Originally Posted by
Dave Wilshere
If it bounces its simply landing too fast. I see hundreds of UF landings and grass or hard surface if you don't slow it enough it can bounce. The UF is a 'hold off' aeroplane, some designs have to be flown onto the gound, the UF lands at walking pace, calm or windy and needs holding off till its ready to land. Just practice slowing it down, it has small inlets, so minimal natural drag, maximum flap is needed! Less flap is just getting into lift again and does not help DW
Dave, thank you for your help and insight, but to be honest, I cannot hear it anymore. We all know that you have a lot of experience with these planes, but in all your postings you tend you accept only one truth: and that would be yours! I am a competent & experienced pilot and fly rolling circles with my jets, but this plane made me look like an amateur who doesn't know how to land a jet. Not everybody has a 1000 feet of runway to simply flair until the plane settles on its own or needs to approach faster, because the final turn to base needs to be done close to the runway. So please do not just keep repeating that we are all too stupid to simply slow it down enough.
It is a fact that the springs of most UF landing gear manufacturers are too stiff for a proper ground handling. I had to take off almost 40% of the springs diameter to get the springs soft enough to actually filter bumps and not just bounce. My UF was even worse in the beginning and showed a vicious tendency to porpoise every landing, because the nose wheel was simply too long and therefore angle of attack wasn't right.
After lowering the nose gear the plane has totally transformed and it now lands at any speed!
There is one point though I have to agree, if you are of course landing on the nose gear first or touch down with all 3 wheels at the same time, you are in for a ride!
Thomas