Hard landing in a retractable

Hi!

I had a rather embarrassing hard landing yesterday in a cross wind.
Been years since that happened, most touchdowns have beed silk smooth (sort
of) lately, but yesterday, I somehow managed to flare too high, resulting in
a hard landing, as I also failed to apply corrective throttle to arrest the
inevitable sink rate....
So, the plane settled with a loud squeak on the mains, and came rather
quickly down on the nosewheel....
A slight bounce also occured....not a pretty landing obviously...

Anyway, I am writing this to ask if theres anything in particular that I
should look for as warnings that something might have been damaged with the
landing gear.
The plan is a '68 Arrow, and as far as I could see it looked fine parked.
I notice the nosewheel strut was a bit lower than normal (probably from the
abrupt lowering on touchdown) but I lifted it up manually, and it stayed the
way it normally is.

So, what should I check for in the main and nose landing gear after a non
greaser like this?

Thanks, and pleas no "you should have done this or that" as I already know
most of what I did wrong...:-)

Blushing regards,

Frode

"Frode Berg" wrote in message
...
Hi!

I had a rather embarrassing hard landing yesterday in a cross wind.
Been years since that happened, most touchdowns have beed silk smooth
(sort of) lately, but yesterday, I somehow managed to flare too high,
resulting in a hard landing, as I also failed to apply corrective throttle
to arrest the inevitable sink rate....
So, the plane settled with a loud squeak on the mains, and came rather
quickly down on the nosewheel....
A slight bounce also occured....not a pretty landing obviously...

Anyway, I am writing this to ask if theres anything in particular that I
should look for as warnings that something might have been damaged with
the landing gear.
The plan is a '68 Arrow, and as far as I could see it looked fine parked.
I notice the nosewheel strut was a bit lower than normal (probably from
the abrupt lowering on touchdown) but I lifted it up manually, and it
stayed the way it normally is.

So, what should I check for in the main and nose landing gear after a non
greaser like this?

Thanks, and pleas no "you should have done this or that" as I already know
most of what I did wrong...:-)

Blushing regards,

Frode

If the heavy touchdown has you really concerned you should have it jacked
and a couple of retractions carried out.

Ric

check the brace on the nose gear down locks.. check for new cracks in the
paint.. especially around the down locks..

check the main gear attach points up in the wing/wheel wells.. rivets will
show stress as the gear leg pushed up into the wing..

I've seen on fixed gear 180s.. a pimple in the top metal of the wing where
the gear strut pushed up from inside against it and found the rivets or
bolts sheared

BT

"Frode Berg" wrote in message
...
Hi!

I had a rather embarrassing hard landing yesterday in a cross wind.
Been years since that happened, most touchdowns have beed silk smooth
(sort of) lately, but yesterday, I somehow managed to flare too high,
resulting in a hard landing, as I also failed to apply corrective throttle
to arrest the inevitable sink rate....
So, the plane settled with a loud squeak on the mains, and came rather
quickly down on the nosewheel....
A slight bounce also occured....not a pretty landing obviously...

Anyway, I am writing this to ask if theres anything in particular that I
should look for as warnings that something might have been damaged with
the landing gear.
The plan is a '68 Arrow, and as far as I could see it looked fine parked.
I notice the nosewheel strut was a bit lower than normal (probably from
the abrupt lowering on touchdown) but I lifted it up manually, and it
stayed the way it normally is.

So, what should I check for in the main and nose landing gear after a non
greaser like this?

Thanks, and pleas no "you should have done this or that" as I already know
most of what I did wrong...:-)

Blushing regards,

Frode

I don't think the gear of a retract is any less strong than a fixed
gear.

-Robert, Mooney driver

This is how I would inspect after a hard landing in an Arrow.

1. Climb under the wheel well with an inspection flashlight
2. At the top of the strut, it attaches fore and aft to a plate
attached to the spars. Examine the plate for any cracking in the
flange and check the rivets holding the flange to the spars.
3. Inspect the ribs that are to the outside of the landing gear where
they attach to the fore and aft spars. You are looking for any rivets
sheared or cracks.
4. Climb out of the well and look at the top of the wing. Find the
rivet line for the two spars and rib you examined below. Check that
all rivets look secure and no heads have sheared off, no metal is bent
and there are no cracks in the skins.

Now for the nose gear.
1. Remove your cowl so you can see the strut and engine mount.
2. Examine the tubular assemply to which your strut is welded for any
bending or signs of overstress.
3. Follow the tubes up to the 4 mounting points on the fire wall.
Examine the firewall for any signs of bending due to over stress or
cracks where the tubular mounts attach to it.

That should do it!

