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Keith,
There has been a fair amount of discussion on soft
field work here on the list over the years. Search on "soft field" in the
archives and you'll find 18 posts. Here's a copy of my reply to a question
very similar to yours from 12 JAN, 2007. We have the standard gear and a small
tail. We've been able to operate our 320 on some pretty questionable strips:
side of a mountain in Guatamala, sand in Baja, coral in
the Bahamas, gravel in Greenland. We have a house on a grass strip in
Florida and have made many hundred t.o. and lndgs there without
problem.
Bill Harrelson
N5ZQ 320 1,650 hrs
N6ZQ IV under construction
Our soft
field procedures are pretty much the standard procedures taught in
150's
forever. The Lancairs, especially the LNC2s do require that you be
aware of,
and ready for it's unique characteristics. I've highlighted Lancair
specific
stuff with asterisks (***)
For a soft field
takeoff:
1. Be light. We avoid soft fields when heavy. A
little planning here goes a
long way.
2. Have a CG a bit toward the
aft side. We generally make our soft field
takeoffs and landings with 5
gallons or so in the header.
3. Use a bit more flap than you would
normally use. Normally, we match the
flap to full aileron deflection. For
soft fields we lower another inch.
4. Start the takeoff roll with full
aft elevator.
5. Keep full elevator until the nose leaves the
ground.
***Here's where it's a lot different from
spam cans. We sit relatively
further back in the fuselage compared to, say, a
172. When the nose comes up
your forward vision will be completely gone. BE
READY for this and have your
vision already concentrated at the left side of
the runway.
***Our Lancairs are quite overpowered
compared to most GA airplanes. When
the nose leaves the ground there will be
a lot of "p"factor induced. It's
going to take a LOT of right rudder with
full power and the nose in the air at
40 knots. Don't wait until you're
getting a great view of the bushes on the
left side of the runway. BE READY
to add considerable right rudder BEFORE
your heading
changes.
***On the LNC2's, especially with the small
tail, the elevator
effectiveness increases DRAMATICALLY just as the nose
leaves the ground.
Because of the aft CG it will be even less stable than
usuall. BE READY to
release some back pressure fairly quickly as the nose
leaves the ground. On
your first several trys, you'll probably release too
much back pressure and
the nose will come back down on the runway, then,
you'll pull back to much and
the nose will be too high. It takes a bit of
practice to get this down. I'd
suggest that you make your first trys on wide
smooth runways, preferably with
a Lancair pilot who is experienced with this
technique providing example and
instruction.
6. Hold the nosewheel
just clear of the ground until you're airborne.
7. Once airborne, lower
the nose so as to remain just above the runway while
you gain speed. Keep the
gear down. You'll still need quite a bit of right
rudder. When you gain
sufficient speed (we use 80 knots) begin your climb and
retract your gear as
you normally would. As you accelerate, reduce the
right
rudder.
***Here again your initial tendency
will be to over control the elevator.
You want to stay airborne but not climb
until you've got a safe airspeed. This
will take some practice to get it
right.
8. Transition to normal climb, retract flaps on schedule. Start
pumping fuel
into the header.
For a soft field
landing:
1. Be light. (see #1 above)
2. Aft CG (see
#2 above)
3. Use full flap.
4. Use a slower approach speed (we
use around 75 knots) and power as
necessary for a precise, controlled
approach with a sink rate of 5-700 fpm.
5. Make a full stall landing
(easier said than done).
***Your forward vision will
be completely gone. Have your vision
concentrated on the left side of the
runway several hundred feet ahead of the
plane BEFORE you loose sight of the
runway ahead.
***Avoid overcontroling the elevator
(takes a bit of practice).
6. After touchdown attempt to keep the
nosewheel off the ground for as long
as possible. You should have full aft
elevator as the nosewheel touches the
ground.
7. Continue the
rollout with full aft elevator.
These techniques
have served us well. They work. I would, however, strongly
suggest that
before you think about soft fields, you are very comfortable with
normal
procedures in your Lancair. If you don't have at least 100 hours or so
in
your plane, I'd postpone soft field work until you do. Try to find
an
experienced Lancair pilot or instructor to introduce you to these
methods.
They are not without hazard if they are improperly done and it is
easy to do
them improperly.
In the IV, the basic technique
is the same except on the takeoff use FULL
flaps. In the IV it is actually
much easier to do a softfield takeoff since
there is more initial elevator
authority and the airplane is, in general, a
bit more stable than the
320/360. I have NOT done any soft field work in a
Legacy so I can't speak on
that.
Good luck with this. Let me know if you've got
questions.
Bill Harrelson
N5ZQ 320 1,300
hrs
N6ZQ IV under
construction
Bill and Sue---I would love to know the short field
procedures you use.
Paul Hershorin
(561)
641-7510
We've been operating our 320 out of grass for 1300 hours, never
had a problem. We intend to operate our IV out of grass also. You do need to
utilize soft field techniques. Contact us if you'd like to discuss our
procedures.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, June 21, 2009 8:30 PM
Subject: [LML] soft field ops in 360 with
standard gear
Shortly before transitioning to the Lancair, I discovered the
joy of soft field operations. After years of practicing soft field takeoffs
and landings from paved runways, it was great to put it to use on some real
grass strips.
Now that I'm exclusively flying the Lancair, I've found
myself wondering if it would be reasonable to try to occasionally operate from
well-maintained grass strips. My 360 does not have the outback
gear. I'm concerned about:
1) prop clearance
2) gear door
clearance
3) VHF antenna clearance
4) standard soft field takeoff
procedure (does it like getting off the ground early and sitting in
ground effect?)
Does anyone have any tips on operating in and out of
grass strips with a 360, particularly if you don't have the outback
gear?
For now, I'm staying away from this until I learn more about
it.
Keith
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