Medtner wrote:DHenriquesA2A wrote:
Yes, with a caveat. High performance airplanes require high performance pilots. What sets the T6 apart is simply that it's landing gear is so close coupled.
This along with it's weight and fuselage length give the T6 great potential for yaw excursion on landings.
Where say the Mustang with its wide main gear spread will tend to track straight and true after touchdown, the T6 can and often is quite sensitive in yaw and pilots have to be especially aware of this in how they handle the pedals after touchdown.
Conversely, a Pitts Special requires the same careful treatment on landings. One could say all tail wheel airplanes require this care. Let's just say that if close coupled, one needs to exercise some "extra" care.
)
Dudley Henriques
"potential for yaw excursion"
Love that phrasing! It's a polite way of saying "it'll foxtroting ground-loop on you if you don't dance to it's tune!"
Checking pilots out in the 6 I always imparted this advice.
When landing the T6, on final, plant your heels firmly on the floor of the cockpit and lightly place your feet elevated about 1/2 way up on each rudder pedal. Use your ankles as a fulcrum and activate each pedal by gently pushing forward on it with your toes.
This is the setup you want in place as you flare for the landing. Upon touchdown, focus a sightline straight through the center of the windshield and scan the runway. Naturally you should be carrying any windward aileron necessary for crosswind correction. Aileron for wind is especially important in the T6 as it is the LACK of corrective aileron for crosswind that is the cause of the majority of T6 landing accidents.
Be alert for the SLIGHTEST movement of the nose left or right and use YOUR TOES on the pedals to correct. Because of the close gear coupling the nose will trend toward wandering quite quickly and you should be ready to apply small and very quick corrective action on each pedal as required. In the T6 you can NOT wait to correct as the speed of the nose wandering off centerline will be almost exponential increasing in speed as the angle from dead center increases. In other words, correction needs to me made NOW not later !
Done correctly, the weight on your heels should never leave the floor and your feet should almost always be in motion, very tiny corrections rotating on your ankles only.
THIS is how you land a T6. If you have pedals in the sim, the same thing applies, or as close to it as possible.
You fly high performance airplanes with fingers and toes............FINGERS AND TOES !
Dudley Henriques