When the tail is on the ground first, it will not bounce. you are
locked into landing.
proved many times in Cubs Champs & Tcraft. As you slow, the angle
of attack
becomes less and you will not become airborne, VJ
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Most of the old aircraft (Cubs, Champs, Tcraft) had bunge landing
gear systems that absorbed the energy of the mains hitting the
ground. Try that in an airplane with a gear system that will spring
you back into the air ( early Cessna's, KR's ).
The fact that my KR (any airplane for that matter) is still flying if
the tailwheel touches first indicates that the three point attitude
on the ground is less than the stall speed. Any gear system that
does not fully absorb the impact forces will have you airborne
again and flying. Even if the touchdown is smooth and no bounce
results, any increase in headwind could have you flying again.
A quartering head wind is the worst as it may raise only one wing
and at the same time cause you to drift sideways. Not a good
situation, in a taildragger especially. Tri-gear aircraft tend to
align themselves with the direction of travel once the mains
are on the ground. The physics of taildragger gear cause them to
prefer going tail first on the ground.
The taildragger pilot must use the aerodynamic qualities of the airplane
, and possibly some braking action, to control the airplane from the
moment the wheels contact the ground until the wing has completely
stopped flying and he/she can control the ground handling with the
gear ( steerable tailwheel or brakes and rudder with a full-swivel
tailwheel).
You can tell how comfortable a KR pilot is in landing his KR by the
number of pucker wrinkles in his seat cushion ! :-)
Larry Flesner
