Landing HooDoo... Abolished.

The solid landing the other day with Shane got me thinking.  Was my technique lacking or incorrect?  Had I forgotten everything Manny had taught me?

I wanted to get some answers, so I asked Manny to take me up for a couple of circuits to show me how to successfully land at or near Maximum Take Off Weight (or, MTOW for short).  Manny agreed, and even offered to do a full briefing to cover some of the maths and concepts behind it.  On Thursday afternoon, I arrived at Inbound to find Manny had almost filled the whiteboard with symbols and graphics.  I thought I'd never get my head around all of that!

However, Manny explained that the concepts were nothing new, merely an extension of what I already understood.  We discussed the various forces acting on the aircraft during the various phases of landing, and then moved on to things that we can control and things that are set.  Afterwards, I had a much clearer picture of what was happening and what I needed to do.  It seems that the aircraft is a lot more forgiving when operating at light weights (i.e. solo with a light fuel load), especially when it comes to the hold-off.  Manny gave me two techniques to go away and think about.

This morning, I readied the aircraft and we loaded it up with fuel.  A quick rough calculation put the aircraft quite close to its 544 kg MTOW at about 525 kg.  Perfect.  There was a very small bit of wind with a slight crosswind component, but this was easily negated.  I took off, flew most of the circuit and then Manny took over for the turn to base so he could demonstrate the first technique: bringing the throttle back very slowly just prior to round out and then continuing to slowly reduce it throughout the hold-off.  He did an absolute greaser.  Then it was my turn.  Mine wasn't quite as soft as Manny's but it was a clear improvement from the other day!

The next circuit he showed me the second technique:  Leaving the approach power setting until round out had been completed and then steadily (but quicker than the first technique) remove the power until you contact the Earth on the mains.  We both did one each.  I was happy with what I'd done - it was much a more comfortable touch down.

I now know what to expect when the aircraft is loaded up.  I think part of it was just never really experiencing it first hand before.   I'm glad I did, and I'll keep working at it so I can keep my future passengers happy.    It was also good that there wasn't too much wind around, as it enabled me to concentrate on what exactly I needed to concentrate on and not fighting with the aircraft to keep it where I wanted it.

Next passenger!  Form an orderly queue near the door.