Letters

Perfect Landings

I'd like to thank Alton K. Marsh for a great article on perfect landings (" Ounce of Prevention: The Quest for the Golden Landing," February Pilot).

I had trouble during my private pilot training with trying to decide when to flare. After ballooning up and down the runway, my instructor introduced an ingenious drill that really helped. We first practiced minimum controllable airspeed (MCA) at a safe altitude. Once I got the hang of that, he raised the bar, and we flew down the runway at MCA and six inches agl, being careful not to let the nosewheel touch.

This drill was great for not only getting the right sight picture, but it made soft-field landings a breeze as well. Once it is mastered, gradual reduction of power leaves you with a great landing. Now landings in my Piper Cherokee Six are almost perfect every time — almost.

Matt Balla AOPA 1340289
Indianapolis, Indiana

After 18,000-plus hours I often find a golden landing. My secret is that I perform continuous "recoveries" from less-than-perfect aircraft alignment. This series of recoveries continues throughout the approach, touchdown, and rollout.

Bob Hoover said it most succinctly: "Work real hard at it." It also helps to land on grass wherever feasible.

Bob Sailor AOPA 1053133
Chetek, Wisconsin

With regard to "The Quest for the Golden Landing," can you clarify for me why one should be at 400 feet when one-half mile from the touchdown point? This position will result in an eight-degree glideslope for the final approach and it seems somewhat nonstandard.

The standard approach slope for most runway visual aids (VASI, PAPI, etc.) is about 3 degrees. ILS glideslopes are about 3 degrees. Visual descent points for nonprecision approaches are usually 3 degrees. Therefore, most IFR flying is predicated on a standard of the 3-degree glideslope. A 3-degree glideslope will place the aircraft at 300 feet when one mile from touchdown, or 150 feet when at one-half mile.

Are you suggesting that we should train ourselves to fly an 8-degree glideslope when puttering around the pattern VFR, knowing that a landing from an IFR approach will be made from a significantly different approach angle? With all the statistics which show that making unstabilized approaches is often the prelude for an accident, why would we want to teach students to land from a VFR approach that will require them to learn a new set of parameters for the visual sight picture, power setting, and rate of descent in IFR operations?

Have you considered that an aircraft turning final to roll out at 400 feet when at one-half mile while another aircraft is flying a 3-degree glideslope to the same runway is in the blind spot for both aircraft and perfectly set up to land on top of the lower airplane?

I think we would be better served to teach a 3-degree glidepath, which places the aircraft at 300 feet when one mile from the runway, or 150 feet when at one-half mile. Flying this approach angle for VFR landings results in great precision and it has the added benefits of permitting the use of a visual approach aid such as VASI and of making the VFR landing approach look just like the IFR approach, while reducing the risk of landing on top of another aircraft.

Joe G. Cabuk Jr. AOPA 564336
Oak Ridge, Louisiana

Ron Fowler's recommendation of 400 feet agl half a mile from the end of the runway is intended to provide a margin of safety for light general aviation airplanes, most of which would need to be at 300 feet agl or higher in order to glide to the runway if the engine quit. An aircraft flying a 3-degree glideslope would only be about 150 feet agl and might fare poorly if the engine failed. A stabilized VFR approach to landing can be made safely from 400 feet and half a mile. Pilot was presenting the idea for consideration, and as Cabuk points out, pilots in the pattern should always be vigilant for other traffic — Ed.

When will it end?

As I read the piece about user fees (" AOPA Action," February Pilot) I think to myself, "I thought we won that battle." So, why are there people still developing user fee-based systems to be presented in Washington? I don't have a clue, but I wish someone would tell me. It appears to me that these people don't own a general aviation aircraft and if they utilize any type of aircraft at all the cost is not coming out of their pockets.

The user fee issue just will not end, and it appears that the aviation industry will take the hit for the lack of planning for the growth of air travel and the failure of technology to keep pace. The U.S. airspace is not perfect but it sure doesn't need a user fee system to fine-tune it. If all the money that is being brought in via the present system isn't being allocated back to the system itself, then how can someone say we need to introduce a user fee system?

User fees are short-term solutions even though once put into action they will never go away. And guess what? The price will never come down, either. So, come up with a plan for the revenue that is generated, make that your parameter, and do it. It sounds like people think that by utilizing a user fee system, our problems will be solved. I highly doubt that.

