Tailwind effect
Posted: Mon May 17, 2010 2:43 pm
I was flying Young Eagles most of the day this past Sunday. Winds were 5-8 mph at 90 degrees to the runway. Of course the sock was waving back and forth. No big deal on a long turf runway well protected by trees.
Late afternoon, just after we shut down Young Eagle operations, I offered a ride to one of our older EAA chapter members. We go up for a short while and return to the airport. Just as I am about to touch down the sock swings around and I get a burst of tailwind. I try holding it off to let the Maule slow down but we still touch down faster than I would like. I get two good bounces and then add a little power to smooth out the third bounce. Got stopped straight with no problem. However, in retrospect I probably should have gone around as soon as I sensed we weren't slowing properly. but I was quite surprised how quickly and severely that tailwind affected me. Not to mention the damage it did to my ego! Ugly landing!
I have owned and flown other aircraft and never encountered that challenge. I had only one notch of flaps on just because of the variable crosswind and still got quite a boost. Is the Maule a bit more affected by a tailwind? Anybody with that experience?
Late afternoon, just after we shut down Young Eagle operations, I offered a ride to one of our older EAA chapter members. We go up for a short while and return to the airport. Just as I am about to touch down the sock swings around and I get a burst of tailwind. I try holding it off to let the Maule slow down but we still touch down faster than I would like. I get two good bounces and then add a little power to smooth out the third bounce. Got stopped straight with no problem. However, in retrospect I probably should have gone around as soon as I sensed we weren't slowing properly. but I was quite surprised how quickly and severely that tailwind affected me. Not to mention the damage it did to my ego! Ugly landing!
I have owned and flown other aircraft and never encountered that challenge. I had only one notch of flaps on just because of the variable crosswind and still got quite a boost. Is the Maule a bit more affected by a tailwind? Anybody with that experience?