Emergency landing with nose gear up or down?

[DouglasHolub]

I'm about half way through my Phase I flight testing in my fixed gear Velocity. It has the Wilhelmson electric nose lift. If I need to make an emergency landing in a field, should I land with the gear up or down?

 

Doug Holub

Irving, Texas

[Waiter]

General rule of thumb, All UP, or ALL Down.

 

Extend the nose gear.

 

 

 

Another point, Keep in mind that one of the emergency procedures for brake failure (or need to stop fast), is to retract the nose gear. On a standard Brock nose gear, about 3 milliseconds after the nose comes out of over-center, the Boston gear strips all the teeth and the nose is now sliding across the ground (good way to stop the plane fast)

 

With the electric nose gear, this process will take approximately 12 - 15 seconds before the nose touches the ground, so this may not be work out in cases where you need to stop the plane, NOW.

 

 

However, the electric nose gear does add another good emergency procedure item to your bag of tricks.

 

If you loose a brake, you effectively loose directional control on that side. i.e. if you loose the right brake, you can only turn left. Good luck trying to keep the plane going straight as it slows down, UNLESS, you have an electric nose gear.

 

If you loose a brake while you still have rudder authority, start retracting the nose gear and hold the plane straight with the rudders. As the nose is retracting, you'll loose directional control almost immediately (within a couple seconds of starting the retract), and the plane will continue to track straight, even when you apply the good remaining brake. You only need to retract the nose about 1/2 way.

 

 

Waiter

[DouglasHolub]

"...the plane will continue to track straight, even when you apply the good remaining brake."

 

Good to know. Thanks.

 

Doug

[Drew Swenson]

You don't even have to retract to half way to get this effect. The good news is that you will track straight down the runway---but if you were pointed towards the side of the runway---you will track there just as fast.

 

The great thing (tracking down the runway) is that you can apply brake on the remaining side without really turning the plane.

[Cozy1200]

I flight testing in my fixed gear Velocity. It has the Wilhelmson electric nose lift.

Isn't that a contradiction of terms? The FG Velocity doesn't kneel or am I wrong?

[DouglasHolub]

It does now. (Picture attached.) I added the electric nose lift mostly to make it easier for my wife to get in and out. She's not an invalid or anything; it's just not very lady-like climbing up on to the strake. I'll probably appreciate it, too, in 10 years.

 

I could have put gull wing doors on this Velocity, but you really give up a lot when you do that: 1. Adding a keel down the middle from the canard bulkhead to the firewall gives you two smaller bucket seats in the back instead of a large bench seat. 2. The fuel sump goes from 6.5 gallons to 2.5 gallons. I like knowing I can still fly for 45 minutes after the sump alarm goes off. 3. The strakes get slid back pretty far to make room for the gull wing doors, so you lose all of that strake elbow room in the front seat.

 

Plus I probably pick up a few knots by retracting the nose gear.

 

Doug Holub

Irving, Texas

[macleodm3]

WOW! That sure is one sweet looking Velocity!!

[Cozy1200]

WOW! That sure is one sweet looking Velocity!!

Ya, but how do you take off without a nose gear!!

 

I'm funny....