ISO Maule CFI in WA

[Zarah]

Hello, looking for a CFI in flying distance that can help me land at tiny places with my Maule.
I own a MXT7. I get that Maule's like it slow. I can do a stable approach at 50kts without any issues. My issue is the correct flare.
It always squirrles out and around when I land and I get dragged all over the place at the last 5ft before touching down. I can't figure out how to flare it to land it at a certain spot and it drives me mildly insane. It always tries to float another 6 miles, if I'd let her go. Looking for either a mountain flying course near OLM or a CFI within reasonable distance.

[andy]

If you are floating, then you are coming in too fast on final. I use 55 mph and full 48 degrees flaps for short fields (less than 1,000 ft) and 60 mph for anything longer. I pick the aiming point at an approximate distance above the glare shield and use pitch to control airspeed and power to keep the aiming point from moving up or down in the windshield. If I'm too high, I slip the airplane to lose altitude without gaining airspeed. Once I've made the runway on final, I reduce power to idle and occasionally glance out the side window to judge the flare point. In the flare I raise the nose enough to line up with the end of the airstrip and keep it there until touchdown. If there's a crosswind, I use 24 degrees flaps, bank into the wind and use rudder to align with the airstrip until touchdown on the upwind main wheel. Then I reduce the bank enough to lower the downwind main wheel keeping enough aileron into the wind to prevent the crosswind from picking up the upwind wing.

I've found that vortex generators are a big help in controlling the airplane at slow airspeed. Elevator gap seals also help a lot. If you don't have those, I'd consider adding them.

[Zarah]

I come in at 50kts, sometimes at 35kts and still float around. I have VGs. With full flaps, I float even when I come in at 35kts. I can definitely hover at 35kts without any issues during slow flight.That thing just won't sink.

[Andy Young]

Zarah,

What kind of deck angle do you have when landing at 35 knots? What’s your forward visibility like? In my M-6-235, with VGs, I would be looking at nothing but sky at that speed. It would certainly be a tail-first landing, even on 31” Bushwheels. I like to avoid those, especially given how rough many of the places I land are. I typically approach at about 55-60 mph (~48-52 knots), which allows me to see over the nose. Not sure exactly what my speed is at touchdown, as I’m busy looking outside at that point. Perhaps I’m missing something, or doing it wrong…

[Flyhound]

Speed is only part of the equation. You really need to balance airspeed, power and flap settings with sink rate for a smooth landing - long or short. What engine and wing do you have, and what RPM are you turning when trying to set down? I have an MX7-180C with the universal wing and come over the fence at 48 knots (55 Mph) when I want to stop short. If I'm turning 1100 RPM or more, I will float and bounce before settling. If I get the power all the way back to the 700 RPM idle, it settles in just fine. When slow and at low RPM, your sink rate can get awfully high and that can be hard to arrest. It's a balancing act between power, flap setting and air speed to get the right sink rate on short final, then a judicial transition to idle as you bleed off any excess energy before settling onto the ground. At 35 knots, I'd be carrying too much power to settle onto the ground without bouncing and floating. Neither an unhealthy sink rate nor excess power are helpful on short final. Some masters can come in at idle power and really high sink rates and know just how much of a prop blast is necessary at the last instant to arrest the rapid descent. Since the size of that last minute blast will vary with weight, I've never been able to nail that down perfectly. I prefer coming in with 500 fpm or less sink with a touch of power that is bled off as I prepare to flare. It's worked for me and my plane.

[JEM1968]

Taking out the flaps works for me landing in my front yard.