FlyingMonkey Posted December 1, 2014 Report Share Posted December 1, 2014 I went with some friends (Craig from this board flew with me, a buddy and his wife in his Avid Flyer) to Peachstate Airport (GA2) on Saturday. I had never been there, but my friend in the Avid has been there several times. The runway is 2400ft grass oriented 13/31. The wind was strongly favoring 31 (6-8 knots at 270), but that direction is downhill, so we had to make a decision. We decided to accept the downhill landing in order to land into the wind. The Avid landed first, about 3/4 mile ahead of me. He mentioned a large mud patch toward the approach end, and suggested we land a little long to avoid it. When I got to it I saw the problem...it looked like somebody had dug a furrow in the center of the runway, about 100ft long and five feet wide. Landing long to miss it meant giving up about 400ft of runway. Because of the wind being a little gusty and not quite aligned with the runway, and the airplane having two people in it, I elected for 15° flaps instead of my normal 30°. I usually can finesse a landing a little more precisely with 15°. We landed just past the mud patch with a touchdown speed of about 47kt. The landing was pretty good, but we touched down just where the runway turned downhill. I did not want to use a lot of braking because of the soft-ish surface, and grass usually slows the plane pretty fast, so I let the airplane roll out a bit...and roll...and roll. The downhill was steeper than anticipated, and the airplane took *forever* to slow down. I finally gently applied some brakes, and slowly increased braking as the end of the runway was approaching. We ended up getting slow enough to turn around for back taxi with about 300ft remaining in the runway. That's closer than I have ever been to the end of a runway on rollout. It was never really scary, but it was an eye opener as to how much a downhill runway can affect the landing sequence. Lessons learned: 1) Land uphill when possible on a steep slope runway, unless the wind is *really* howling. 2) When landing downhill, apply at least gentle braking immediately because it's going to take a while. 3) On even moderately short runways, especially landing downhill, use the most amount of flaps you can manage safely to keep landing speeds as low as possible. 4) If you have to land long to avoid an obstruction or runway condition, items 1-3 increase in importance. 5) Flying is fun and educational. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FredG Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Andy, thanks for the description. Do you know the slope of the runway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
procharger Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Gravity a bit## ain't it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Andy, thanks for the description. Do you know the slope of the runway? I could not find it in the AF/D or on the Skyvector listing. Video is uploading to YouTube now...in a little while you can judge for yourself. I foolishly cut out the part showing the back taxi that shows the hill best, I can put a clip of that in later if there is interest. Fast Eddie has been there, he might know the slope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Complete with dramatic music: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmInce Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Complete with dramatic music: Loved the music. For a while, I thought you guys were gonna' die . . . . . . . just kidding! On a more serious note Andy, nice landing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 It was fine until the little lady on the dashboard put her hands over her eyes :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Nice landing, nice music! Maybe just a perceptual lack on my part, but I never noticed any slope the one time I was down there: (Karen just playing cinematographer with an iPhone from the back seat for the landing, cap mounted GoPro for the takeoff.) Seemed flat as a pancake to me, but I'll stipulate that I just did not pick up on any grade to be reckoned with. I reckon'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Hi Andy. Good video. Thanks for sharing with us. Good decision making regarding judicious use of your brakes. This is a perfect example of the advantages of using full flaps. They allow one to slow down the final approach speed and then provide maximum drag after landing to help slow the plane on rollout. Your tablet location looks good. Which tablet (mfg. and size) are you using? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Thanks guys. Just over the runway threshold, there is a tree that appears in the left side window. I remember that tree, but I didn't think it looked THAT close in the real world. Hopefully that is just a trick of the slightly wide-angle lens of the GoPro...if not I should be checking the wheel pants for twigs and leaves. Also ya'll probably noticed a few seconds of slip I threw in on the approach to come down a bit. Dick: That's a full sized iPad 3. My aging eyes really like the full sized screen better than the mini. It's in a RAM cradle, with the arm attached to the side of the CT "mushroom". I previously had it on a suction cup mounted to the side window, but taking the iPad out of the cradle every time I wanted to open the door became a hassle. Also the pop out vent blows directly on the back of the iPad, which keeps it cool in the summer. Let me know if you want some more pics of the mount and a parts list to put one together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted December 2, 2014 Report Share Posted December 2, 2014 Andy, good to know the full size tablet fits there. I followed your post for fastening the tablet holder to the instrument panel. This looks like a good method. Still not sure if I'll go with the a 8" tablet or stay with full size when I finally pull the trigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WmInce Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Andy, good to know the full size tablet fits there. I followed your post for fastening the tablet holder to the instrument panel. This looks like a good method. Still not sure if I'll go with the a 8" tablet or stay with full size when I finally pull the trigger. Dick, I have my iPad Air mounted the same as Andy, although mine is still on the Ram suction mount (which works great), attached to the window of the door, where Andy first had his. As pictured in Andy's post, it provides a full, excellent view, landscape or portrait, even without a display filter. Bright sunlight is no problem in a high-wing CT. Bubble canopy may be different. I also plug the iPad into the DC power receptacle. As noted, the window vent helps keep the iPad cool during the warmer months of the year. So far, I have not had any overheat shutdowns of the iPad here in Florida. The possibility of overheating should be considered if using the iPad, as it will automatically shutdown until operating temp is within limits again. I love the iPad Air and WingX Pro. WingX has a built-in simulator you can practice on. That really helped me prepare for the 2,200 mile trip when I picked up my airplane. Foreflight is very good also. Both can be test driven free, for the first 30 days. I originally bought the iPad mini, but returned it for the bigger display. Since then, no regrets, the extra display real estate is well worth the extra cost (especially, for these tired, old eyes). The only time I would consider the mini would be if room in the cockpit is limited. The mini will do a fine job also. I believe Eddie uses the mini. Maybe he can chime in here and give you his take on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted December 3, 2014 Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Go back to my video, specifically of the takeoff. That's an iPad Mini Retina, and fits my Sky Arrow better than a full sized, I think. Did make it to Page and back with Karen's iPad 2. It was workable but just a tad too large for my tastes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted December 3, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2014 Eddie, I would not want a full sized tablet in your smaller cockpit either. BTW, the uphill slope looks pretty apparent to me in your landing video...but perception is what it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.