| Thank you Mark, I see you have done the test piloting already, and that is good information to know. If the prop will not windmill with the engine switched off, I think that’s a good thing. As long as the engine is not siezed, and you don’t have your hands full controlling your descent, I would think it would only take a couple of bumps of the starter button to set the prop up in a horizontal position to give you better visibility and lessen the chance of a prop strike on touchdown. Hopefully I’ll never have to experiment with that. Thank you again for passing along the info.
Todd , Sent from my iPhone On 3 Nov 2024, at 4:00 PM, Mark Langford <m...@n56ml.com> wrote:
Todd Thelin wrote:
"I often wonder though if we are training ourselves for an
unrealistic feel for how to set up for an engine failure. I
imagine that the engine produces a different amount of drag when
idling than it does when either totally stopped or when
windmilling. I have not experimented with either scenario, as I
don't consider myself a test pilot, but it does make me wonder."
-------------------
I did that glide and windmilling testing back in 2006, and for
our little bitty wooden props, it makes no measurable difference
whether idling or stopped. And they don't windmill at all, even
if you put it in a very steep dive, at least not my little Sterba
and Sensenich props.
See http://www.n56ml.com/performance/ for more details about
best climb, best glide, etc at http://www.n56ml.com/performance/
. Start at the top and read it all, and you'll likely be better
armed for an "unplanned gliding experience"....of which I've had
more than my fair share! I guess that makes me a test pilot.....
Mark Langford
m...@n56ml.com
http://www.n56ml.com
Huntsville, AL
On 11/3/2024 2:25 PM, Todd Thelin via
KRnet wrote:
Mark,
I also use the same technique
in my KR2S of throttling back to idle, once I
feel the airport is made I and landing without touching the
throttle. This seems very natural to me as I learned to fly
in gliders, where we didn't have a throttle to distract us,
and also developed slipping skills to adjust our rate of
descent on final as necessary. I usually end up higher and
faster than planned for, but better than lower than slower.
:)
I often wonder though if we
are training ourselves for an unrealistic feel for how to set
up for an engine failure. I imagine that the engine produces
a different amount of drag when idling than it does when
either totally stopped or when windmilling. I have not
experimented with either scenario, as I don't consider myself
a test pilot, but it does make me wonder.
Just to chime in on the
Tri-cycle gear v. Tail-wheel subject, I have only ever a KR2S
with a tail-wheel. So maybe I don't know what I'm missing,
but it seems both a very stable platform, and has never given
me any reason for concern on landings. I have always wondered
at the pilots I have seen paddling their rudders like crazy as
they touch down, and wondered why? It seems natural to me to
only use enough input to keep you straight down the center
line. I fly other fixed wing aircraft that have nose wheels on
them and agree that they are also very docile on landing and
don't require much input either to track straight down the
center line, but it seems they are over rated to me. It's
just a matter of learning each machine. Kind of like how so
many youngsters these days think a standard transmission car
is hard to drive. It's just different. Once you learn it, you
do it without thinking.
Cheers,
Todd Thelin
Spanaway, WA
Joe Horton wrote:
I recently spoke to
a long time builder that has seen the light and
converted to trigear. If the fuselage is not been
built as a stretched length I would seriouly
consider changing to a fixed Trigear configuration
for ground handling and landing safety.
-----
Joe may be talking about me.
I was all about top speed and fuel economy while I
was building my KR2S, and I went with a
taildragger setup toward that end. it wasn't bad
from a ground handling standpoint, but still
required getting used to and "flying it all the
way to the chocks". Then I bought Jim Faughn's
KR2 taildragger N891JF, and it was downright
squirrelly on the runway, and I've lost it a few
times, especially on our very narrow runway. And
I've knocked down a few runway lights!
Then I bought Joe's tri-gear
KR2S N357CJ, and it was amazingly tame during
landing....a total non-event! Rather than
requiring constant input to keep from running off
our narrow runway, it was not only controllable,
but it was right down the center line, with no
action required! A total non-event. It's down at
the moment for some routine firewall forward work,
but I'll have it flying again shortly.
I've also discovered that I
rarely fly either KR wide open.....I'm just more
into fuel economy and engine longevity than I am
in bragging about how fast I can get somewhere.
I just leave a little earlier! I go full
throttle on climbout from the runway, then
throttle back a bit to climb to my usual 9500' or
10,000" cruise altitude. After that, I throttle
back a little more and enjoy the view. About the
only time I increase throttle after that is to get
over some clouds that I can't dodge otherwise.
When I get ready to land, I pull the throttle back
to idle at what I think will barely get me on the
runway (even if the airport is several miles
away), and practice an emergency landing. I do my
best to glide all the way in without power (just
idling), and if I'm too high I slip the crap out
of it as far as I need to....sometimes within a
few feet of touchdown. All of my landings are
done at idle. This constant practice gives me
experience regarding how far I can glide from a
given altitude, and still do a decent landing,
just in case the engine croaks. It happens......
Mark Langford
m...@n56ml.com
http://www.n56ml.com
Huntsville, AL
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