Wayne D'Amico AOPA 1163957
Suffolk, Virginia

Running on empty

First let me congratulate Paul Gretschel (" Never Again: Running on Empty," February Pilot). His skill and luck accomplished a night forced landing without damage to the plane — a maneuver that usually results in destruction of the plane and often death to the occupants.

I must, however, take exception to his conclusions. One uncovered fuel tank outlet will not cause fuel starvation in a Cessna 172. The manual for a 1975 model cautions against a steep descent with low fuel because both fuel outlets could be uncovered. Also, leaving the plane on the beach overnight with the fuel selector in the Both position will allow all fuel to flow into the low wing tank, so what he saw in the morning had no relationship to the fuel distribution when he landed.

Gretschel never said how much fuel was added altogether, but I suspect that the tanks were nearly dry. I've been a flight instructor since 1942 and go by the ancient precaution: double your fuel reserve at night. Fuel consumption goes up at night, really, because we don't lean as aggressively; the engine runs richer and range is reduced.

William G. Moore AOPA 434076
Lebanon, New Jersey

I read "Never Again: Running on Empty" and found it rather disturbing. In a gravity-feed fuel system the fuel tends to flow down (toward the Earth) in level flight. In a coordinated turn the fuel will tend to flow in exactly the direction it is intended to, from the tanks to the carburetor. The article stated, "When we banked to the left and raised the right wing, there was no fuel to gravity-feed the carburetor," but this is wrong. Only in the case of a slip would that statement be correct.

If the ball was centered during the turn the gravity-feed system would become a gravity-plus-centrifugal-force fuel system, with absolutely no effect on which tank is high or low. In fact, the additional wing loading would enhance the fuel pressure. If the ball in the turn-and-bank indicator remains centered, the gravity-feed fuel system will continue to operate as it was designed to.

Let's keep all turns coordinated, especially when depending on gravity-feed fuel systems that are low on fuel. I strongly recommend that all power pilots get some time in gliders and experience on a large scale the effects of adverse yaw and uncoordinated turns. Sailplanes provide a much better understanding of the aerodynamic forces that are acting on the aircraft in flight, and in various maneuvers.

Jim Martellotti AOPA 1060845
Tustin, California

Better rentals

I read with interest " The Right Rental" (February Pilot), as I happen to be on the other side of the equation. I happen to be a leaseback owner. And as Julie K. Boatman mentions, many of the aircraft available to rent are on leaseback, which brings me to the point.

I've seen articles on renting and finding the right aircraft, what to look for as far as problems in aircraft that are rented, but nothing on how to treat the rental aircraft as a sort of renters responsibility.

While it pays to do your homework when you rent and get the best available aircraft for the dollar, you should also remember to treat the aircraft properly. I've seen so many cases of my airplane being abused, from oily rags left in seatbacks and on seats to leaving cowl plugs in when starting. What I'm trying to say is if you want a quality rental, that quality depends on the renter as well as the FBO. I don't like to get into a dirty airplane and I remember to take all my things with me when I leave.

It should go hand in hand with proper operating technique; if one is careless about cleaning up, does he preflight and operate the plane the same way? Remember most rentals aren't owned by big companies. They're owned by pilots just like you.

Joe Sferruzza AOPA 1332115
Wayne, New Jersey

Good conversation

I thoroughly enjoyed " Waypoints: Conversation With a Friend" (February Pilot). I think that Thomas B. Haines clearly pointed out the symbiotic relationship between a pilot and his airplane.

From the beginning of our flight instruction, our planes have been shouting (and pleading) with us, but we're so overwhelmed with the mechanics of flight we can't understand what they're saying. It takes a while to develop an ear to understand a plane's innermost nuances. Our graduate studies begin when we are able to open our ears and let the airplane become our instructor.

Strangely enough this transition most often occurs in a nonregimented environment. It happens when we least expect it — while knocking the bugs off the wings; changing the oil; Saturday morning hangar sessions; and those wonderful no-goal, pure-joy flights that to others have no other purpose than to deepen the pockets of the oil companies. There are a lot of really good pilots out there but I doubt if any will go on to become great pilots without first making this transition.

Galen L. Hanselman AOPA 971944
Hailey, Idaho

We welcome your comments. Address your letters to: Editor, AOPA Pilot , 421 Aviation Way, Frederick, Maryland 21701. Send e-mail to [email protected] . Include your full name, address, and AOPA member number on all correspondence, including e-mail. Letters will be edited for style and length.