Wheel landings

[TIGV]

Use my trick, come in a few knots faster but trim about a pound of forward stick pressure once you are on final at a stabilized approach speed, level off and ' gently ' kiss the wheels to the grass the release stick pressure and let the trim fly the tail up for you initially once done then you can start feeding in a little more forward stick, hope this helps.

 

[Traumahawk]

3 Point, Wheel Landing, doesn't make a difference! Whatever floats your boat.

That answer along with 5 bucks might be able to get you an overpriced sorry excuse for a cup of coffee at Starbucks

And whatever you do, avoid people who say "always".
"ALLLways wheel land in a crosswind"
"I ALLWAYS three point my ______"

Do what is most comfortable for you, but try and explore why you feel most comfortable with only one technique.

Obviously there are exceptions where a majority of the time you will be doing one type of landing more than another. Wilga's, Swifts, Pitts' etc...

A couple things surprised me in this thread.

1500 hours in a cub and NEVER wheel landed?! Cubs are great cause u can land on just about ANY wheel on the plane and get away with it, especially in grass. And it's fun!

(By the way, all this time in cubs and you're saying rely on brakes in a strong crosswind? I don't think I have ever flown a cub with properly working brakes, I like having them, all available resources, of course, but I sure as heck don't count on them being there for help.)

Wheel landings NOT allowed at some rental/flight school?? Unless they are renting P51's, stay the hell away from there.

Contrary to popular belief, you do NOT come in 'faster' to do wheel landings. Ol' Wolfgang is pretty clear about this in Stick & Rudder. So is Harvey Plourde in The Compleat Taildragger Pilot. You should be able to wait until the threshold to decide what type of landing it's gonna be.

Extra speed...Perhaps if it's pretty darn gusty, but otherwise, just work harder....move your feet another inch farther when you're dancing and you'll get the same effect as another 5-7 knots on the plane thats only gonna help you eat up precious runway.
--- And if you're flying these tailwheel types at the places you're supposed to, I gather theres not much real estate to play with

Happy taildraggin'
--T-Hawk

P.S. I will say when I'm getting my @ss kicked, a majority of the time I'll 3 point, I just figure the tail's gotta come down sometime, why delay the inevitable...

 

[svcta]

People usually have more trouble with the wheel landings right off the bat. I find myself just switching around between them as time goes on, and I really don't have a favorite. I do believe in a wheel landing in anykind of strong wind, especially on a hard surface. The extra speed and tail up off the ground give you more precise directional control for a longer period than a 3-point. Let the tail stay up until it begins to fall on its own and then gently pin it.....no wierd transition, no exposure. And it's easier to hold a proper x-wind correction in for a longer period of time through the landing and the roll. I've spent more than my share of time bouncing from one main to the other in a BAD wind situation, and that would have been nearly impossible with the tail down. Having the tailwheel and one main on the ground is not a good way to be. And when you're on the mains with the angle of attack that low, you are much less prone to going flying again if you take a gust, this benefit is realized even more in a light taildragger.
Wheel landings are important to teach, too, because they will force the development of better rudder skills because of the longer landing roll and rudder sensitivity. And there's no better way, in my opinion, to salvage a botched 3-pointer then by pinning the thing on the mains.....especially in something with a spring-steel gear(cessnas). After that oscillation gets going just ease the stick forward and watch the airplane stick to the runway. It's worth saying...in just about every airplane any of us have ever flown we'd carry a little extra speed into a landing in tough winds.....why should a taildragger be any different? And a wheeler is the only one that will accomodate ANY extra speed. Trust me(I think all will agree) you DO NOT want to be floating in a full stall configuration waiting for the runway when it's gusting. Get it on the ground and fly it all the way to the parking spot.

 

[falcon20driver]

A couple things surprised me in this thread.

1500 hours in a cub and NEVER wheel landed?! Cubs are great cause u can land on just about ANY wheel on the plane and get away with it, especially in grass. And it's fun!

(By the way, all this time in cubs and you're saying rely on brakes in a strong crosswind? I don't think I have ever flown a cub with properly working brakes, I like having them, all available resources, of course, but I sure as heck don't count on them being there for help.)

The reason I never did wheel landings in the Cubs is we had 180 horse engines with 82 inch props, not much ground clearence, darn good heel brakes on all of them too.