I'm a student A&P that still has a lot to learn but hope that helps

Mike

wrote in message
oups.com...
This is how I would inspect after a hard landing in an Arrow.

1. Climb under the wheel well with an inspection flashlight
2. At the top of the strut, it attaches fore and aft to a plate
attached to the spars. Examine the plate for any cracking in the
flange and check the rivets holding the flange to the spars.
3. Inspect the ribs that are to the outside of the landing gear where
they attach to the fore and aft spars. You are looking for any rivets
sheared or cracks.
4. Climb out of the well and look at the top of the wing. Find the
rivet line for the two spars and rib you examined below. Check that
all rivets look secure and no heads have sheared off, no metal is bent
and there are no cracks in the skins.

Now for the nose gear.
1. Remove your cowl so you can see the strut and engine mount.
2. Examine the tubular assemply to which your strut is welded for any
bending or signs of overstress.
3. Follow the tubes up to the 4 mounting points on the fire wall.
Examine the firewall for any signs of bending due to over stress or
cracks where the tubular mounts attach to it.

That should do it!

I'm a student A&P that still has a lot to learn but hope that helps

Mike

I would recommend before any maint' on suspect retractable landing gear that
the aircraft be jacked first.

Foremost in a student's mind should be safety.

Ric

On Mon, 16 May 2005 11:47:25 +0200, "Frode Berg"
wrote:

Hi!

I had a rather embarrassing hard landing yesterday in a cross wind.
Been years since that happened, most touchdowns have beed silk smooth (sort
of) lately, but yesterday, I somehow managed to flare too high, resulting in
a hard landing, as I also failed to apply corrective throttle to arrest the
inevitable sink rate....
So, the plane settled with a loud squeak on the mains, and came rather
quickly down on the nosewheel....
A slight bounce also occured....not a pretty landing obviously...

I'm not minimizing the consequences of a hard landing, but I think we
need to define hard landing.

And you call that a hard landing? :-))

When it jars your teeth, and/or skids sideways, or hits on the nose
gear you have a hard landing.

Cherokees (and Arrow is a Cherokee with folding feet) can take one
whale of a rough landing.

Anyway, I am writing this to ask if theres anything in particular that I
should look for as warnings that something might have been damaged with the
landing gear.
The plan is a '68 Arrow, and as far as I could see it looked fine parked.
I notice the nosewheel strut was a bit lower than normal (probably from the
abrupt lowering on touchdown) but I lifted it up manually, and it stayed the
way it normally is.

It's probably just soft. You have to hit awfully hard to get to nose
gear strut to lose height... Unless the seals are worn.

All Cherokees including Arrows. Check the top surface of the wing
above the main struts. Look for deformation, or popped rivets.

Some one else gave a good list of things to check.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

So, what should I check for in the main and nose landing gear after a non
greaser like this?

Thanks, and pleas no "you should have done this or that" as I already know
most of what I did wrong...:-)

Blushing regards,

Frode

Thanks for all the helpful replies!
Going flying again today, hope for a better landing...:-)

Frode

I sin brennende iver bablet Roger ivei :
On Mon, 16 May 2005 11:47:25 +0200, "Frode Berg"
wrote:

Hi!

I had a rather embarrassing hard landing yesterday in a cross wind.
Been years since that happened, most touchdowns have beed silk
smooth (sort of) lately, but yesterday, I somehow managed to flare
too high, resulting in a hard landing, as I also failed to apply
corrective throttle to arrest the inevitable sink rate....
So, the plane settled with a loud squeak on the mains, and came
rather quickly down on the nosewheel....
A slight bounce also occured....not a pretty landing obviously...

I'm not minimizing the consequences of a hard landing, but I think we
need to define hard landing.

And you call that a hard landing? :-))

When it jars your teeth, and/or skids sideways, or hits on the nose
gear you have a hard landing.

Cherokees (and Arrow is a Cherokee with folding feet) can take one
whale of a rough landing.

Anyway, I am writing this to ask if theres anything in particular
that I should look for as warnings that something might have been
damaged with the landing gear.
The plan is a '68 Arrow, and as far as I could see it looked fine
parked.
I notice the nosewheel strut was a bit lower than normal (probably
from the abrupt lowering on touchdown) but I lifted it up manually,
and it stayed the way it normally is.

It's probably just soft. You have to hit awfully hard to get to nose
gear strut to lose height... Unless the seals are worn.

All Cherokees including Arrows. Check the top surface of the wing
above the main struts. Look for deformation, or popped rivets.

Some one else gave a good list of things to check.

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com

So, what should I check for in the main and nose landing gear after
a non greaser like this?

Thanks, and pleas no "you should have done this or that" as I
already know most of what I did wrong...:-)

Blushing regards,

Frode