Bouncing the landing

[Matt Brown]

Am I missing something? I virtually never am able to grease the landing. Primarily flying a string of SV11 ARFs but a few others bounce as well. I know a bad landing is likely to bounce but I’ve had a lot that I feel are just right but I still get a bounce or two. I’ve been wondering if the aluminum gear on these ARFs is too stiff and not absorbing any of the energy. I don’t recall my old Twister bouncing the landings but I may just not remember it as it was never a big concern as it wasn’t a competition plane.
What are the keys to the perfect landing?
I’m not so much caring about score as I am just wanting a good smooth landing!

Thanks, Matt

[Clint Ormosen]

Most importantly is to have the gear mounted in the right location in relation to the CG. Too far forward tends to give you the bouncies. The Landing gear needs to absorb some of the load without being overly stiff or springy. Soft wheels also help. After that its just practice.

[Doug Moisuk]

I had that problem for a long time until a friend said just give it a touch of down elevator when it lands. Problem solved.

[Matt Brown]

I had that problem for a long time until a friend said just give it a touch of down elevator when it lands. Problem solved.

That sounds good but that would require timing I don’t have! 😁

Matt

[Dave Hull]

Just like real estate: location, location, location.

We are assuming you are flying off of pavement? If so, move the gear until the wheel contact point is 15-18 degrees forward of the CG when level. If you don't nose over as the plane slows down (loses elevator authority) and you are still bouncing you can try more adjustment. To adjust, assuming the fuse-mounted aluminum gear, just make some different hardwood wedges and install between the gear and the fuse platform. You might need longer bolts.

Don't try to land too slow. You probably should be doing "wheel landings," not three-point landings. Those are going to bounce unless you are perfect. Stalling the wing right before you touch down guarantees significant "ploppage." A friend recurrently has this problem with his Pathfinder. He's so spoiled by the fat wing, that sometimes he wobbles it another 50 feet so that his helper won't have to walk to pick it up. His landings improved immensely and became more consistent when we told him we'd walk to get it, but we couldn't stand looking at any more stall-plop-broke-the-prop landings. He got the rhythm back and then started worked on whipping....

Assuming you have SV-11's with the fuse-mounted aluminum sheet gear, then forget about the aluminum dissipating energy from landing--it won't. The damping in the aluminum is small. The damping comes from the tires scrubbing, from the spin-up of the wheels, that kind of thing.

As a last resort, I remind my flying buddies that each time I touch down is an opportunity to score. If I bounce five times and got a minimum of 10 points for each "landing," I'm waaaaay ahead!

[Dan Berry]

Don't bring ot in too slow.
Give it a touch of down when it touches.
Lastly----- advice given after I've been battling for years ---- take two steps toward it to kill the energy.

[Ken Culbertson]

Have you tried setting up with a long tail wheel wire?  It should let the plane set about 2 degrees nose up.  It allows you to make a 3 point landing at the speed of a 2 point.  You should be landing at the point in the glide where the weight of the plane starts to become more that the lift created by the wing(s) and stab.  That way it will not take off again but that is really too slow for a greaser.  You have to land "hot" and fly it through the ground effect then still "fly" it on the ground.  I have found that giving it a touch, sort of like "think down" just before the wheels touch helps overcome the ballooning as you hit the ground effect.  Where it lands does not matter one bit in competition.  Stretching the glide to have the plane stop right where it started is a mistake.

[Brett Buck]

Don't bring ot in too slow.

   This is the key bit of advice - you don't need to slow it to a crawl over pavement, landing at nearly full speed works fine. There's no real trick to it otherwise, you have to fly it cleanly and smoothly to the ground, which means you have to be flying fast enough to be able to control it. On pavement, touch down around 270 degrees  and have enough speed to roll it around past 360 so it doesn't roll to a stop with the tail into the wind.

    Obviously, if there is a frequent issue with bounces, check that the wheels touch the ground around 15 degrees ahead of the CG. Any further forward and the tendency to bounce is exacerbated.

   The only other bit of advice is that having "brakes" helps, it will start killing the speed and help keep the tail up just from the friction.

   I note that the approach is scored, too, but it's just more of the - the same ability to smoothly control the airplane as it descends.

    Brett

[Dave Harmon]

Don't bring ot in too slow.
Give it a touch of down when it touches.
Lastly----- advice given after I've been battling for years ---- take two steps toward it to kill the energy.

Yep...walk with it a few steps and landings are much easier and predictable....at least for me...