Bobbates, did you land it down the runway directionally or across the runway?
I once landed a DC3 with a 90 degree 50 knot X/wind down the center of a runway in zero/zero in blowing snow.....care to comment on how I did it and why?
Hi Cat
A wheel landing straight down the middle of the runway. One of those Alberta single runway airports, and a long ways between fuel stops. I could guess that your reason was about the same. Oh, also, Crab untill close enough to lower the wing and check drift just befor touchdown.
Bob
Cat Driver wrote:
I once landed a DC3 with a 90 degree 50 knot X/wind down the center of a runway in zero/zero in blowing snow.....care to comment on how I did it and why?
My record with the Racer is about 40 kts straight across. Had NO way of knowing how strong the wind was until we got out of the airplane. Tundra with now way to "read" the wind.....except the fact that I had to fly sideways towards (?) the "runway" to land. On departure, we walked the surface, and departed into wind. Very entertaining. The Doug is really pretty good in a wind. Do NOT ever side load the gear on touch down.....or you're walking home.
Cat or Doc did the x-wind gear DC-3 have a tail wheel lock? I seem to remember it did, but the last items on the line-up check were Controls... Free/full travel, Friction lock... Adjust, Tailwheel Lock...Off, Gear...Caster. Twas a lever behind the co-pilot seat if I recall. I never flew 'em, but Hollinger had the x-wind gear on their DC-3's and I hitched a ride in the j/s a few times. They said they would never have been able to build the QNS&L Railway without the castering gear to handle the x-winds on some of the strips up the line, but every other company went into the same strips without the x-wind gear. It was sure strange though, taxiing down the runway looking out the DV window. They sold their last two DC-3's to St. Felicien Air Service who removed the castering feature to put them on skis.
Siddley Hawker wrote:Cat or Doc did the x-wind gear DC-3 have a tail wheel lock? I seem to remember it did, but the last items on the line-up check were Controls... Free/full travel, Friction lock... Adjust, Tailwheel Lock...Off, Gear...Caster. Twas a lever behind the co-pilot seat if I recall. I never flew 'em, but Hollinger had the x-wind gear on their DC-3's and I hitched a ride in the j/s a few times. They said they would never have been able to build the QNS&L Railway without the castering gear to handle the x-winds on some of the strips up the line, but every other company went into the same strips without the x-wind gear. It was sure strange though, taxiing down the runway looking out the DV window. They sold their last two DC-3's to St. Felicien Air Service who removed the castering feature to put them on skis.
Never seen one with "cross wind" gear. Every one I flew had a tail wheel lock. Love to see a pick The regular gear is VERY delicate to side loading....other than that, a dream in a cross wind.....for a tail dragger.
I flew one that once had a xwind gear -- conventional gear installed when I flew it to allow it to be put on skies -- no tail wheel lock and they didn't put one back in (when I was flying it anyway) -- it had a centering mechanism but it did not lock - the lever in the flight deck had been removed -- once I got use to it I never thought twice about not having a tail wheel lock --