Rookie ?
 

I'm having a hard time landing my rookie, I get it on the ground and I feel i'm in good shape than it starts bouncing, than i'm 2 feet in the air praying for help. This is how I have it set up C.G is at spec, robart gear, wheels are size 3 rear 2 5/8 frt. I try to bring the jet in as slow as I can holding a flare with speed brake at 90 degree. Fixing my frt end is getting old. Advise needed
:confused:

Rookie ?
 

I'm going to give this a shot in the dark as to why I believe the Rookies/Roos are bouncing if not slowed down enough. The angle of attack when the plane is sitting on the ground is rather high. In my opinion, the rear struts are too short. Also, due to the low stance and high angle of attack, there is a cushion of air pocketing under the plane as the plane touches down. The speed is not low enough, angle of attack is high, air is pocketed between the plane and ground...She gets airborne again!!!(and again, and again..... :( ) That speed brake on the belly also contributes to air being trapped under the plane. The instructions even encourage you to partially deploy the speed brake to get the model airborne quicker!!!

I have a Rookie and here is what I'm going to do to "fix" the problem....I'm using the Robart gear, but, I'm going to use the struts from a HotSpot. These struts are longer, negating some of the pocket of air under the plane. Also, the longer struts let the plane sit at a more normal AOA on the ground. The Rookie reviewed in the last few issues of RCJI used HotSpot struts instead of the short Roo struts. Just my opinion....

Kevin

Great, just great.
 

Thanks a bunch Kevin. Now, anyone want to buy some new Rookie struts?
Just when this thing was startin' to come together. :D

Rookie ?
 

Sorry!!! This plane can be landed without bouncing but you really got to get it sloooooooow. I'm talkin' so slow----As in, "I ain't flyin' no mo 'cause I'm on the verge of a death stall" slow. :D Changing the AOA will give you a little more of a speed margin. Heck, you can try to beat the runway to death (bouncing) with many models if you don't land 'em right. I know...I've tried.

Kevin

Rookie ?
 

My roo is set up at 0 AOA but will still bounce if I land too hot. Although the AOA adjustment might help a little, the key is to hold the plane 12" off the deck till it settles itself in. They will bounce regardless of AOA if you carry too much speed into the landing. You have to learn to transition the plane into "Slow Flight" before you enter the landing pattern. This is the easiest way to land the roo/rookie slow. While making a turn, drop the gear and speed brake (no pitch change if dropped during a turn), on an upwind pass pull the power off until the speed bleeds off, just before the plane is about to stall come back in with just enough power to maintain controlled flight adding two or three clicks of power in the turns and pulling it back out as you exit. Maintain this slow flight through the entire landing pattern using throttle to control decent and elevator to control attitude. Practice the slow flight a few mistakes high until you can enter it with ease, you wont believe how much better your landings get! Dont be afraid to get the plane slow (I was for quite some time in the beginning) but get a feeling for what is too slow and how the stall reacts..... Dont land the plane, it will land itself! Hold it off the deck as long as you can....
Hope this helps,
Todd

Rookie landing
 

I agree with what Todd said. I run the standard Kangaroo Robart gear/struts on my new Rookie and have nice landings every time. Let the plane settle itself onto the runway and do not force it down, as Todd said the plane will land itself if you do this.
In the landing pattern I drop the speed brake and gear and use a little power, just enough to keep it flying. This is the transition to "slow flight" that Todd mentioned above which will also create the proper angle of attack for landing. You will need to hold up elevator at this point to continue level flight. I maintain a little power right up until I am over the runway and then chop power completely and let it settle on its own while continuing to hold up elevator. Continue applying more up elevator to hold it off until it slows down and the plane will touch down on its own. You should just about run out of elevator about the time the plane is touching down. At no time do you want to let off of the up elevator during the landing, either before or after touchdown. Continue to hold up elevator after it is on the ground and let the nose drop on its own at the end of the rollout and this will prevent any hopping down the runway. Sometimes the natural tendency is to let off the elevator and get the nose on the ground but this only increases the hopping problem. If it starts bouncing pull back on the elevator and leave it there until the plane levels back out & touches down and slows enough that the nose drops. It can't be stressed enough that you should never let off of holding up elevator at all times during landing with the Kangaroo or Rookie. Good Luck, Gary

Rookie
 

I have 20+ flights on my new Rookie and was so surprised how it has landed EVERY time. I have Robart gear, just cut down a set of 1/2 struts for the mains and a standard 3/8" offset nose strut with the offset bent back a bit to get some trailing on it. The jet tracks perfect on the takeoff roll and lands nicely. Gary`s explanation is right on, i was making good landings from the first one up till now. Full (90d) speed brake on landings and do exactly as described by Gary. I can "ride" the mains with the nose in the air until it stops completely. Love this jet!!

V..

Rookie ?
 

Another trick is to pre-set your brakes a bit to help it stick to the ground. I set mine at about 1/3 on for landing on hard surfaces, and 1/2 or more on for landing on grass...

Bob

Rookie ?
 

It has been a while since I've flown a Roo. My buddy had one of the first ones in the country that we flew---I remember that you just had to let the model get slow and settle in by itself. I learned this after a few bounced landings. :stupid: I figured that if the model was at or near zero AOA on the ground, some of the tendency to want to fly again would diminish somewhat. I haven't got my Rookie flying yet---I sure like how this plane looks. I've flown many HotSpots...How does this plane stack up to a HotSpot in the landing department as my memory is rusty concerning my Roo landings??? If it is similar it will be a cinch to land. The key is to set up that landing (get the nose up and then add power to fly it in) as others here have explained. You just can't cut the throttle and glider her in!!! Mine will be powered by a Mercury HP (20 lbs of thrust) I can hardly wait!!! This is going to be my knock around plane while I get my Trim Sabre and BVM Super Bandit finished. :D

Kevin

Rookie ?
 

Kevin,
The roo and the rookie fly almost exactly the same, did not feel much difference between them. landings are very "Roo" like.

Todd

roo landings
 

I think Gary is 100% correct about the elevator, I landed mine to hot a few times and never did bounce it, what it did was when the mains touched it would just fly off again, I just never let off the elevator until the nose touched the runway on its own.

Jack

Rookie ?
 

thanks alot for the great info I recieved. Two things that I was doing wrong #1 gliding the jet in, #2 not applying slight brake pressure before landing. I am going two lower my A.O.A and give it another shot.

Rookie ?
 

Appologies if you already covered this & I'm just missing it - depending on which type of brake actuator you are using, and how much air you are carrying for the brake system, you may need to be careful about "applying slight brake pressure before landing"....

If you use e.g. a Smoothstop, then the partial brake setting should not be a problem at all.

If you use something like the Jetronics brake valve, then be aware of teh fact that the system uses air continuously (by pulsing it) between the 10% and 90% brakes-on position. In order to not use up all of your brake-system air before you actually need it, you should check just how much air you are using up per unit time, and how much air you are carrying, Use that information to decide whether it matters when you put the brakes on, and whether you need to immediately remove the brake pre-set if you do a go-around.

Note - just to be clear, I am not saying that you can't pre-set the brakles withe the jetronics style valve - just that you should do a careful check on capacity & rate of use.

Gordon