What altitude

JEFF TIPTON

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Feb 17, 2007
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DICKSON, TN
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Grumman AA5
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A general question for gyronauts.

If you are aiming to touchdown 500 feet down the runway; what altitude above the ground do you think you are at when you cross the end of the runway?
 
A general question for gyronauts.

If you are aiming to touchdown 500 feet down the runway; what altitude above the ground do you think you are at when you cross the end of the runway?

In The Predator with engine at idle in no wind conditions I would be at 160 feet above the ground when 500 feet from touchdown Jeff
 
Jeff -

Yesterday eve I was practicing, and my estimate of altitude was about 200', which is where I always just close my eyes and pray.

fj
 
Jim, there are a million comedians out of work your trying to be funny!!!

And succeeding by the way! You still crack me up!:D


Mark

Jeff -

Yesterday eve I was practicing, and my estimate of altitude was about 200', which is where I always just close my eyes and pray.

fj
 
Jeff -

Yesterday eve I was practicing, and my estimate of altitude was about 200', which is where I always just close my eyes and pray.

fj
Now that's funny right there... don't care who you are!!! Still laughing.
 
If i landed 500' from the start of my runway, i would have overshot the other end by 200'.
 
Do you also have football goals at the ends to avoid, and maybe a referee or two?
 
I was practicing engine out landings this morning. Flying 500' AGL I cut the engine to idle right over the numbers, then pitched for 55 knots. Each time I landed 3,000' down the runway for a 6:1 glide ratio. My idle is set a bit high so in a real engine out with the prop stopped I would get a good bit less than a 6:1 ratio. This is in a Xenon.

You can do this same test multiple times in your gyro and you will then know your glide ratio. Once you know that you could calculate very closely what height you want to be at the threshold. For example if you get a 5:1 glide ratio and come over the numbers at 100' you would then be touching down at 500' down the runway (or in Birdy's case off into the next paddock. :)

The practical application of this is that once I know the touchdown spot from 500' AGL I can then fly over again and see where that touchdown spot is in my windshield. You could even put a dot on the windshield there.

If you are flying along at any altitude AGL and it suddenly gets quiet- you can very quickly see that your touchdown spot is going to be very close to the place in line with your windshield dot.

Hope this helps.

Rob
 
On my Bensen with the Mighty Mac, when it goes quiet, I just look between my feet.
 
Some good points brought out. I find that for a given height, the TD point can vary quite a bit depending on the headwind component on short finals while maintaining landing airspeed. IMHO, it is a good idea to practice such landings in different wind conditions to get an idea of how much distance is gained or lost. This can be a life saver when landing in confined areas away from the airfield environment, when the engine goes quiet.
 
A general question for gyronauts.

If you are aiming to touchdown 500 feet down the runway; what altitude above the ground do you think you are at when you cross the end of the runway?

This depends on what kind of landing you are set up for. If you are doing a power-on landing you will be quite a bit lower crossing the threshold since the partial power you are carrying effectively increases your glide ratio to about 10:1. So, I guess, you'd be crossing at about 50 feet.

If you do a normal engine-idle landing, you have a glide ratio of about 4:1 depending on your gyro. Some may be 3:1 some others up to 7:1. My guess here is about 125 feet.

If you do a short field landing you are looking for a steep descent. Slipping, I get a glide ratio of about 2:1, so you'd be crossing the threshold at 250 feet.

Incidentally, this is a good example of the flexibility of a gyro. You can safely land at a predetermined spot from a large range of approach heights. A feat which a fixed wing aircraft would find very difficult to achieve.

Greetings, -- Chris.
 
All very good answer to the question and the reason for the question will be revealed soon.

Looking for answers that relate to what is normal for you. A close quess would be helpful especially those flying draggy machines. If you could consider no wind regular landing.
 
I always come in opposite to fix wing traffic,my approaches start at about 200 ft high on

a short base leg and about 500 ft from my touchdown point which is the mid field taxiway

when I turn for a short final I am about 50 ft or less in height and my airspeed is around

50 MPH and RPM varies depending on windspeed and other variables. I never see the

numbers at the end of the runway,I always takeoff from a midfield position and turn out

before the numbers.





Best regards,
 
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