Are they the most desirable?
least desirable?

way too hard .

I flew in too the old Stapleton airport (denver) one time, a long time ago , and the landing was SOOO good that everybody was wondering when we were going to feel the bump.

And I can't say that I've ever witnessed a three point landing, while watching them land .

whats the dealio ?

Being a carrier aviator, never felt a 3-point landing. Mains followed by the nose gear.

Even the bumpy shore landings were cake in comparison.

Pretty much a full stall it the point of touchdown to set mains and tailwheel simultaneously.

I always like Brannif. Almost always planted the 727s with positive contact.

Saberliners (T-39) pretty much "greased" landings, except in a dynamic crosswind, as the slats liked to "wander" in and out (aerodynamic leading edge slats) around 170 knots, and the in a crosswind landing where the effect made for a 3 axis motion to become exaggerated, and somewhat of a challenge near touchdown. Good Crewchiefs kept the slats well cleaned and lubed and the AC happy.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Pretty much a full stall it the point of touchdown to set mains and tailwheel simultaneously.

And hope you aren't 5 feet off the deck - felt those too. BANG!!!!

Taildragger: 3-pointer

Tricycle Gear: Mains first, fly the nosewheel to the ground

JM(lowly)HO...

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
Are they the most desirable?
least desirable?

way too hard .

I flew in too the old Stapleton airport (denver) one time, a long time ago , and the landing was SOOO good that everybody was wondering when we were going to feel the bump.

And I can't say that I've ever witnessed a three point landing, while watching them land .

whats the dealio ?

A three-point landing, in the classic sense, is one done in a tailwheel airplane. Ideally the tail touches a moment before the mains and it lands as close to the stall as possible. That's a good three point.

Three point landings in nosewheel airplanes are poor technique. The landing should be made on the main gear.

A conventional gear airplane (tailwheel) may be landed two-point, or three point; both are valid techniques. Landing on the nosewheel in nosegear aircraft is not a valid technique.

Then, of course, you have the MD-11, in which landing on the mains is a three point landing (four landing gear), and the 747, in which landing on the mains is a four point touchdown (five landing gear).

Landing the nosewheel first, incidentally, in the MD11, has proven fatal on a number of occasions.

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
Taildragger: 3-pointer

Tricycle Gear: Mains first, fly the nosewheel to the ground

JM(lowly)HO...

Helicopter pilot (me) on first fixed wing flight (172) in a long time.

Me: *roll on landing*
My Buddy The Instructor: *bursts out laughing*
Me: "What?! That was great."
MBTI: "You couldn't do that again in a million years."
Me: "That was a great roll-on landing!"
MBTI: "Yeah, but you rolled the nose wheel on first!"

I might have come in a bit flat.

I've only got 1.

Cessna 152 Aerobat. Coming in to KRYW after an hour with an aerobatic instructor.

Was on approach, 0* flaps, she bumped in 10* & never felt the wheels touch the ground

One wheel, one wing tip and one propeller blade is the way I heard it.

The B-52 can land..... Sideways. Amazing to watch!

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:
Being a carrier aviator, never felt a 3-point landing. Mains followed by the nose gear. Even the bumpy shore landings were cake in comparison.

I was not an aviator, but I got bumpy shore landings all figured out this one night in the Rota, Spain O-Club...

First shore after a prolonged trip through the Med, through the Suez, down to a nice little island in the British Indian Ocean Territories (to pick up some TLAMs), up into the Gulf to escort tankers, then back through the Med. Got a beer ration while at sea. But had been dry for a while.

Wardroom hit the O-Club hard. After a while, we started practicing landings. Probably incited by the XO, "Iron Mike" Fahey - he'd been CHENG on the JFK, so knew all about landings...

Our padre grabbed a CO2 extinguisher to address the crash landings "Fire on the flightdeck...". (side note - He was a good man - he was just outside the barracks in Beirut when the bombing happened, and spent that day as you might guess. A point of reference, as he was also on board when the Turret 2 explosion happened.)

A GS-15 complained about the antics - Iron Mike reminded him "It's an Officer's Club, not a GS-15 club..."

Anyway, I'm not sure about three pointers. But can definitely state that after a night of drinking, running full speed to dive and slide down a table to maybe be caught mid-air by compatriots (an O-Club "carrier landing"), that any landing you can walk away from is a good one. As I recall. That was the only time in my life I've woken up and actually said "where the hell am I?" - and after a while, was happy to find I was in a room, and still on base.

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Pretty much a full stall it the point of touchdown to set mains and tailwheel simultaneously.

And hope you aren't 5 feet off the deck - felt those too. BANG!!!!

Did that landing during my first solo cross country. Seems I didn't factor in that the runway was much wider than my home field which made it appear I was closer than I was. BANG!!!! Then, WTF???? Then, Oh...

quote:

Originally posted by jigray3:

quote:

Originally posted by RHINOWSO:

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Pretty much a full stall it the point of touchdown to set mains and tailwheel simultaneously.

And hope you aren't 5 feet off the deck - felt those too. BANG!!!!

Did that landing during my first solo cross country. Seems I didn't factor in that the runway was much wider than my home field which made it appear I was closer than I was. BANG!!!! Then, WTF???? Then, Oh...

