Flight Mechanics and Pilot Evaluation of Conventional Landings

The results are given of an extensive investigation of conventional landing flares in general aviation type airplanes. Experimental landings in a variable-stability Navion have simulated a wide range of parameters influencing flare behavior.

The most important feature of the flare has turned out to be the airplane's deceleration in the flare, and it has been found to be possible to correlate various effects on this in terms of the average flare load factor.

Certain kinds of ground effects are found to be favorable, if they are small and in the right combination. Piloting technique is extensively discussed. Certain implications for design are presented.