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A Legacy builder posted the following comment on another newsgroup:
...if you fly a Lancair (Legacy) there is no such thing
as a
proficient no flaps landing. It's simply risky. Certainly it can be
done
in an emergency.
I totally disagree. In fact, since the Legacy has a dozen or so
single points of failure in the flap system, and no backup system, I wouldn't
fly the airplane if the statement were true.
It had been months since I last practiced a no flap landing in my
Legacy, so on my last flight, I sought out a 6,000' runway at sea level
to practice a couple no flap landings.
I fly final approach based on angle of attack. For this
practice, I used "approach" AOA, which is much higher than 1.3 times stall
with flaps up. Stabilized on final at my desired AOA, I noticed 108
knots on the airspeed indicator. (Solo pilot, 40 gallons of fuel.) I
flared at the normal height and held the normal sight picture. Touchdown
was actually better than average (I'm still trying to figure out how to
consistently (or even occasionally!) grease it on). The nose was not
any higher than normal and I never lost sight of the end of the
runway.
I did two of them, both touch and goes, with plenty of runway to
spare. In hindsight, I should have done a full stop landing in
order to measure how much runway I actually used. But on the other hand,
the temperature was over 100 deg F that day, so it was hardly standard
conditions.
Anybody else routinely practice no flap landings in a Legacy? Any
tips or techniques? I hate to see what I believe are false "scare stories"
circulated about our airplanes on the internet.
Dennis
Legacy, 350 hours
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