wanttaja@ssc-vax.UUCP (Ronald J Wanttaja) (06/01/85)
> ... and wandered from side to side on rollout. Landing > later, at my home field, I made a special effort to make a > good approach, watch my airspeed, etc. As soon as I touched > down, the plane swerved violently to the left, to the extent > that the right wing started flying again and lifted the wheel > off the runway. Full right rudder was required to maintain > control (actually, regain control). Scared? You bet. > I'm not flying that thing again until I know if there is a > defect in the airplane, or me. I'm wondering if the plane > is jinxed, or has a problem, or someone is telling me not to > fly 62202. Can planes get funny problems that respond to > a particular technique? Are the wheels out of alignment? > Anybody else have a similar experience? Thanks in advance for > the input. Norm To me, it does sound like the main gear is twisted slightly. Rumor has it that one reason for CAP's awful safety record with L-19 Bird Dogs is due to this reason. The planes were former Army trainers, and I think this had permanently warped the main gear. It nearly bit me, once, on my last Bird Dog checkout flight. I had no previous problems, and had just made a reasonable arrival, pointing right down the runway. Suddenly, the 'ol Bird Dog decided it had to chew some fleas on it's tail... two size eleven brogans convinced it otherwise, but it happened FAST! It had never done that to me before, and you can bet, I never let it do that again... The solution is to not land gently... with minimal weight on the gear, the twist is most effective. You've got to slam it a bit, to get some weight on the mains to force it to track straight. And it makes a good excuse for a bad landing...:-) Ron Wanttaja (ssc-vax!wanttaja) Definition of Propellor: " A fan to keep the pilot cool... turn it off and watch him sweat"