DC-3 Short field landing

This is the proper way to land a DC-3 on a short strip. Nose down to kill all lift and get maximum pressure on the landing gear, apply full brakes, let the tail down gently when the speed drops and you end up with a ground roll of 300 meters. This day there was a five knot crosswind from the left so the wind didn't help much to lower the landing speed.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• dc-3 landing
• short field landing
• dc-3
• dc-3 short field landing
• DC-3 Sweden
• dc-3 shortfield landing

[JesperA86]

Well, is that really so much shorter then a regular 3 point landing? The landing speed seems alot higher then on a 3 pointer, but hell, i bet he knows what he is doing!

[Pjuskos]

@JesperA86

The thing is that you can brake much harder when you have no AoA. You kill all lift and put all the weight on the main wheels. Three pointers are not recommended with a DC-3 and besides that it is more diffucult to judge exactlly when the wheels will hit the ground

[BlazingPuppies]

Wow! The Propeller shure gets close to the ground in 0:22!

[Pjuskos]

There's at least two inches of space :)

This guy has been running an airline in Congo for many years and is airmanship and knowledge about DC-3 is simply amazing.

[manutdsupp]

how come the tail can drop so gently?!

[jeepjake16]

I work around DC-3's in the Alaskan bush. They have come in on our strip with only 1000ft useable(there insurance say they need 3000ft). Its no joke at all (there was another DC-3 flying for us that said its too dangerous to land at our strip). Pilots uses some crazy/scary off airport techniques. He will come in with a long, flat, and low and I mean dragging landing gear though the trees and then throttles back with no flaps letting it drop below trees and sets it down in a 3 point landing.

[keithacoustic1]

I don’t know if they recommend 3P landings in the DC3 or not but I think I would have done one for a short field. Power off to a light flare over the threshold, then start retracting flaps within GE about 1 foot off the ground to increase AOA, kill all lift and maximize braking with full back pressure. Just me though haha, now I want to go fly a tailwheel lol!

[RutinaRottis]

bueno

[deweypug]

Just me thinking out loud, but isn't there more drag with a three point landing, (three wheels, plus the nose high attitude?

[smokingws6]

Also had the flaps retracting after touch down to lose lift/better braking. Great landing.

[7jsm7]

I have an RC plane that is a scale model of a DC-3. It's apparently very accurate because the thing scares the hell out of me when it lands, because of the tendency to come in nose down, I've scraped the props up already after just 7 flights.

[kingnorlen]

I've been in that one when i was a kid!! I belive it was back in 1995@Säve airport, Gothenburg, Sweden! i still have a photo of it taken by my dad (as he worked there at the time) somewhere at my parents house! :)