Duane Posted July 25, 2019 Report Share Posted July 25, 2019 Hi, is there anyone in Eastern Washington who has a Flight Design? I have a friend who is an experienced pilot, and has purchased a CT2K but needs a little help getting the landings down. Thanks in advance. Duane Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentWien Posted July 26, 2019 Report Share Posted July 26, 2019 18 hours ago, Duane said: Hi, is there anyone in Eastern Washington who has a Flight Design? I have a friend who is an experienced pilot, and has purchased a CT2K but needs a little help getting the landings down. Thanks in advance. Duane Hey, I used to fly out of Pullman. Best advice, don’t be too fast. Approach at 50-55 with flaps 30. Some like 15 flaps. To slow down, plan to pull the power to idle at mid-field instead of abeam the numbers. Save flaps 40 for when you’re really comfortable to the point of getting bored. It’s not too bad, but good to get used to 30 before messing with 40. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Posted July 26, 2019 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2019 2 hours ago, KentWien said: Hey, I used to fly out of Pullman. Best advice, don’t be too fast. Approach at 50-55 with flaps 30. Some like 15 flaps. To slow down, plan to pull the power to idle at mid-field instead of abeam the numbers. Save flaps 40 for when you’re really comfortable to the point of getting bored. It’s not too bad, but good to get used to 30 before messing with 40. Good luck! Hi Kent, thank you for your response. You are talking about 50-55 nautical miles, correct? My friend has well over 2 years worth of hours logged. But like what I have read, so many veteran pilots struggle to transition light sports. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentWien Posted July 26, 2019 Report Share Posted July 26, 2019 Hi Duane, Yeah, I should have been more accurate. 50-55 knots. In the round out, if the runway is long, adding a small amount of power until touchdown makes the flare timing a bit easier. Eventually you’ll have the timing down to do all landings at idle. Also, the nose throws people off. Best advice (as mentioned elsewhere in the forum, is to put the airplane on a taxi line with the tail and nosewheel directly in the line and then sit in it and note where the nose is when the airplane is straight. Sitting in the left seat requires the nose to be yawed more to the right than you would think. Kent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 There are not many CT2K here in the states. My guess that the numbers Kent offered are good, but it would be nice to get input from someone with a CT2K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KentWien Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 3 hours ago, Tom Baker said: There are not many CT2K here in the states. My guess that the numbers Kent offered are good, but it would be nice to get input from someone with a CT2K. Very good point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Koerner Posted July 27, 2019 Report Share Posted July 27, 2019 Duane, As Tom and Ed recently pointed out, every CT has its own unique flying characteristics. Maybe every aircraft does? I have 1400 hours in a CT2k. I have written about its landing characteristics previously. If you are interested, you may be able to find those comments with the search function at the top of the page. From what I've read on this forum, I think my plane's characteristics are very different than other CTs (CTSW and CTLS). For example, I can't hold the nose off on landing. That situation is aggravated by increased flaps. I would stick with 15-, or even zero-degree flaps, until you're comfortable with plopping down (3-point style) from a few inches off the runway. Bigger main wheels helped. There are other potential remedies which I think I wrote about, but have not yet pursued. Also, I wouldn't suggest adding power before touchdown. When I've tried this, with the longer wing in ground effect, it's floated down the runway for thousands of feet! In fact, I've had to go around, which is really weird considering how short these aircraft normally land. I have my idle set toward at the low end of the specified range to make the final approach a little more comfortable. It keeps me out of the trees and off the ALS poles without the need for forward slips (which my most important passenger tends to complain about). Honestly, I don't consider these characteristics to be a problem. I'm very happy with the plane. I wish it landed like a 172... but otherwise, I like it a lot more. It performs my mission superbly. Again, this is just me and my plane. Your mileage may vary. Mike Koerner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plinkerCT Posted October 10, 2019 Report Share Posted October 10, 2019 Also new owner, of CTSW.... Spokane area. Landings are definitely an acquired skill. Still working on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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