Forward CG Experience

Recently we flew with a friend who weighs over 320 pounds. With he and I
in the front seat, and just Mary in the back, we were at the very forward
limits of the allowable CG. Thanks to the Pathfinder's 1400 pound useful
load, however, we were still 250 pounds under gross, even with full tanks --
but the teeter-totter was certainly pretty far to the "teeter" side.

I was contemplating this as we came in to land. Departure had felt normal,
but I figured the flare to land would be effected, so I carried a few extra
knots on final. I also figured that the wind -- 12, gusting to 18, but
right down the runway -- would help a little, too. I opted for two notches
of flaps.

As we crossed the numbers, I noticed things just didn't "feel" right.
Pulling back on the yoke was having very little effect as far as changing
the angle of attack, yet the speed was still bleeding off. This was weird,
but -- as it was all happening in the last few seconds, there wasn't much
else to do but add a touch of power and pull back some more.

We arrived firmly, in a flat attitude. The nosewheel and mains hit nearly
simultaneously, and the end result was more like a mush into the ground than
my usual "flare, chirp, chirp, settle...". It was surprisingly smooth, but
I realized that if I hadn't given that extra burst of power, and a firmer
yank on the yoke, we might well have landed on the nose gear, with possibly
expensive consequences.

Later, on the way home, with Mary as PIC and our friend in the back seat,
things were much improved. The added weight in the back actually helped to
balance our normally slightly nose-heavy (thanks to the six-cylinder
Lycoming O-540) plane, and Mary remarked that it landed more like our old
Warrior used to.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"