Originally Posted by
40GeeBee
Hi Richard,
I been checking all these videos and I am coming to the conclusslion that all these models are being landed to slow, this is not a floating aircraft it has to be flown into to the ground. Watch Delmar when he landed his airplane, he was coming in hot. That is what happened on your last video, you were trying to float this airplane in and it is no a floater, as soon as the wheels touch down they acts like a brake and over goes the airplane! I saw Delmar fly this airplane about 15 times and he never flip it on its back. You can make this airplane as light as you can and that problem will always be there.
Paul Steiner
Paul,
In general, I agree with you. However, what Delmar does with the full scale, and what we do landing the model are two very different experiences. I too witnessed Delmar fly the Gee Bee R2 replica many times from 1994 in Watsonville until his last U.S. flight in Visalia, CA. I am well-aware of his experience with aileron reversal on landing #6 when he slowed the aircraft and attempted to 3 point it.
When Delmar wheel landed this plane, he did so at a minimum of 100 mph. The aircraft would use up about a quarter mile of runway to execute a full-stop landing, or about 1320 feet. One third of that distance is 435 feet.
Most of us are NOT good enough to set this plane down on the numbers and then use up most a 600 foot runway getting it slowed down! To do so requires such a high rate of speed on landing that the slightest deviation from going straight ahead WILL result in a ground loop, dragging a wing tip, or a tumble. Certainly there are exceptions when one of us is lucky enough to execute everything perfectly, but frankly, I am NOT that good.
Grass is FAR more forgiving of directional deviations on take off and especially in landing, as well as supressing the landing speed and roll-out by at least 50%.
I have landed this plane many times on grass, asphalt and now our new field's Geotek mat runway and I can tell you that Geotek is the most unforgiving of the 3
So, I agree with you in principle on the problem of getting too slow - and this is something I always fight, but it is a natural tendency when landing on a hard surface runway.
IF you would like to come out and show me how its done, you are welcome to take the sticks!!