Thread: "The Tape Trick"

Roger:
Below are pictures taken by Joe DiAguiar who is a Flight Design CTsw owner and dealer from Northampton, MA. His plane N357JD is leased back to a flight school, Northampton Aeronautics who teaches in and rents the plane.

The landing lines they came up with are used to help people judge the centerline and the upper and lower hash marks are the approximate glide slope range. It is pretty inventive! The reports are that the pilots love it.

Tom Peghiny



Tom: These pictures were taken with the plane exactly on the center line. The people who have flown it think it's incredible. When you land - you line up the red line with the yellow center line on the runway... You don't land sideways anymore.. Also: I took five pounds of air out of the tires. We are now running 24 pounds - this has made for a softer landing - no more excessive bouncing. Let me know what you think. Joe D

...works for me, too... I used two small dots, from the sticky part of a "Post It"

Tim

Not sure I like the idea of removing 5 lbs. of pressure from the tires. Wouldn't that increase the chances of creating torque between the tires and tubes on touch-down? I had a flat that I suspect was caused by under-inflation. The tube was torn at the base of the valve stem.

How are the glide slope limits determined?

Hi Thorp,

Glide slope is easy enough. Pick a target. Then set your airspeed and flap position. So you are approaching at 50-60 knots depending on your flap setting. I use 50 knots for 30 and 40 flaps and 60 knots for 15 and zero flaps. With 40, 30 and 15 flaps I use 2800 rpm and 3000 rpm for zero flaps. Speed is controlled with the stick. This little bit of rpm makes the round out smoother and the touch gentler. It also gives you better rudder control and makes sure the mains hit well before the nose might. Zero flaps takes away any porposing or a bounce at the touch.
Now with your aircraft set up on your target the target should not move up or down in your vision. For example if you start to drop below the target with the nose of the aircraft you will be short. If you start to go over the target with the nose you will be long. Once you have a target, the picture should not really change in your vision high or low. You should be looking at the target and you should remain in a direct line to it. Practice will get you there. Be critical of your approaches and don't be afraid to try different things. The more things you start to play with on approach then the more variables to adjust for at the bottom at round out and a bigger chance of missing your target. You should round out about 100'-150' and 1'-2' off the runway from your actual touch point. 100' can differ if you are flying a hot approach and different types of wind or weather. Setting things up early in the final and leaving them alone will get you the most consistent on target results if you practice like you play.

Hi Roger,

Thanks for taking time for such a lengthy reply. I only wish I had been a bit clearer in asking my question, so you could address my actual question.

How are the glide slope limits on the red tape determined?

In theory, I think that the lower end of the tape would be at the 3-degree slope and the upper limit at about 4-deg (the 14:1 best glide), but since the author didnt say what the limits were, I thought he might explain what they are.

If the answer is it was all done by eyeball, while flying the plane, and attempting to put tape on the windscreen, then it would not work for me, as I would require a co-pilot with much longer arms than mine.

If I knew what the limits were, I would not have to fly the plane to put the tape limits in place. I could just measure it from my seat, and then make minor adjustments as needed after flying.

thorp

For me, I generally try to be 500' above MSL at 1.5 miles out with 15 degrees (I only use 0 and 15 degrees of flaps) of flaps at around 2700-3000 rpm. From there, if I maintain the proper approach speed, my descent will be good.

How do I get the pictures?

You have to be logged in - after that they should show - if not let me know with message.

Roger H

I cannot find an answer to an old question How is the glide slope determined with the two horizontal red tape. One should be enough to track target