Happy TrikerAirborn XT Outback, Air Creation Tanarg, Evolution Aircraft Revo
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SZP and 125 other airports
High Alpha Landing Practice
Practicing high alpha landing is very important for a trike. High alpha means high angle of attack of the wing. In a trike, it is the position that the control bar is pushed out all the way to the front tube. It slows down the touch down speed of a trike, meanwhile increasing the stability of a trike. Pilot can keep the front tire in the air after the main gears touch down. It greatly increases the stability of a trike especially when crosswind or turbulence encountered on hard-surface runway.
Comments
- 1 like
- Ken@knussear
av8orKen liked this
Do the CFI's in the U.S. teach "High alpha" as part of your training ?
the "wheelie" landing is how all the commercial airlines land, and the space shuttle used it too.
av8or, not many CFI teaches the technique in US.
Sweet landings Henry! Really like the "Logo" video shot! Represe'nt! :D hahahaha!
- 1 like
- Leo@LeoIezzi
Happy TrikerLeo liked this
Leo, you air grill makes my Revo special !!
Jeff, the "wheelie landing" as you call it is a standard landing for all aircraft including trikes. Normally taught as round out and flare.
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- 1 like
- Happy Triker@henry253
JozinkoHappy Triker liked this
Nice landings Heny!
Nice - I can do this all day long!
av8or, most trike landings I see are of the "Plop it down, and slam the nose down" variety.
Round out and flare ,mains then nosewheel.full flare? I dont know any other way to land? Btw scott johnson has a really good way of teaching this. In h/g youre usually bleeding off speed in ground effect to a full flare. Scott has you pull in for a little xstra speed in final glidescope start rounding out 10-15ft than 2inchs and 2inches and flare . Puts the mains on the deck and then you feel the nose wheel touch as you relax the bar! Works like a charm ty scott.
- 1 like
- Ken@knussear
YFTKen liked this
Firstly, Great movie Henry. However ALPHA LANDING... Never heard of that one before. WE the way you have mentioned it is about right. Flying Tanarg was the best ting for me and I can land even the Airborne Trikes without bouncing the nose wheel. I have been flying the QuiKR all this week and I have been coming across the fence at 48kts, 55kts, 60kts, and 70kts, and guess what... Not a bounce. I fly a Trike just like any other aircraft, and you know it works. I am off to the CFI conference this week and I will see if they have any comments. All the best everyone.
Thanks yft you know one thing i really like about my airbourne redback even though its not a 912. Other than being well built and a rugged trike i really like the bungee suspention on the mains. The energy is absorbed right there at the tires and dosent transfer much through the trike. Makes for gentle landings on rough feilds. btw i was suprized you bought a quik . Very nice looking fast little sports car isint the white madden going to be jealous.how about a full report on its charactoristics. I used to ship parts to them in the 80s when they were pegasus .there was another company in the uk (breen microlights )dont know what ever happen to them?
You are right, Jeff !!
The term 'alpha' come from the Greek letter used to symbolise angle of attack. While eveyone is on the same page here, it has caused some confusion in some circles as some have assumed that the term implies that the approach is flown at a high angle of attack. As intended, the approach is flown at normal speeds, the mains touch, and only then the bar is slowly eased forward (raising the "alpha", or angle of attack) until there's no energy left in the wing (the bar is fully out) and then the nosewheel makes a single, bounce-free, sweet kiss with the ground. I think some have objected to 'high alpha landings' because of that misunderstanding.
It took me a bit of practice to nail it, especially in Airborne's where the dang front wheel is so light, but it does become second nature. As well as being graceful, and kind to the trike and the crew, it keeps the trike from being top-heavy while rolling at its fastest speed as the natural weathercocking allows it to align itself with a crosswind and is hence safer, particularly when things are a bit sketchy.
Hey WE. don't apolgies for not owning a 912! There are valid reasons for chosing a two stroke over a four stroke. A Cruz wing feels nicer on a 582 than a 912 to me.
- 1 like
- JoeUser@JoeUser
Happy TrikerJoeUser liked this
Thank you, Tussock, very well said. I see many trikes landings that there is less time lag or almost same time between main gears touching down and nose gear touching down. The most important thing here is how you align your trike to the direction the trike travels in crosswind situation. You can remove the crabbing angle of the trike and make it straight by increasing the time lag. This prevents trike sometime get into bad duckwalking, which caused by the sudden impact of nose gear in the angle.
Check my landing at time line 2:30.
I had some turbulence with crosswind component. As soon as one of the main gear touch the ground, the trike became straight with the runway. Then the trike became straight and the nose wheel touched down straight.
BTW, I still have my nose gear bouncing. Far from perfect landing.
Yft has a very different approach to crosswind landings in austrailia. It would be cotroversial here in the states i think. But as i have witnessed it works very well. Ive seen him do it in very strong x wind. He aproaches diagonaly into the wind to the runway. At the point of touchdown he drags one main wheel and it puts him right down the runway smooth.First time i saw it i was like what the heck! But it does work nicely. Maybe aviator or someone might comment about it.
Hedgeview is the person to talk to, I have seen him use this technique in 25 knot cross winds. There is video of this somewhere. My Tanarg having a lower centre of gravity than say the Airborne trikes never presents me with any issues when landing in a crosswind. Nor do I have to deliberately push the bar out to its furthest extent and hold it there. Main wheels always touch first then as speed bleeds off the nose wheels gently settles.
Airbornes seem to be a special case. What seems to work for me is the usual mains down/start feeding the bar forward... but with an inch or two of travel left between the bar and compression strut, I give it a rapid push to raise the nose with a kind-of very slightly aggravated stall to get the last of the flying energy out of the wing, and keeping the bar pinned right out until the front wheel has fully settled. I find if I don't do this the wing will hold sufficient lift to get a bounce or two from the front wheel. Other trikes I've flown haven't required this nudge and a smooth progression works fine.
I'm not up to Henry's standard with a camera, sorry. The filming here is rough but it shows the bar at the compression strut a second or so before the nosewheel makes contact with the ground, and there's no bounce.
I think achieving consistent, front wheel bounce-free landings in all conditions is the hardest skill for us trike pilots to acquire.
I had a throuble with Airborne XT912/Arrow to land at main wheels, by "normal OZ" landings, without bumpy front wheel. The XT trike is quite short, then it was quite hard for me to keep front wheel up, when main wheels touched RWY. I did nice landings (alpha angle) by "my landing procedures" only. It means high approaching speed (yes YFT, not as first time I had....) and decreasing air speed about 3-5in over RWY by pulled control bar.
With Tanargs I didnt have a problem put main wheels to RWY and after some meters ago, put front wheel light down. Tanarg is longer trike than XT. I mean the distance between front and main rear wheels.