Yeah, you get to log 2 or 3 landings on most of those... or so I tell my pilots...

Eeons ago, returning to Boulder City (NV) in a Cessna 206 or 207, landing on runway 15 (downhill), the airplane could be set up perfectly descending slowly to the runway, and the runway would be moving away at the same rate, resulting in what the passengers perceived as a very smooth landing. They'd clap and cheer.

A little less nose-up trim, just enough to release the back pressure and let the runway thud up against the wheels. We got paid a few hundred dollars a week, and seven dollars a flight hour. Not enough to live on. After that little thud, the passengers always tipped better. Better than a smooth landing. I suppose they felt we'd saved them. Who knows? Most of the pilots lived on the tips.

The 207, loaded heavy with river runners, sleeping bags, oars, and all the crap that they think they need for a couple of weeks on the water, would pack the 207 until it fell on its tail. The trick was to get another pilot to stand behind the rear door, his hands in the small of his back, and not let the tail fall. When the horizontal stab pressed down against his palms enough, start loading weight forward again, put everything else in the nose baggage behind the engine, and and let him hold it until the engine was started and enough airflow over the tail existed to hold the tail up. Back country weight and balance.

Fueling in the sticks was often done out of cans we kept in large coolers, buried to the lid, with rocks on the lid to keep it from flapping up. Throw a 2X6 against the wing, toss a five gallon can up there, and shinny up the board to refuel out of cans. Last guy out of the strip brought an airplane full of empty cans, and first guy out next time brought an airplane full of full cans. Dirt airstrip, downhill, very uneven, volcano at the end. Don't get airborne on the first hop; the airplane would get tossed into the air by the first hump. At the second hump, don't let it touch again, bank left and go down between the rising terrain on the right and rising volcano on the left. Just enough room for wingtip clearance, and we had to raise a wing to keep from smacking a rusted out piece of farm equipment on the right. All downhill, but once we got to the edge it dropped off several thousand feet and we had instant altitude and lift. Work it off the canyon walls to get high enough to climb out, and head home.

Smooth landings are largely a matter of luck. There are more important things to focus on than making it smooth, and no matter the skill and no matter how many tens of thousands of landings, they won't all be smooth. Sometimes it's best to put it down firmly and keep it there. Generally better for the tires, too.

Unlit approaches to unlit runways in dark terrain...make for interesting landings.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:...Unlit approaches to unlit runways in dark terrain...make for interesting landings.

LOL, reminds me of an RTB after mission, simulated airbase under attack, blackout approach, and landing. That puts us down on a low and wide approach to the field, and then roll out to a short final.

Everyone is on coms doing after mission and pre-landing checklists, and it got quiet on final, with breathing from the guys up front becoming more pronounced, sort of the "floating like a leaf on the wind" and then "smack, bounce, smack, reverse pitch and throttles up and toes down to the lone voice: "THERE IT IS!".

That time the runway found us. At least it was gentle.

Do Ospreys count?

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
LOL, reminds me of an RTB after mission, simulated airbase under attack, blackout approach, and landing. That puts us down on a low and wide approach to the field, and then roll out to a short final.

Everyone is on coms doing after mission and pre-landing checklists, and it got quiet on final, with breathing from the guys up front becoming more pronounced, sort of the "floating like a leaf on the wind" and then "smack, bounce, smack, reverse pitch and throttles up and toes down to the lone voice: "THERE IT IS!".

That time the runway found us. At least it was gentle.

I've had a few of those base-is-under-attack arrivals...when the base was under attack. In one case, we didn't get the word until close final on an instrument approach. We were told to go around, with nothing further, I made an enquiry and was told turn left, go somewhere else, incoming. We made a hard left as the first Tornados rolled with harriers and F-16's behind them and two AC-130's. By the time I turned back to the initial fix and reported the hold I was cleared inbound again and landed, just in time for the first strike packages to get back, racks empty. When we opened the L1 door, we could hear outbound 105mm.

Quite a few "expedite for controlled explosion," and a few directions to leave, under attack. Plenty IDF alarms while on the ground "incoming, incoming, incoming." Certainly less focused on finesse at those times.

I've done the blacked-out thing to a landing on dirt airstrips, paved, and to dirt fields lit with flare pots or a single vehicle light at one end, with NVG and monoculars, with FLIR and time and distance and airspeed, and a few others that were just judgement calls. Most weren't landings for the record books, or anything to write home about. A few, worth forgetting.

quote:

Originally posted by FishOn:
Do Ospreys count?

They do.

I have a son that does Ospreys.

Pretty much been covered. Three points are great in conventional gear aircraft (taildraggers). An Osprey hover landing is the only tricycle gear landing I can think of where a three point wouldn’t be a screwup, but there may be others.

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

An Osprey hover landing is the only tricycle gear landing I can think of where a three point wouldn’t be a screwup, but there may be others.

Our SIGforum Harrier pilot (mojojojo) hasn't checked in yet.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by slosig:

An Osprey hover landing is the only tricycle gear landing I can think of where a three point wouldn’t be a screwup, but there may be others.

Our SIGforum Harrier pilot (mojojojo) hasn't checked in yet.

We have a Harrier too??? Son of a GUN I joined the right forum!!!