Landing the Aeronca Champion in a slip over 50’ trees on Rwy23 1B8

Rwy23 approach/landing in a slide slip

[@bobclarie]

I soloed in a Champ, back in 1962, I was 15 . . . thanks for bringing back those precious memories . . . Bob

[@NortheastVintage]

Awesome!

[@jimmydulin928]

Nicely done. In summer mid day or in the mountains or with two people, level in low ground effect energy can easily be 50% of total kinetic energy (fuel, ground effect, down drainage egress, etc.) available. I guess down drainage is actually potential energy of altitude, but I convert it to kinetic. I taught zero timers in the 7AC at Ag Flight and in the C-140 at Monte Vista Colorado at 7600.' I did not teach Vx or Vy as neither was appropriate. I taught when pulling back on the stick doesn't give us the climb we wish, try pushing instead. Nice airplane. It likes to takeoff fast and land slow. It can be landed slow enough that if we roll only a few feet first, a ground loop will not hurt anything. Lets the instructor safely teach dynamic proactive rudder movement, walk the rudder pedals, to stay ahead of the airplane. We're better when we move.

[@NortheastVintage]

Thanks! Love this little plane!

[@thedolt9215]

Nice greaser…

[@NortheastVintage]

Thanks!

[@prunyanprunyan8139]

Utter newb question, and I am not a pilot, but am very interested in flying, and how it all works. How is slipping (which this doesn't really look like from other videos I have watched) differ from crabbing, or are they variants of the same physics? This looked more like a crab (and a slight one at that) than a slip. Again, based solely on watching other videos of crabbing and slipping.

[@NortheastVintage]

Thanks for the question. Crabbing is pointing the nose of the airplane into the wind when approaching the runway with a crosswind. This allows you to stay on the centerline of the runway while the wind is trying to blow you sideways. You then typically transition into a slip just before you touch down to get the wheels straight to avoid side loading the airplane when the wheels touch. Slipping, which looks like crabbing, is putting the airplane into a sideways position, nose down, to lose altitude at a faster pace. The whole point is to increase aerodynamic drag. This technique is used by airplanes without flaps to increase drag by exposing the side of the airplane to the wind. When drag increases, your descent rate increases as well. I think the most surprising aspect of flying to non pilots is the work needed to get the plane down. One might naturally think this happens easily but it’s most often the cause for poor landings. Planes naturally want to fly and you need to work to get them ready to land - reducing airspeed and altitude. I hope this is helpful.

[@prunyanprunyan8139]

@@NortheastVintage I appreciate the clear explanation!