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AOPA article - Landing in style, applies to the A model RV

SPX

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The January 2021 "Turbine Pilot" section of AOPA Pilot magazine has a well written article on TBM prop strikes. Even though the article is found in the turbine pilot section of the magazine, which I suspect a fair number of VAF'ers don't get, it has a lot of applicability to the RV A models as well. This article is worth the few minutes that it takes to read, and the techniques mentioned in the article are worth implementing in A models.

Short version (TLDR) -- Land on speed, and hold the nosewheel off the runway as long as possible, after a full stall landing. Same thing Van's has been telling us for years.

TBM TECHNIQUE: LANDING IN STYLE PROP-STRIKE PREVENTION 101
 
Short version (TLDR) -- Land on speed, and hold the nosewheel off the runway as long as possible, after a full stall landing. Same thing Van's has been telling us for years.

That's how I was taught when I got my PPL.
 
IMHO, use tail dragger techniques for landing a nose wheel aircraft. I learned to keep the nose wheel of my 9A off the ground until ready to turn off the runway. This skill made my transition to a tail dragger easier.

Just pretend that your nose wheel is a propeller, and that should be the right mindset.

V
 
As soon as you get away from the basic trainers, ie cessna and piper's and a few others each individual aircraft has it's own best way to land....... Mooney's, Comanches, Bonanzas, Vikings all land a bit different from each other. The RVA is dead simple in comparison but then so is a standard RV. I'm a bit amazed how such a well handling aircraft seems to attract so much interest in the landing department. Yes if your a bit sketchy on piloting techniques then you may ground loop or flip a standard RV and the same applies to the A models minus the ground loop but keep in mind, its certainly not the aircraft and it is most certainly the pilot. I'll go so far to say that if you can land a Cessna 150 "properly" then you will never have a problem with a A model RV. :)
 
Thats certainly the technique I use for landing but the 1.3 above stall does not work in my 9a. Stall is 43kts, if I land any slower than 55kts it has a big sink rate that requires alot of power to compensate for. Conversely if I land over 60kts it just floats forever. The important thing is to land on the mains. taxi with the nose wheel.
 
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