Don't know if it qualifys as a wheel, but I may have used a combo of a wheel and 3 point, in a xwind may have touched on the upwind main with the tail slightly off and let it drop, but never pushed the stick forward like I was taught to do in a wheel landing in the litttle Maule MX-7 I got tailwheel signed off in.

The majority of my TW time is in little Cubs, I suppose if you're flying bigger TW aircraft than you do what you gotta do, but for me flying a Cub I like 3 pointers.

 

[TurboS7]

Wheel landings the only way to land a tail dragger. Thousands of hours in them short, soft, hard, or bumpy, gusty, crosswind, tailwind or otherwise. 3 pointers are just asking for trouble,and I have seen the results of a lot of it.

 

[TurboS7]

Landing a TW on grass is great. When you feel the grass ticking the wheels just relax the back pressure, you will grease them on everytime.

 

[TurboS7]

You land a 727 and 738 the same way, just like a wheel landing.

 

[falcon20driver]

3 pointers are just asking for trouble,and I have seen the results of a lot of it.

TurboS7, do you have time in 180 horse J-3 Cubs with 82 inch props? You'll mow the lawn if you do a wheel landing in one of those, 3 points arn't dangerous, You live in Lauderdale don't you, take a short drive down to North Perry on a weekend afternoon, you'll see quite a few 180 horse J-3's with those big props and I bet you don't see any dangerous 3 point landings, like I said, I've got about 1500 hours, must have at least a few hundred 3 point landings on hard surface runways and never scratched a Cub.

 

[Immelman]

It took me a long time to get consisently good wheel landings. The beauty of them, though, is that if you get one you can stick its a greaser!

One tip from the citabrias: Its extremely difficlt to wheel land with the power off. I tried a few times and it was just plain hard. In the 7gcaa I would come in at 80mph or so (a bit fast), and keep about 1000-1200rpm in through touchdown. Once the mains were planted, no bounce assured, power all the way off..

..of course, if you bounce it, don't try to salvage it. That goes without saying.

I always found wheelies a lot more fun....

 

[Grumman guy]

Depends on the aircraft. I prefered wheel landings in the Waco, much more rudder authority that way.

The only way to land the WACO !!!!

 

[Grumman guy]

I agree with you 100%. We may be wrong but it has never failed me. Cub Maule Stearman even the notorious evel minded cone tail luscomb. High wind low wind no wind I try to wheel land. A three piont is just available to correct a bad attempt at a wheelee, for me that is. I especially like wheel landing on grass. You can hear it hitting the wheels and know just when to stick it.
The right way is what works best for me, and I aint never bent or broke nutin "yet"

If anybody would know you would. How do Mr. Snows birds do?

 

[svcta]

I'll concede that you would probably fly a bastardized J-3 with plywood stall fences bolted to the wings and an uncowled O-360 hung on the front a little differently than a regular one. I don't know about those, but I've got 600 hours in factory super cubs(PA-18)alone with the 180H.P. mod and they require nothing special....wheels...3-point.....makes no difference. And I've had students push them uncomfortably far over and never an incident. Maybe the gear's longer on the Super Cub.

 

[jbDC9]

Wheel landings the only way to land a tail dragger.

The only way? I gotta disagree there... there's also wheel landings and tail low wheel landings, they all work quite well, depending on weather/wind and your mood at the time. Perhaps you need to re-read Stick & Rudder?

I like how Traumahawk put it;
And whatever you do, avoid people who say "always".
"ALLLways wheel land in a crosswind"
"I ALWAYS three point my ______"

 

[TurboS7]

Tough crowd, wheel landing are the only way I like to land a tail dragger. Sure I can land 3-point but it is just pull the power and chuck. As for those monster airplanes that I see towing banners, you guys just to what you have to do. Kinda like the monster trucks.

 

[LR25]

Tough crowd, wheel landing are the only way I like to land a tail dragger. Sure I can land 3-point but it is just pull the power and chuck. As for those monster airplanes that I see towing banners, you guys just to what you have to do. Kinda like the monster trucks.

I fly Pawnees towing banners, I bet if you let go at 20ft with that airplane it still would make a nice landing.

One of the best tow airplanes around.