Gliding, pro cons and interesting details

Regarding a taildragger's landing:

I think another reason why a taildragger should land on both wheels, is that by doing so, the tail is less subject to cross-winds that can put you out of direction, which is not a good thing, if you don't have a lot of room, like it often happens in cross-country flights.(i'm no very sure if i made any sense

What do you guys think ?

that is why you have the rudder
someone said that the rudder pedals are not just foot rests in a glider (for other reasons, but still...)
if you land on some field somewhere and you don't have enough space, you need to come as slow as you can
the speed in a two point landing is lower than the speed in a main gear landing

DZR a scris:

Regarding a taildragger's landing:

I think another reason why a taildragger should land on both wheels, is that by doing so, the tail is less subject to cross-winds that can put you out of direction, which is not a good thing, if you don't have a lot of room, like it often happens in cross-country flights.(i'm no very sure if i made any sense

What do you guys think ?

it's double sided... if you land on both wheels while still being slide-slipped, you might bend the thailwheel fairing, or even the entire tail...
and another thing everyone should remember, the wing of a glider will fall down only after the glider has come to a full stop, and, to make things great, it has to be the left wing down, so the canopy doesn't fall on your fingers
i also have an example why the wing should fall down after you come to a full stop...

virusu a scris:

to make things great, it has to be the left wing down, so the canopy doesn't fall on your fingers

no, for B2s and D2s is the right wing down
too much beer again?
but this is something I heard only in Romania
in the rest of the civilized world they don't really care
and if you consider other gliders, it doesn't really matter what wing you drop after you come to a stop
and here are some good examples:




the pictures are from the internet, except the last one; and I can't remember who is the author
and here is what I mean about the B2 in other countries:

good point my friend i was talking for us, and you are right, it's the right wing, but i'm left-handed so it's a bit confusing for me sometimes

"Regarding a taildragger's landing:

I think another reason why a taildragger should land on both wheels, is that by doing so, the tail is less subject to cross-winds that can put you out of direction, which is not a good thing, if you don't have a lot of room, like it often happens in cross-country flights.(i'm no very sure if i made any sense

What do you guys think ?"

For a taildragger (TD) the landing gear (LG) consists of the Main Landing Gear (MLG) and the tailwheel (TW). For a power plane the MLG has two wheels whereas for a glider the MLG has (most of the times) one wheel only. Therefore it serves better the clarity of the discussion to talk abot MLG, TW, and not "both wheels". And also, it helps to generalize the discussion to both gliders and powerplanes.

Whenever a TD (glider or power plane) has both the MLG and TW on the ground it is less subject to the crosswind. This is the reason while taxiiing a TD you need to keep the tail on the ground (stick on your belly for head wind; stick to the instrument panel on tail wind).

However, to get the TW touching down at the same moment with the MLG, you need to do a "stalled" type of landing. In this situation you touch down at a lower speed (which btw it is better in general, but keep reading) which is not the best situation when you land in significant cross wind (XW).

To counter the XW you can do one OR the other:
- crab. Then shortly prior to touch-down kick the opposite rudder to point the nose along the RWY. And from here on, you continue with the stalled landing when the MLG and the TW touch down simultaneously. There's no definite limit for crabbing. However, if the XW is too high and your crabbing angle is large you may not be able to cancel it quick enough and to synchronize it properly with the touch-down. The result may be a sidewise touch-down (and then if someone has a camera you may end up with a picture similar to the one virusu posted with the D2)
- increase your speed. That means touch down on the MLG only (and obviously no crabbing), bleed the speed and then when the tail is not flying anymore, settle the TW on the ground. What helps here is the somehow increased speed (less impact from the XW) and the fact that the a/c tail is still "flying" (although you have your MLG on the GND), therefore any XW upset can be countered. The risk is where you transition from the tail up to tail down. If a gust hits you at that point you may be in trouble if you did not play safe (i.e. keep the upwind wingtip a bit low, etc) and even then, some nasty things may happen... Once the TW is on the ground, to avoid any surprises, keep it firmly there.


As for the other discussion, on the which wing tip down, the only thing that matters, keep that in your mind because it will save you a lot of trouble, is not the "canopy", nor other thing that you can imagine, it is (again) where the XW is coming from:
- XW from LHS (left hand side), LHS wingtip down,
- XW from RHS, RHS wing tip down; I guess you got it.



Sorin

lancer_two_one a scris:

As for the other discussion, on the which wing tip down, the only thing that matters, keep that in your mind because it will save you a lot of trouble, is not the "canopy", nor other thing that you can imagine, it is (again) where the XW is coming from:
- XW from LHS (left hand side), LHS wingtip down,
- XW from RHS, RHS wing tip down; I guess you got it.

Sorin
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very true what you said, and very good for everyone to know:)
the whole thing with the canopy, is just an airfield myth, that souns so good
just love glinding.

whatever your reasons for pro and cons about right wing down, u'll most certanly think again about this after the day when small wind or just your weight moving around the is-28 cockpit makes the canopy fall on your hand.

i for one don't want that feeling again. But last time i checked all pilots were stubbern and knew "exactly" how everything is done

RATus a scris:

i for one don't want that feeling again. But last time i checked all pilots were stubbern and knew "exactly" how everything is done

it's something that stays with you
happend to me too i had a black nail for 8 months