Saving a high approach

[Mountain Doctor]

What do you guys prefer to do to steepen your angle of glide?

Full flaps and slow to 60-65?

Full flaps and push the nose over to 90 or so?

Zig-zag on final?

Slip?

BTW does slipping strain the airframe in any way?

I usually drop full flaps and slow the plane as much as comfortable. When I am down in the runway environment I lower the nose to about 65 MPH, flaps up to 24 degrees (my usual landing setting), some back pressure to compensate for lift reduction from flaps 40 to 24, and then proceed normally.

I'm interested in the input from more experienced Maule pilots.

[TomD]

I seem to remember Jeremy discussing something like keeping the nose level, hang out all your flaps and slow it pretty much all the way down and as just before you get to the height you want apply power to stop sink.

It is more complicated than that but that is pretty much what I remember.

[Paul Amstutz]

M7,universal wing, commonly flying 4000-6000',DA, 2000-2300GW, when winds are calm:

Throttle full out, full flaps below 60, try to maintain level flight with slow increase in back pressure, at 55 or so sink rate picks up quickly, rudder first for direction control with gentle aileron to keep the ball centered. When it is calm I can bring the yoke back to the stop and sink at 700fpm with ASI 40-45. Can't see over the nose well so hopefully will intercept a more normal glide path, and spot the landing point a few seconds before round out. I believe that at this angle of attack you are on the back side of the lift curve, so when want to stop sinking, lowering the nose increases lift-of course an assertive increase in power, 15" more or less for a few seconds. Plane stops sinking reassuringly with some practice with pitch and power.

Unlike Jeremy and others, I don't see myself carrying this configuration into the landing, but I will happily share it with my C172 pilot friends who are with me

[crbnunit]

Slips are good if you are a ways out but I don't like to doing it in close and they freak the passengers out. I have found you have to be failrly slow for the slips to be very effective in the M-4.

I like to pull power to idle, add a little back pressure until the speed bleeds off and throw on all the flaps. Drop the nose to maintain the desired forward speed. Speed and altitude come off really fast. With the VG's the thing doesn't really stall, it just mushes and remains completely controlable. Recovery is as simple as dropping the nose and/or adding a little power.

If you are already slow, you can just hang the flaps out with the power off and still control your speed pretty well in a fairly nose down attitude.

When in question, go around...

[Christine]

You can impress anyone with the Maule slow approach. If you have VGs you can even go slower than without, it will just go into a mushy but stable sink. Ofcourse don't do this in gusty conditions.
Even though the sink rate doesn't look that impressive, the sink angle is very impressive, you loose much more altitude over a fixed distance.
Caution: if you have a 235 or 260hp with 3 blade prop (nose heavy) with no weight in the back, make sure you don't trim it all the way back, max 3/4" aft Trim from t.o position. In approx 50ft I push the nose over and flare.
If you want to change flap position for landing, the flare should be initiated higher to make sure you have enough speed to change configuration, I.e. reduce flaps. At this point I would just land with full flaps. Or do it like Tom to have a wider safety margin and intercept your normal approach path higher and reconfigure.
I find this approach much more comfortable in the Maule than a slip. The Maule tends to want to speed up in a slip and I bet you if you have two Maules flying side by side one with the slip approach one with the Jeremy slow mushy decent full flap approach, Jeremy's Maule will come done steeper.
A good exercise to try out on e at a steady day using gps to start out same distance same altitude....

[Mountain Doctor]

Thanks for the input!

Seems like I'm doing it right but I can afford to go quite a bit slower. Rather than 60-65 it seems like I'd sink faster at 50-55. Just be prepared to lower the nose in time to gather airspeed for an effective flare.

I have a 4 cylinder fixed pitch (so therefore a light nose), but no VG's. I also have 40 (not 48 ) degrees of flap.

[UtahMaule]

Please don't use full flaps and 90..... Hard on the aft spar rivets.

I also wouldn't go from full flaps to partial flaps during an approach. Once they're out I'd leave them out. I always land full flaps. I suppose in a hellish wind I may consider not full flaps, but so far even in strong winds I like all my flaps out.

So in awnser to the question I'd slow all the way down, slip, or go around. In that order of preference.

[Maulehigh]

I also wouldn't go from full flaps to partial flaps during an approach. Once they're out I'd leave them out. I always land full flaps. I suppose in a hellish wind I may consider not full flaps, but so far even in strong winds I like all my flaps out.

So in awnser to the question I'd slow all the way down, slip, or go around. In that order of preference.

Agreed.

With the short wing, I find that 48 degrees of flap, 60 mph and a full rudder side-slip is quite effective. Straighten a few feet off the grass and due to being at 60 mph, there is sufficient speed to flare, without adding power.

[Christine]

Please don't use full flaps and 90..... Hard on the aft spar rivets.
I also wouldn't go from full flaps to partial flaps during an approach. Once they're out I'd leave them out.

Yes and yes. The last approx 200-500ft (depending on your experience level) should be stabilized with no configuration changes and only minor adjustments in pitch plus power inputs to stay on your stabilized path as needed, otherwise go around....