"Gear and flaps down too early with a dead engine will have disasterous consequences every time."
"That is a deadly mistake. Dragging gear and flaps, you need a steep nose down attitude to keep the airspeed at a safe speed. Unfortunately, in that regime you can not flair the airplane. When you try to flair without a little power these airplanes just slow down and hit the ground."
"When you try to flair without a little power these airplanes just slow down and hit the ground. The situation is much worse if you are heavy. "
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Full flaps, gear down and no power should lead to a greaser every time. Our Lancairs have a broad range of drag and thus require a good understanding of energy management.
At issue here is how one defines 'safe speed'.
As the approach angle steepens due to higher drag, so does the required speed (or energy) to round out and flair. That higher energy is used to stop the descent and bring the vertical speed to zero. One can even calculate the speed required as a function of descent angle to bring the plane to level flight in the flare at the same final speed. In general, I prefer power off, steep approaches. That way if the engine hick-ups, it is no big deal. When heavy, it takes a few more knots for the same maneuver, but you can still grease the landing. It is all about energy management. One cannot stick to a fixed number on the airspeed indicator. Doing so could have you coming up short of energy. The broad range of drag available to us on these planes is truly an asset.
Chris Zavatson
N91CZ
360std