Comments on: Landing a Husky: No! Bad dog!

By: Bob Goubitz

Bob Goubitz — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:36:08 +0000

Landing tail low is good, 3 point even better. Raising the tail after touchdown: recipe for disaster as you were going too fast to begin with and large elevator deflections are needed to get it to that point at such low speed and is easily overdone and at the same time directional control is potentially lost. IMHO bad advise. J3 to C46, been there.

By: Bob Goubitz

Bob Goubitz — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 00:18:29 +0000

Where have you been, over?

By: Chris Kirk

Chris Kirk — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:49:52 +0000

I have to also say that the technique described here is pretty well spot on. I had to laugh when in the book about flying the Husky where they say NOT to do wheel landings in a Husky! HA!!!
I will add one thing… Old school instructors(and I am one) have always taught to stay away from the brakes when landing.To only use them as a last resort. If you are waiting to use them until it is a last ditch effort the airplane is already half way around in a ground loop. This is WRONG. The best method is to act as if you do not have a steerable tail wheel and to just before you run out of rudder authority start to use the brakes judiciously to main directional control. By this there is NO delay as in trying to steer a tail wheel and you will nip a potential situation RIGHT NOW!!
Some say you can cause an airplane to go over…BULL!! If the pilot is PROPERLY trained in the judicial use of brakes then he/she will not have any problems and will be applying the brakes before the panic situation arises.
Another rebuttal is what if the brake fails? Well, if that brake fails then 99.9% of the time that pilot took off KNOWING that they had a weak brake and chose to risk it. A friend took his C-185 over to the Bahama Islands knowing one brake was weak and after needing that brake on landing and over $100,000.00 later he will never do that again. I can only say this… until your skills get really good if you have a weak brake do one of two things…fix it or park it!!

By: Chris McClure

Chris McClure — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 20:20:30 +0000

The technique described in the article works best for the Husky. Bumper’s comments are also correct. I have over 1100 landings in my Husky A1-B, in all sorts of wind conditions, including a few at double the 15mph demonstrated crosswind and I am still learning, because as with any airplane, every landing situation is slightly different. Winds, loading, temperature and actual and density altitude and runway conditions will all vary a bit with each landing, and there are an almost infinite combination of those variables. In any aircraft it also sometimes takes more than one try when the crosswinds are gusty, or squirrelly due to terrain, but one of the beauties of flying the Husky with its power to weight ratio, is that recovery from a botched landing is pretty easy – especially with full flaps, full power will result in an almost immediate takeoff, unless one is so slow that they are taxiing (it is possible to groundloop any tailwheel aircraft even while taxiing if the pilot gets complacent). Particularly with one-way-in short airstrips with no go-around, it is imperative that the pilot be highly proficient in order to get it on the first try. By the way, I have a bit of time in a Citabria, but I still prefer the Husky. If whoever wins the “Tougher than a Tornado” Husky takes the time and effort to become proficient, they will really enjoy flying it!

By: John J.

John J. — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:06:47 +0000

I regret not being the first to attack the “Three Pint” joke. Though, there are some amazing flight simulator drinking games.

By: Dennis

Dennis — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:28:46 +0000

Isn’t it unwise to attempt a three-pint landing unless it’s on a bar stool (even that might be a bit dicey)?

By: Nils Pearson

Nils Pearson — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 01:32:16 +0000

This is similar to the way I land a C-180. With a 3 pint landing, elevator trim full aft will allow a clean and full stall. The tail will remain on the ground. With a wheel landing, neutral trim works fine with any flap setting after an “almost full flare”. Once the wheels touch, just relax the back pressure. Apply additional forward pressure if needed for positive control (ie. cross winds).

By: John "bumper" Morgan

John "bumper" Morgan — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 16:05:52 +0000

Many experienced Husky pilots agree (see http://www.flyhusky.org) that numbers in the POH for approach speed are conservatively too high. Depending on loading, stall is 38 mph indicated power on and about 41 mph power off with full flaps, so 55 or less is good for short final. Also, most of us shoot for a “tail low” touch down, almost a 3-point, then stick forward to bring the tail up. This means minimal energy and good visability forward for avoiding logs and rocks while operatiing off field. Raising the tail also transfers weight to the mains to allow for optimal braking for those really short landing spots. Dumping the flaps after touch down also helps with braking if needed.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:23:35 +0000

Dave, you should have added in what the winds were. I don’t think anyone in a Citrabria or most other aircraft would have challenged mother nature that day.

By: James Robins

James Robins — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:02:50 +0000

Or you can buy a Citabria, which is beautifully coordinated, roomier and lands like a lamb !