Soft-field landing in C172

Magnus wrote in message ...
Just curious how you guys perform this maneuver. From what I've been
taught you should flare with a little power still in to soften the
touchdown, and then keep rolling to avoid digging yourself into the
runway surface.

I just think that it should be possible to land anyway, without any
power like you normally land. Just keep the plane airborne as long as
possible and keep the nosewheel up as long as you can. Keeping power in
just eats up a lot of runway it seems.

I mean, how often do you happen to find a rough and long field.
Ususally if a soft-field landing is required, it's a pretty short field
too out in the bush somewhere.

Approach like a short-field and flare as long as possible to soften the
touchdown would be my way of doing it.
Hi
Well, I can think of quite a few landing areas that are long and soft
as well as some strips that can be "soft field" with heavy rain, or
fresh snow. Have you ever landed on a beach? Hmmm...a beach with fresh
snow..but even that is possibleg
A precision spot landing (which I think EVERY landing should be) with
power to literally slow fly the aircraft to touchdown and decreasing
power as the surface dictates. If its grass, sometimes you have no way
of knowing how tall the grass is until you settle in it. Same with
mud, snow, water. Sand can have soft and hard spots within inches.
Numerous times I have landed on soft or unknown surfaces at remote
strips and will always opt for the "slow fly touchdown" before I
commit myself. On at least one occasion in Mozambique I had to use
additional power to keep from gong on my nose in standing water on the
only strip available to me way out in the bush. I was crop dusting
with a Piper Pawnee at the time. The water coming off the wheels bent
both flaps in a shallow V. If I had not used power to stay right side
up, I'd have ended up on my nose for sure or at the very least got the
prop.
Could go on and on describing similar landings with a variety of
aircraft including helicopters. That reminds me of the time when I was
taking off over a rice paddy and the power sagged a little........but
thats for another time!! gggg
Ol Shy & Bashful

In article , Paul Sengupta wrote:
I think the nosewheel legs are stronger than some people
who manage to break them would illustrate.

There are nosewheels and there are nosewheels. Some, like on C150s,
Tripacers, Musketeers etc. are pretty tough (IIRC, the Musketeer
nosegear is the same as the mains minus a brake). Others are bent bits
of wire with a wheel hanging off the end (Grumman AA5). And others are
strong enough, but the bit they attach to has a tendency to get bent
when mistreated (C182 firewalls).

--
Dylan Smith, Castletown, Isle of Man
Flying: http://www.dylansmith.net
Frontier Elite Universe: http://www.alioth.net
"Maintain thine airspeed, lest the ground come up and smite thee"

Magnus wrote in message ...
Just curious how you guys perform this maneuver. From what I've been
taught you should flare with a little power still in to soften the
touchdown, and then keep rolling to avoid digging yourself into the
runway surface.

I just think that it should be possible to land anyway, without any
power like you normally land. Just keep the plane airborne as long as
possible and keep the nosewheel up as long as you can. Keeping power in
just eats up a lot of runway it seems.

I mean, how often do you happen to find a rough and long field.
Ususally if a soft-field landing is required, it's a pretty short field
too out in the bush somewhere.

Approach like a short-field and flare as long as possible to soften the
touchdown would be my way of doing it.


That's part of the problem with the PTS, a lot of it is not realistic.
Yes, most soft fiels are also short (in my experience). I've taken my
Mooney into a soft fields and its usually the length that I'm most
worried about. Also, a lot of soft fields don't have any go around
possible. Most of the soft fields I used in the Aeronca were "one-way"
fields because some giant trees or soemthing prevent you from going
around. In some planes you can't hold power in the flare (like a
Mooney) so you have to get used to planning the approach right. In
some fields you don't want to have to hold power becaues losing the
engine on short final could mean you're going to hit the trees short
of the runway. You can get just a soft a touch down w/o power. In a
real (i.e. not PTS) soft field landing you should consider...
1) "Drag the field", i.e. do a low pass and decide where you want to
touch the mains and where you want to touch the nose down.
2) Once the mains touch add power to hold the nose off until you reach
the part of the field you plan to drop the nose on. This can be
further down the field because you don't need as much stopping
distance from the nose touch down as the mains.
3) Don't worry about landing on "center line", land in the best part
of the field. Notice that the soft field landing is the ONLY landing
in the PTS that does not require you to be on center line.

-Robert, CFI

The nosewheel structure on a Cessna is pretty strong,
but digging it in can cause:

a). A prop strike
b). A bent firewall
c). All of the above

I agree with Dave... Nosewheels should be outlawed!!!
Get a taildragger!!!

John Price
CFII/AGI/IGI
home.att.net/~jm.price

"Paul Sengupta" wrote in message
...

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...


Dave Stadt wrote:

Better yet, get rid of the nose wheel.

Easily done if you don't keep it out of the mud.

:-)

I think the nosewheel legs are stronger than some people
who manage to break them would illustrate. One of the
students at the flight school where I learnt to fly managed
to leave the runway onto the grass at full power. Still at
full power he braked hard, dug the nosewheel in and
flipped the plane over. The nosewheel leg remained firmly
attached but was now pointing upwards.

This was a 150.

Paul

john price wrote:

The nosewheel structure on a Cessna is pretty strong,
but digging it in can cause:

a). A prop strike
b). A bent firewall
c). All of the above

I agree with Dave... Nosewheels should be outlawed!!!
Get a taildragger!!!

Yeah, main wheels on a taildragger never get dug in the mud.