Please check if I get this right, need some "peer reviews" here, thank you. Landing the widowmaker has been a hit and miss to me. Sometimes my sorties were satisfying sometimes they were disastrous. In the last couple of weeks my landings have been better. The keypoint is not to flare nor reduce speed on final (do it slightly if you have to). Just hit the tarmac ASAP, forget about butter landings, just hit the runway, cut throttle and hit the brake. Most of the time no drag chute is required. So, keep the RPM at 85-88% (in fact RPM stays at that perimeter at cruise, descent, until touchdown). This always works although not sure the proper way (I would love to learn). You probably saw some YT videos, but those tutorials dont always work because the Landing Weight vary. But keeping 85-88% and hit the runway, and dont worry about exceeding aiming point threshold, she slows down effectively.

Edited June 5, 20241 yr by History

The "widowmaker"?

11 minutes ago, Mace said:

The "widowmaker"?

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 

18 minutes ago, Rimshot said:

Lockheed F-104 Starfighter 

Ok, I *almost* guessed that but refrained from it.  Even on an airplane-related forum you never know

Obviously there are tons of civilian and military aircraft with the same nickname:

1. Grumman F-14 Tomcat: The F-14 Tomcat, a supersonic, twin-engine, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft, earned the nickname "Widowmaker" due to its demanding flight characteristics and high accident rate during its service with the United States Navy.
2. Boeing B-47 Stratojet: The B-47 Stratojet, a long-range, six-engine, turbojet-powered strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force, was also known as the "Widowmaker" due to its high accident rate, especially during the early years of its service.
3. Lockheed F-104 Starfighter: The F-104 Starfighter, a single-engine, supersonic interceptor aircraft used by several air forces around the world, was nicknamed the "Widowmaker" due to its high accident rate and demanding flight characteristics, especially at low speeds.
4. Bell AH-1 Cobra: The AH-1 Cobra, a two-blade, single-engine attack helicopter used by the United States and several other countries, was also sometimes referred to as the "Widowmaker" due to its high accident rate during the Vietnam War.

 

While the F-104 is probably most famous for being called a "widow maker", the moniker has also been applied to other aircraft:

B-26

V-22 Osprey

F4U Corsair

Edit: @sd_flyer has pointed out yet more, our posts crossed. 

Edited June 5, 20241 yr by martinboehme

With the number of female pilots in the military increasing, they may want to come up with a gender neutral name - widow maker doesn't cut it, widowermaker sounds dumb - any suggestions??

Undertaker's accomplice? 

Supersonic hearse? 

Or maybe the Styx Shuttle? 

44 minutes ago, vgbaron said:

With the number of female pilots in the military increasing, they may want to come up with a gender neutral name - widow maker doesn't cut it, widowermaker sounds dumb - any suggestions??

None that won't get this thread locked.

Then I obviously haven't been trying hard enough... 😉 

5 hours ago, History said:

The keypoint is not to flare nor reduce speed on final (do it slightly if you have to). Just hit the tarmac ASAP, forget about butter landings, just hit the runway, cut throttle and hit the brake. 

This guy seems to have mastered the technique......

 

Due to the shape of the airframe I suppose the technique is comparable to the Mig-21 which you also dive down to the runway (low AoA) with relatively high RPM (80-90ish) and then minimal flare / slam.

 

3 hours ago, vgbaron said:

any suggestions??

Flying coffin is also used.