RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

There have been several good suggestions and information and you will need to glean from that what you think is applicable to your experience and skills. I am a CFII and used to fly full scale aerobatics and can give you some suggestions on techniques to use to slow the airplane for landing. As a student pilot I won a few spot landing contests using the same technique. The technique can be used for RC airplanes. I think it would be better for you to just keep it simple for now and you could add or refine the different landing methods later.

Perhaps something that you might be doing is attempting to slow the airplane down while on final which will result in hunting for a way to get it down on the runway, when actually you should be slowing down much earlier.
You should practice flying the pattern at the same altitude and distance from the runway as best you can, which will allow you to start your descent at the same point. Your descent is started by reducing the throttle and adding a little up elevator. Practicing slow flight will help with that. The point which you choose to do this should be somewhere opposite the end of the runway when on the downwind leg or as you turn on base. Flying the pattern at the same altitude and distance from the runway will allow you to start slowing down at approximately the same point.

As you turn on final do not change anything and watch how it is doing. After establishing the descent you will get an idea if you are going to be too high or too low. Note that when you are making the pattern turns you will lose some altitude so, to maintain the same descent you will need to add a little back pressure on the stick or elevator.

If too high reduce the throttle, if not already at idle, and add UP elevator. If you are already at idle then that is where it gets a little more complicated. If you have plenty of runway, which is another advantage of the above technique, then just let it land, or you can choose to go around. The next time you can adjust either the pattern altitude, distance from the runway or the point at which you reduce the throttle. You can later try side slipping and other techniques as you learn them, but keep in mind that you should not have to use those techniques if your approach is done correctly. Side slipping is a way to loose altitude fast and can be used for landing on approach over an obstacle, short fields and high crosswinds.

If you are going to be too low then add a little throttle and nothing else. Watch what it is doing and make adjustments as necessary. Remember throttle controls altitude and elevator controls speed in this configuration. Same thing, next time adjust pattern altitude, distance from the runway, or the point which you reduce the throttle. You are inviting problems if you try using the elevator to gain altitude when the airplane is flying at a slow airspeed, which again is where knowing the stall speed is important.

Remember that you can add throttle if you think it doesn’t look right and go around. Slowing the airplane down begins much earlier than while on final. This is basic landing techniques and there are many more things that I have not even touched on that you can learn later. The best thing to do is to practice and then practice some more. I hope this helps.

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Suggesting a beginner slip during landing to slow down is a bit unrealistic. Gotta learn to walk before you can run.

Kurt

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Bozarth. You might want to read the post before making comments on it as it was just the opposite of what you suggested.

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Who said anything about teaching this to a beginner, the guy that is asking the question is talking about an aerobatic airplane, so he is way past that stage.

Bob

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

winglift - chill out! Not sure if you are disagreeing with my statement, or the fact that I posted it and it showed up "in reply to" you.

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Bob,

Good point. I assumed that if he didn't know how to slow a plane down for landing, he certainly wouldn't know how to slip it. My bad.

Kurt

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

There is no bad here my friend, I just look at the fact that if someone has advanced to aerobatic IMAC type of aircraft then they are an advanced pilot ready for it all or at least should be. I flew sport and pattern airplanes for 20 years before I moved to IMAC type of aerobatic airplanes and then flew another 12 or 13 years before I started learning to fly 3D about 10 years ago. So I guess I see things from my own viewpoint.

Bob

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Bob,

Perhaps the OP has an IMAC type of aircraft but not the experience such as yourself.

Kurt

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Dang right this is not a good thing!

What happens when a pilot, who knows how to land with the wind, is flying with another pilot who can only land in one direction, regardless of wind direction?

Long rollouts are for dumb thumbs....

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

I had the problem of being able to land in only one direction.......left to right...the wind seemed to always blow from right to left when I lived in North Carolina.
Moving to Florida necessitated me to learn to land no matter what direction the wind is blowing.......in the morning west to east, in the afternoon east to west....most times with a north or south wind mixed in..........Ya gotta learn if you want to fly correctly.....land into the wind unless it is a cross wind then you can crab it in.....That is MHO.

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

You could always slow it down like the 3-d guys at my field do. They come in low at 50 mph and sift it through a tree or come in to low and hit tall weeds to slow it down. :D joe

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Suggesting slip during landing for slow down seems a bit odd anyway. Seems like the fundamental problem needs solution. A user applied patch (dangerous for some) for all 'landing too fast' conditions seems backwards.

The airplane should be set up to land itself.

The look at me "I'm way cool" is an entirely different issue not associated with 'minimum controllable flight speed'.

Bill

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

An airplane should be set up to land itself. Now there is an admiration worth working towards, lets see how that works for those that fly anything but a trainer style airplane on a very calm day, maybe.


Suggesting slip during landing for slow down seems a bit odd anyway. It would seem odd or even frighten someone into deluding themselves in the belief of it being a dangerous landing technique for some as you indicated because they do not practice or even attempt to practice this basic maneuver. Just about all IMAC guys I know can perform a slip landing without a second thought, the thread starter stated he wanted to slow A Katana, and that is an aerobatic airplane that would easily fly through this simple maneuver with just a little practice... Now I will agree that the slip technique will require allot more practice on other type plane forms; like trainer's for instance, because they get real pissed off when you cross up the controls usually, but remember, we are supposed to be talking about a Katana, and I have several hundred flights with Katana's and they play nice when you cross them up to slow down.


The look at me ''I'm way cool'' is an entirely different issue not associated with 'minimum controllable flight speed'. I see from your "way cool" compliment; ;) you must have watched the two landings and your ignoring the fact that all that drag from the slip slowed the airplane much better then the straight in approach. Well to each their own... Happy Flying.:D

Bob

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Holy cow, five pages of this. And the op hasn't even chimed in since the first page. Maybe he figured it out.

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Ahhhh, the CASPEREFFECT.

There were ball players years ago (probably today too) that were great at throwing a pebble in the ponds of the lockerrooms and disappear (Casper the friendly ghost act), watching the effects of their ripples from the periphery....

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

Has anyone suggested dragging the vertical stab along the ground yet?

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

I usualy just land in the nearest tree top. Works pretty good and you don't have to slow down at all.

RE: How to slow down plane while landing?
 

"Has anyone suggested dragging the vertical stab along the ground yet? "

My #2 son tore the rudder out of one of his planes doing that:-))))))))))

Les