Landing on the Lake
Flying a pattern in a float plane is pretty standard. Power back, don't forget the carb heat, 10 degrees flaps, turn base, more flaps, turn final, add all the flaps (40 degrees) on final and aim for the lake. Watch for boats!
Part of the challenge is figuring out where the wind is coming from so you can land into it. The ripples on the water offer one clue, although it's possible to be 180 degrees off. The ripples will be smoother on the downwind side of an island or the upwind shore. Flags can give a hint, as can the windsock at the seaplane base (although at Rangely the windsock is influenced pretty strongly by neighboring trees and structures.)
There are two tricks to landing on water. One is figuring out where the surface of the water is and the other is getting the attitude right. If there are ripples on the water, then gauging the plane's height above the surface is pretty easy. It's pretty much like landing on a runway. If the water is smooth, then one enters the realm of "smooth water landings", which involve nursing the plane down until the floats touch the water.
Attitude is always important. One does not want to land with the floats pointed down, lest they dig into the water and the world turns upside down. The landing attidue is pretty flat, with a slight upward bias. For rough water landings, the flare is similar to flaring over a runway. Pull the power off gently and pull back on the yoke as the plane starts to sink to the surface, then pull the power off and pull the yoke all the way back when the floats touch. Don't release pressure on the yoke, which is a natural tendency until the instructor expresses his opinion of that move.
Smooth water landings are a bit trickiet. The premise when landing on smooth water is that there is no way to tell where the surface of the water is. If you know the water well, you can land near shore (be wary of rocks) and use the shoreline as guidance from peripheral vision. Otherwise, if landing in the middle of a lake, set up a 150' per minute descent and wait for the floats to touch. The plane can travel pretty far down the lake (one of my attempts traveled way too far down a lake - it was a scenic trip but we covered seemingly miles before I got the floats to touch.)
Flying a pattern in a float plane is pretty standard. Power back, don't forget the carb heat, 10 degrees flaps, turn base, more flaps, turn final, add all the flaps (40 degrees) on final and aim for the lake. Watch for boats!
Part of the challenge is figuring out where the wind is coming from so you can land into it. The ripples on the water offer one clue, although it's possible to be 180 degrees off. The ripples will be smoother on the downwind side of an island or the upwind shore. Flags can give a hint, as can the windsock at the seaplane base (although at Rangely the windsock is influenced pretty strongly by neighboring trees and structures.)
There are two tricks to landing on water. One is figuring out where the surface of the water is and the other is getting the attitude right. If there are ripples on the water, then gauging the plane's height above the surface is pretty easy. It's pretty much like landing on a runway. If the water is smooth, then one enters the realm of "smooth water landings", which involve nursing the plane down until the floats touch the water.
Attitude is always important. One does not want to land with the floats pointed down, lest they dig into the water and the world turns upside down. The landing attidue is pretty flat, with a slight upward bias. For rough water landings, the flare is similar to flaring over a runway. Pull the power off gently and pull back on the yoke as the plane starts to sink to the surface, then pull the power off and pull the yoke all the way back when the floats touch. Don't release pressure on the yoke, which is a natural tendency until the instructor expresses his opinion of that move.
Smooth water landings are a bit trickiet. The premise when landing on smooth water is that there is no way to tell where the surface of the water is. If you know the water well, you can land near shore (be wary of rocks) and use the shoreline as guidance from peripheral vision. Otherwise, if landing in the middle of a lake, set up a 150' per minute descent and wait for the floats to touch. The plane can travel pretty far down the lake (one of my attempts traveled way too far down a lake - it was a scenic trip but we covered seemingly miles before I got the floats to touch.)
posted by bk @ 8:11 PM
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