June 20, 201213 yr Sorry for so many questions, but I am trying to get up to speed ( hopefully) and search is coming up blank on a couple of questions. Any tips on how to see the runway landing the Stearmen? I have tried just about everything I know, and even on a wide runway, I have trouble seeing any part of the runway, which is usually totally blocked out by the fuselage. This has resulted in some of the most spectacular crashes that I have ever seen ( kudos to Flight for dynamic crash simulation) .... Any tips?
June 20, 201213 yr I myself have the eyepoint movements mapped to a hat on my joystick, so I can easily move the eyepoint left/right and up/down with the joystick hat - and I use that function when I am landing the Stearman. Do not worry about asking questions, no matter how they seem to you - that is one of the great things about this forum, the sharing of knowledge! I also have the eypoint reset mapped to a button on my stick , so I can easily reset it back to the default. Don B
June 20, 201213 yr You should approach the field in a sideslip. This means that you should hold opposite rudder and aileron input to cause the airplane to fly crab wise. Then just as you are preparing to level off and flare, you should straighten out to fly parallel to the runway. you can also adjust your viewpoint to the left our right to see better, but I don't bother. Also get very used to looking to your 10-11 o'clock position in the flare. This is where you need to be looking to know how high you are and where you are going.
June 20, 201213 yr I had a 4 aileron, big-rudder biplane once and could do dramatic slips on final, coming out of the slip right as I began my flare. I almost always slipped it on landing, and would make a slightly high approach to accommodate the resultant higher-than-normal descent rate.
June 20, 201213 yr Yes of Course..SLIPPING... the FORWARD SLIP,and the SIDE SLIP!..This with a CRABBING at Touch Down for a FULL STALL landing!!..MAY get you on the ground! in control! And in any cross wind. it.compounds the landing....TRAINER was the correct word for the Stearman..A no Flap airplane!prone to Crow Hopping!!...its all Stick and rudder...If I may, a Great book,a bible of sorts may help..."STICK AND RUDDER" by Wolfgang Langewiesche...other than that a LONG NECK ,in the SPLIT STREAM, ,GOGGLES helps!!...the FLIGHT, our STEARMAN is a REASONABLE FACSIMILE of the Real Thing.and most forgiving.....Other than that ,Slipping will only work in the Sim world if the Model was designed to do so..if not?..Well its fun!!.One real ride in one will answer all your questions...HAPPY LANDINGS!! :Peace:
June 20, 201213 yr Author Yes of Course..SLIPPING... the FORWARD SLIP,and the SIDE SLIP!..This with a CRABBING at Touch Down for a FULL STALL landing!!..MAY get you on the ground! in control! And in any cross wind. it.compounds the landing....TRAINER was the correct word for the Stearman..A no Flap airplane!prone to Crow Hopping!!...its all Stick and rudder...If I may, a Great book,a bible of sorts may help..."STICK AND RUDDER" by Wolfgang Langewiesche...other than that a LONG NECK ,in the SPLIT STREAM, ,GOGGLES helps!!...the FLIGHT, our STEARMAN is a REASONABLE FACSIMILE of the Real Thing.and most forgiving.....Other than that ,Slipping will only work in the Sim world if the Model was designed to do so..if not?..Well its fun!!.One real ride in one will answer all your questions...HAPPY LANDINGS!! :Peace: First of all , thanks to everyone for the great suggestions. When I got my PPL back in the late 70's, Stick and Rudder was my favorite book, and every pilot I met, I encourage them to get a copy and read it from cover to cover, no matter what their experience level. Funny, that when I was getting ready for my check ride, I never liked doing slips so I avoided them like the plague. I would approach in a crab, and then when flaring, kick rudder to align with the runway and the yoke for the wind... Got some beautiful crosswind landings with zero problems for many years but that was in a Cessna or Warrior. Unfortunately, , in the Stearman, I can't see where I am going!!!! LOL Slips, here I come!!! I had a 4 aileron, big-rudder biplane once and could do dramatic slips on final, coming out of the slip right as I began my flare. I almost always slipped it on landing, and would make a slightly high approach to accommodate the resultant higher-than-normal descent rate. That must have been fun....
June 20, 201213 yr Stop by here and practice for real. http://www.andoverflight.com/stearman.html If any of you really do decide to try out out, drop me a line and I'll see if i can swing by to say hello. :) I mean to get my tailwheel endorsement and fly that Stearman really soon! Also to correct my earlier post, I meant forward slip.
June 21, 201213 yr Anyone having a hard time slipping due to no rudder pedals can also simply move their eyepoint up so high that you can see over the nose and use the instruments in the FRONT cockpit! Standing up in the seat on final is not recommended in real world landings, however.
June 21, 201213 yr Author Anyone having a hard time slipping due to no rudder pedals can also simply move their eyepoint up so high that you can see over the nose and use the instruments in the FRONT cockpit! Standing up in the seat on final is not recommended in real world landings, however. After reading your post, I googled the "eyepoint in Flight" topic and found this . http://forum.avsim.net/topic/364547-moving-eyepoint-tip/. I tried it, and the first landing in the Stearman, using the mouse to adjust eyepoint, I greased it on.... :yahoo: Now I hope I don't get a blowout or flat from all the broken aircraft parts that are strewn across the runway from all my previous landing attempts today......
June 22, 201213 yr TrackIR helps a lot! It's transformed Flight for me, especially in the Stearman! It sure does. Both tail draggers are now much easier for me to land, but the Stearman especially!
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