Aero-Tips!

A good pilot is always learning -- how many times have you heard this old standard throughout your flying career? There is no truer statement in all of flying (well, with the possible exception of "there are no old, bold pilots.") It's part of what makes aviation so exciting for all of us... just when you think you've seen it all, along comes a scenario you've never imagined.

Aero-News has called upon the expertise of Thomas P. Turner, master CFI and all-around-good-guy, to bring our readers -- and us -- daily tips to improve our skills as aviators, and as representatives of the flying community. Some of them, you may have heard before... but for each of us, there will also be something we might never have considered before, or something that didn't "stick" the way it should have the first time we memorized it for the practical test.

It is our unabashed goal that "Aero-Tips" will help our readers become better, safer pilots -- as well as introducing our ground-bound readers to the concepts and principles that keep those strange aluminum-and-composite contraptions in the air... and allow them to soar magnificently through it.

Look for our daily Aero-Tips segments, coming each day to you through the Aero-News Network. Suggestions for future Aero-Tips are always welcome, as are additions or discussion of each day's tips. Remember... when it comes to being good pilots, we're all in this together.

Aero-Tips 03.10.06

The Northwest DC-9 touched down at Indianapolis. Landing was much smoother than I’ve grown accustomed to, riding in the back on long business trips. And the pilot did something I’ve not experienced frequently on commercial carriers at all -- he/she held the nose up during the landing roll, keeping the nosewheels off the ground until elevator effectiveness waned, then deftly let the tires kiss the pavement. It was an artful landing.

Aerodynamic Braking and Lightplanes

The Air Force is big on “aerodynamic braking”, especially in fighter aircraft. Holding the nose high exposes a larger cross-section of the aircraft to the relative wind, increasing drag and helping to slow it down. The practice apparently came along with the advent of swept-wing fighters and reconnaissance aircraft, which tend to have very high stalling speeds and therefore long landing rolls (Note: increasing stall speed requires a faster landing speed for stall avoidance; faster speeds in turn require longer runways to dissipate landing energy). Aerodynamic braking is an alternative to ungainly drag ‘chutes that appeared with the introduction of these same airplanes.

Will aerodynamic braking reduce your landing roll in typical light airplanes? Probably not. Drag is an exponential function of airspeed, and at usual landing speeds of prop-driven airplanes simply aren’t moving fast enough for additional drag to be much of a factor. There are, however, several tangible advantages in holding the nose up during the landing roll (in tricycle gear aircraft) until minimum control effectiveness speed:

• Improved controllability. If too much airplane weight is borne on the nosewheel at high speeds, a nosewheel shimmy or vibration may develop and steering may overpower aerodynamic (rudder) directional control.
• Less stress on structure. Nose gear mountings, engine mounts and engine firewalls may all incur undue stress if lowered to the ground at a high speeds.
• Aircraft longevity. There’s evidence in some cases that letting the nose down at high speeds initiates a bending force along airplane fuselages, perhaps accelerating fatigue in other parts of the airframe.
• Nose tire life. Keep the nosewheel off the ground at high speeds and the tire lasts much longer.
• Adoration of pilots and nonpilots alike, as you provide a smoother landing experience.

Aero-tip of the day: Maybe not for the same reasons as fighter types, in most cases holding the nose up until it gently settled to the ground is an good technique in light airplanes

FMI: Aero-Tips