Landing on hard ground
07-11-2002, 06:18 AM
#1
Landing on hard ground
My Cebu glider is almost ready for its maiden flight but I have nightmares about landing it on my flying strip which is bare hard ground with no grass ! Its fine with any plane with landing gears but with the glider, I am concerned of serious scraping damage to the bottom surfaces of the wing and fuselage during landing 
. Is there anything I can do to prevent this damage ? Thanks for the inputs............ 
. Is there anything I can do to prevent this damage ? Thanks for the inputs............
07-11-2002, 11:31 AM
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Landing Damage
There are several possible solutions:
1. You can hand catch it. The technique is to fly directly toward yourself at about knee height. Gradually ease back on the elevator untill there is just a little stall margin. When the plane is about two yards away, rapidly pull back all the way to stall the plane and catch it just as it stalls.
2. You can fly it a few inches off the ground and gradually ease back on the stick to maintain altitude. When the plane stalls it will not fall far and will have minimum forward speed, especially if there is any headwind. There will be a minimum slide across the hard ground.
3. You can put a rug on the ground and land on it.
4 You can add a landing skid made out of musicwire or a tough plastic. A strip of plastic from a soft drink bottle is one possibility. A small length of V- belt is another possibility.
5.You can plant grass.
The first two suggestions are practical if you have advanced piloting skills. The third is practical if you have intermediate piloting skills and the rest work for beginners.
1. You can hand catch it. The technique is to fly directly toward yourself at about knee height. Gradually ease back on the elevator untill there is just a little stall margin. When the plane is about two yards away, rapidly pull back all the way to stall the plane and catch it just as it stalls.
2. You can fly it a few inches off the ground and gradually ease back on the stick to maintain altitude. When the plane stalls it will not fall far and will have minimum forward speed, especially if there is any headwind. There will be a minimum slide across the hard ground.
3. You can put a rug on the ground and land on it.
4 You can add a landing skid made out of musicwire or a tough plastic. A strip of plastic from a soft drink bottle is one possibility. A small length of V- belt is another possibility.
5.You can plant grass.
The first two suggestions are practical if you have advanced piloting skills. The third is practical if you have intermediate piloting skills and the rest work for beginners.
07-11-2002, 07:52 PM
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Landing on hard ground
There is a marine product available locally called "Dynel". It is used in high abrasion areas such as rubbing strips and decking. I believe that it is an interwoven glass/vinyl composite.
It comes as a cloth and as a 2" and 4" wide tape. The weight of a 1" wide strip along the front underside is not going to add much to the overall weight of a sailplane.
We used it on the bottom of our sailing dingy to stop the sand wearing the paint off when we pulled her up the beach. Did a treat!!
Try some of the yachting chandlers on the net for similar products over your way...
It comes as a cloth and as a 2" and 4" wide tape. The weight of a 1" wide strip along the front underside is not going to add much to the overall weight of a sailplane.
We used it on the bottom of our sailing dingy to stop the sand wearing the paint off when we pulled her up the beach. Did a treat!!
Try some of the yachting chandlers on the net for similar products over your way...
07-11-2002, 10:47 PM
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07-12-2002, 02:07 AM
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Landing on hard ground
My suggestion would be to implement some automotive aluminum tape on the underside of the fuse, wing tips, and tail. This aluminum tape is quite light, takes abrasion quite well, and if it looks too raggedy, you can peel it off and replace it!
