Heehah , ride em cowboy

[Morph]

You know I am not shy to tell you when I make a booboo.

Well this last long weekend I took 3 PAX's for flips on Friday, some more on Saturday and finally I went up on my own. Did a circuit and came in to land

My brain was still switched in to the added weight so I flared out as per normal, which in this case was a little too soon and high (OK others tell me it was only about 1/2 ft, but it felt much higher) and I did a little bounce . This was not a problem, it was when I did the second then the third each getting bigger that I thought, AUKie is about to loose her legs . PIO at it's extreme (Pilot Induced Oscillations) Man I was riding her like a pony

Brain clicked in to second gear and I gave her full throttle, managed to hold her off the ground in ground effect long enough to get speed up and went around.

Second time I landed perfectly. That'll teach me never to stop thinking while flying.

[Morph]

BTW for you Challenger boys, and others who have similar landing gear legs, the previous owner of AUKie put fibreglass inserts into the hollow alluminium legs. This has made them a lot stronger. Apparently he got this from an old heavy duty antenna. Worth looking at.

[Fairy Flycatcher]

Landing the Dragonfly tought me about bouncing Being a tail-dragger and so incredibly light and high-lift, it was incredible!!

Bob always said its not the first bounce that gets you, but the ones thereafter.

My first couple of attempts at landing it, had my skygod close to having a fit. "Its a new aircraft!!! Tell Bob to catch the bounces or stop flying"

Bob was always very relaxed though, and would always only tell me that where I finally stayed on the ground, was where I was supposed to touch down the first time. Thanks Bob :D

Bounced it again a couple of weeks ago (being a bit uncurrent and trying 2-pointers), but long talks with the crop-sprayer guys helped me a bit to put it down softly. "Check, hold one-two, pull back"

Nice to read your bouncing story though, M.... Its exactly what it feels like

[RV4ker (RIP)]

Morphman
Know what you mean. Have same problem in RV. It the Tandem seating that causes a huge shift in CofG. Every time I take Pax I tend to bounce the first landing . It requires a completely different approach angle, speeds and flair.

That my story & I sticking to it....

[cornell]

Morph I think you just show that you have great airmanship by doing a go around WELL DONE

[FAWGie]

I agree....on the third bounce, it usually breaks the nosewheel off, so the sooner a go round is initialted, the better......

RV4Ker, I have a secret for you.... 72mph is the sweet spot....

[Morph]

Thanks, when I was thinking of a name for this topic I originally thought of calling it "When to go around or not" because a lot of guys would have just bounced away until damage was done instead of flying out of the problem. What inspired that thought was someone said previously you must never be too shy/ scared/ ashamed etc to go around when you desired contact with ground becomes a mission. Rather get away from the ground, which is the part that will hurt you and the plane, and try again under better control

I suppose in hindsight I could have applied power, got into ground effect and then resettled on the ground, but I was running out of runway and I opted rather to go the safe route than testing my brakes only to run out of runway and feed AUKie to the bluegums.

[Splitter]

The moment you wonder should or should'nt you go around, the decision is already made, GO AROUND.

[RV4ker (RIP)]

72mmmmm Usually use 80....

It a bit lower when solo.... (or flying with Demon )

PS
Well done Morphman.

[The Agent]

Never hesitate if something says go you go around.

[loansharkblv]

I agree....on the third bounce, it usually breaks the nosewheel off

What do you know about wheels that we don't FAWGie?

[Thunderboy]

My instructor has also always said there is nothing wrong in doing a go around -

I think for me initially when training on landings one of the most difficult things was knowing when to add that little bit of power when neccessary just to stop that dropping out the sky that last foot or two when you have rounded out a bit too high - too little you fall, too much and you gain altitude - still working on it even now, always will be, I suppose no piot can say he/she does a perfect landing every time

[Morph]

I suppose no pilot can say he/she does a perfect landing every time

You can have hundreds of good landings and you get complacent and you get klapped in the back of the head.

What do you know about wheels that we don't FAWGie?

Well if you look at FAWGie's avatar you'll see he already has broken the nose wheel off that plane

[Wart]

Morph, you are man amongst men. To be able to stand up and admit your mistake is one thing but to to post it here is another. Well done for the swift recovery.

We had a Jab that suffered from the same a few months ago and the ending was not as pretty. Buckled nose wheel, smashed fire-wall and lost more!!!