Taildragger Flare
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- Colonel Sanders
- Top Poster
- Posts: 7512
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:17 pm
- Location: Over Macho Grande
Taildragger Flare
I keep forgetting to mention this.
With a metal prop, when you flare a tailwheel
aircraft to the 3-pt landing attitude, there is
a bit of pitch attitude change.
When this occurs, the gyroscopic precession
kicks the nose right, causing you to land in
a crab (not good) if you don't compensate for
this with left rudder in the flare, which most
people don't because they're too busy.
I like to flare a little earlier and slower, and
not have to fight gyroscopic precession as
much, with a slower pitch attitude change.
During landing, raise the nose slowly, and
during takeoff, raise the tail slowly, to avoid
creating a problem that you have to solve.
A wooden prop makes this a non-issue.
A huge metal prop (or two) can make this
a very big deal.
That is all. Carry on,
With a metal prop, when you flare a tailwheel
aircraft to the 3-pt landing attitude, there is
a bit of pitch attitude change.
When this occurs, the gyroscopic precession
kicks the nose right, causing you to land in
a crab (not good) if you don't compensate for
this with left rudder in the flare, which most
people don't because they're too busy.
I like to flare a little earlier and slower, and
not have to fight gyroscopic precession as
much, with a slower pitch attitude change.
During landing, raise the nose slowly, and
during takeoff, raise the tail slowly, to avoid
creating a problem that you have to solve.
A wooden prop makes this a non-issue.
A huge metal prop (or two) can make this
a very big deal.
That is all. Carry on,
Re: Taildragger Flare
Patient says to doctor: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
Doc says to patient: "Then don't do that."
A good case for wheel landings....
Doc says to patient: "Then don't do that."
A good case for wheel landings....
Re: Taildragger Flare
Why does it happen with a metal prop and not a wooden prop??
Re: Taildragger Flare
The mass of the metal blades, and resulting flywheel effect....
- Colonel Sanders
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- Posts: 7512
- Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 5:17 pm
- Location: Over Macho Grande
Re: Taildragger Flare
Yes, but when the tail comes down - as it mustA good case for wheel landings
inevitably - you still have the same problem of
the aircraft diving for the ditch.
I remember flying with Eric - I was riding along
in the PT-19 Cornell. He did a nice wheel landing,
then plopped the tail down.
I warned him that he could get away with that,
with the wood prop (no polar moment of inertia)
but with a heavy metal prop, the tail needed to
be lowered very slowly, to keep the aircraft out
of the right ditch.
I lower the tail very carefully, after a wheel landing
in the 450hp Stearman, or 700hp Harvard, or the
Beech 18. I can only imagine what it would be like
in a DC-3 or C-46

Gyroscopic precession of the metal props is actually
the hardest thing about flying the Beech 18. Wonderful,
docile aircraft.
I doubt a DC-3 or C-46 would have enough rudder to
keep you out of the left ditch on takeoff, or the right
ditch on landing, if you quickly raised or lowered the
tail. Differential power is a must, even in the little
Beech 18.
Re: Taildragger Flare
A joke most famously told by this genius:PilotDAR wrote:Patient says to doctor: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
Doc says to patient: "Then don't do that."
A good case for wheel landings....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Cooper
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn4kH9c0JdA
DId you hear the one about the jurisprudence fetishist? He got off on a technicality.
Re: Taildragger Flare
Well, yes, though I am doing that simply to be as delicate as can be on the tailwheel, and its springs in particular. The fewer times re-arching is needed, the happier I am. Similarly when I flew the DC-3, we're lowering the tail gently. However, with that, if you don't like where it is pointed, you can hint it back in the direction you like with a bit of power, or reverse on the engine of your choice.On takeoff, I did not find that the tail jumped rapidly into the air anyway, so there is time to keep it straight. I do not recall this effect when flying 185's, but perhaps it is subtly there, and I just did not notice. The Siai Marchetti 1019 was a bootfull - all the time, and I was three pointing takeoffs and landings in it. It seemed most happy if the tailwheel left the ground last, and returned ever so slightly first. Definitely a plane for which 95% power at the beginning of the takeoff is not a great idea!I lower the tail very carefully
And yes, humour...
I have decided that for divvying up responsibilities around the nations in the European area, while we're leaving the machine design to the Germans, the finance to the Swiss, the romance to the Italians, the food to the French, The water control to the Dutch, the music to the Irish, and the planning to the Scots, we must leave the humour to the English.