Also advertises those mistakes to the pilot's rear. There's not much
give in those rubber biscuits.

In rec.aviation.owning Jon Kraus wrote:
: We just purchased a'79 M20J 4443H. I am in the middle of getting my 10
: hours with a CFI for Insurance purposes and I have to tell you that this
: thing is a lot different to land than a Skyhawk. So far I am glad that

snip; followup limited to RAO
Hi Jon! Nice airplane.
The trim is very powerful in these airplanes. Much more powerful than a
skyhawk or cherokee. It's important to trim the plane up to final approach
speed instead of holding pressure or you'll never be able to round out and
flare precisely. I think your final speeds are a couple knots too high
unless you're flying at gross.
One other thing to watch is make sure that you arrest the sink rate with a
good round-out. It's not the same as a flare. If you flare without stopping
the sink rate you'll pound the plane onto the mains (carrier landings).
The plane will slam the nose wheel down and bounce right back up. You can
get away with pounding a skyhawk or cherokee or navion in because they've
got very forgiving landing gears. Mooney airplance have little damping in
their landing gear, the rubber donuts compress then expand right back
leading to impressive bounces.
Also try to lower the nose gently after touching down. "Derotation" it's
called in jets, or "fly the nose to the runway". Just letting the nose
come down of its own accord will usually bounce it.
I find that coming down final slowly, trimmed up to approach speed, using
full flaps, close the throttle over the fence, stopping the sink rate as
the plane gets to 1 or 2 feet, and letting the plane land itself works for
me. Trying to force it onto the runway won't work.
I do feel for you; my first landing in the M20J (a 1983 model) was at
Nantuckett. I was 10K fast, and floated something like 2500 feet before
touching down while listening to the owner screaming "just let it go
don't force it on!!!" Good thing the runway's 7000 feet long...
--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)