Wheelbarrowing and Flare

Hi Ramapriya,

Ok, I'm game. It's Christmas morning here and I just work up.

You really need to start taking flight lessons. You have way too much
interest in all this to let it go to waste.

I'll answer your last question (topic) first, since it is also related to
your first question (topic) about 3 point landings.

Wheel barrowing (also known as porpoising) is a phenomenon which can occur
when you land flat, or on the nose wheel first, in tricycle gear aircraft.
It happens, I've seen it performed perfectly a few times by student and
non-student pilots. If in fact you saw the pilot do this, then you
witnessed poor pilot technique, regardless of the aircraft he was flying.

Landing flat and especially landing on the nose wheel first is an invitation
to wheel barrow, not to mention that the nose gear is not designed to
withstand the forces generated on it from such a landing. Take a look at
any tricycle gear aircraft and compare the main gear to the nose gear and it
becomes quite obvious as to why you want to land on the mains first.

Wheelbarrowing (porpoising) can quickly damage or destroy an aircraft if not
recovered from immediately. This is but one of the reasons for the 'flare'
you questioned, along with the fact that the flare is also a means of
slowing the aircraft down, thus eventually going from flying speed, to stall
speed, to wont fly anymore hit the ground and roll out speed.

If you look at birds very closely, especially in slow motion video, you will
see that they do indeed flare just before landing. Watch their wings
closely.

A bit of a mention about 3 point landings. Technically there is no such
thing as a 3 point landing in a tricycle gear aircraft. What you saw is
referred to as 'landing flat or a flat landing'. A 3 point landing is when
referring to a tail wheel aircraft that lands on the mains and tail
simultaneously, or even the mains and then the tail touches a second later.

Now on to your second post. "3 more questions"

1. A crosswind is a crosswind, regardless of whether you are taking off or
landing. The wind is still coming from 'across' the runway rather than
straight down the runway. The procedure 'simplified' is apply whatever
rudder is required to keep the nose pointed straight down the centerline,
with ailerons deflected into the wind. As speed increases it will require
less and less rudder and aileron.

2. If you 'tilt' the wing too much you certain can, and pilots have had
engine strikes. But it takes quite an impressive bank to do so. If it
requires that much of a 'tilt' or bank, then what that is telling you is
that the crosswind is too much for that aircraft in it's current
configuration. The same can be said for not having enough rudder to keep
the nose going straight down the runway. If it's a really significant
crosswind, then it's much easier for the novice to discern that it really
does require a combination of both rudder and aileron to land.

3. You slip the aircraft by cross controlling. i.e opposite rudder and
aileron. I sudden draft, or gust, can blow an aircraft a 'off-center'
regardless of whether they are slipping or not. It's just a matter of
experience, training and anticipating and then going around if you don't
like what you're seeing. Every pilot on this form has different thresholds
as to what type of winds and gust are acceptable to them, and what type of
sight picture they're comfortable with before they tuck tail and perform a
go around.

Hope that answered your questions appropriately in my half asleep state.
But heck, that's how I fly half the time anyway.

PJ

============================================
Here's to the duck who swam a lake and never lost a feather,
May sometime another year, we all be back together.
JJW
============================================

"Ramapriya" wrote in message
ups.com...
Has anyone seen wheelbarrowing occur? Prima facie, it appears too
improbable (ludicrous almost) a thing to happen but even the FAA
Airplane Flying Handbook copy that I have mentions it!

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

Ramapriya