flyrotary@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

Hey John, congratulations! I was reading your page: http://www.kgarden.com/cozy/chap28.htm Wow. I probably had a 300 hundred hours on the hobbs before I got up the guts to fly into a 3600' strip. Since then I've landed at a couple 3000' strips here in OR, but that would be the absolute minimum. But you've got a lot more power available than I do. The runway layout there at LNA is advantageous, with three separate runways like that it makes it easier to make immediate base-final on an alternate runway if something should happen shortly after takeoff. Read your comments about the VASI lights. I use them as a guide, but if you follow them you will land a ways down the runway. On short runways (3000') I found it's better to concentrate on the numbers on final if you want to touchdown near the beginning of the runway. That's one reason short runways make me nervous, because if that engine should quit on final and you are on a "normal" glideslope and aiming for the numbers, you won't make the runway - VASI is a 3 degree glideslope which is a 20 to 1 glide ratio. At my home field with a long runway, I like to stay slightly above the VASI, deploy both rudders to get it down, and land a few hundred feet down the runway. I don't like the landing brake (and thus never use it), it causes a turbulent ride (is everone's like that?) and is "all or nothing". With the ducted fan at a low RPM setting I can get extra "drag" for the approach, something Al Wick discovered in his Subaru Cozy as well with a propeller that can be reduced in speed below what a normal Lycoming will do. Deploying both rudders is very smooth, easy to do, I can control the amount of rudder deployed, and it's easy to slowly remove just before touchdown or use differentially to compensate for crosswind. About the "local experts". I had some similar experiences. Actually, I think some of the old certified systems (carburetors-icing, vacuum pumps, exhaust valves) that these guys have such faith in are much less safe than our modern fuel-injected rotaries. The problem with certification is, once it's done, you can't change anything, even if something better comes along. Let them have their aircraft prone to stall-spin on final when the carb ices up. There was also a lot of complaining about the noise of my aircraft in the early days. I always heard about it indirectly. No one ever complained to me personally. Must be a human-nature thing. It's not really louder than some of the louder planes around, but I think the different sound caught attention. The fun is just beginning... -- Perry Mick http://www.ductedfan.com