Landing An Aircraft Without Looking (Zero-Zero)

It was truly amazing. Long time pilot, FAA examiner and certified flight instructor, Tony Hurst, teaches me how to land a plane with absolutely no visibility. I was instructed to put on my "foggles" and to keep them on until I heard the tires make contact with the runway surface. The only instrument I used was the ILS localizer and glide slope to bring the aircraft softly on the centerline of runway 24 Right @ Burke Lakefront. It's an emergency technique that I hope never to use but after doing it three times, I may have a tool in my back pocket to use to keep me alive someday. This was the second landing of three... all in a pretty stiff crosswind and rain.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Zero
• visibility
• landing
• technique
• Burke
• Lakefront
• Andre
• Bernier
• Tony
• Hurst
• IFR
• ILS
• LOC
• glide
• slope

[MLD202]

no visibility??? Are you kidding???

I have flight on the Da42, for cat II, max crosswind was 27knt, not bad but very hard land, more practics also need, good luck.

[andrebernier]

@MLD202 Remember: I was not allowed to look until AFTER the wheels touched the runway. ANY landing that you walk away from is a good one. Yes, a little hard, but no harder than some of the most difficult crosswind VFR landings that I have done before (granted not often).

[MotorsbyShooter]

pretty good but it aint ZERO-ZERO

[andrebernier]

@MotorsbyShooter It is when you are wearing IFR goggles... my goodness, don't people read the description????!!! Sheeeeesh!!!

[maelo11]

Really!!!! so the Diamond is CAT 3 certified to make a 0 visibility approach, jaja dont think so, but nice job by the way

[andrebernier]

@maelo11 Dear heavens, maelo11, did you not read the description??? I had IFR goggles on and not allowed to look out until AFTER the wheels hit the runway! That is (controlled) zero-zero landing. There are only a few people in the world that can teach this technique... my FAA examiner was one of them.

[minde4000]

Peeeee... stall and booom... hard landing... I am sure there were comments to the pilot but they just cut it off...probably right before :)

[innersilencedotcom]

/watch?v=EgeT-F9-1KI - THIS is zero-zero. cheers.

[FlyGuy2480]

Such a pity no one knows how to read the description. Anyways, I didn't know it was possible to land "zero-zero" without CAT III equipment and without crashing the plane. Awesome job. Your CFI had big nerves allowing you to do that. I got two questions for you:

1) How were you able to anticipate the touchdown (i.e. the "flare")? I heard the RPM drop and stall horn at the end. (I'm familiar with steam gauges, not glass cockpit.)

2) Did you use autopilot during any portion of the approach?

[b101aa2]

dang, did you pick the worst weather there to start learning ils? really, not bad for such crappy weather.

[Ben123planes]

I'm flying in a glass cockpit pa-28 on tuesday - so I'm guessing the panel will look like that?

[MotorsbyShooter]

@andrebernier guess not

[girugameshica]

the DA-40 is such an amazing aeroplane, pity the nose wheel steering isn't on par with the rest of it. but awesome vid mate keep it up.