You probably don't want to drop it in, even from 6 inches above the pavement, so I think that "flying it on" is probably the best method.
True. Although it looks a hell of a lot harder than any other gear up landing I've seen. Generally you see people come in, level off, and fly it on. It looks as though the pilot made no attempt to slow down the rate of descent.
I don't think you should drop it on--but I think it'd be better to reduce how hard you're going to hit. The less energy slamming into the runway bending metal towards the fuel tanks..the better.
jpflys said:
Better to drive it into the runway,than Flare 6" above it ??????
Really it's a balance between rate of descent and ground speed. The harder you smack the runway, the less directional control you are going to have if you didn't touch perfectly.
If you smack the runway too hard you are going to be bending an awful lot of metal in the area of your fuel tanks (low wing). If you make a nice smooth touchdown you might slide a little further but you will bend way less metal on impact and will have way more directional control.
For example. A fall from 6 inches is going to have a vertical impact velocity of about 336 feet per minute. Given the wings are still providing some lift--this number isn't entirely accurate. But you can do a much smoother landing (vertical velocity on impact) by flying it on. If you stall it on and do manage to do it with almost no vertical velocity--you better hope to hell you touched down perfectly straight or else directional control is going to be a challenge. There are too many variables playing against you in the full stall of a heavy airplane with no gear.
So I think I'm really saying the same thing as you Lance. It's better to fly it on with a little more airspeed to ensure directional control while reducing the vertical impact. My comments on the video were not complaining about the lack of stalling it on the runway. My comments were saying it appeared there was no attempt made at reducing the vertical speed which could have been done.