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RV-12 Pattern Speeds

RV12Pilot

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Bought a RV-12 about a month ago. Love the plane. It’s taking a bit to get used to. Would appreciate your experience with speeds in the pattern. TIA Charlie
 
The airlines teach to add half the wind and all the gust to your approach speed. So if you have 7 knots gusting to 12 add 3.5 knots (half the wind) and 5 knots (all the gust). So with the suggested normal approach speed of 57 knots from the POH that would result in 65.5 knots on final. From my experience it works regardless of the wind direction (head on or crosswind, but don’t exceed the max x-wind limit in the POH - unless you like being a test pilot.😁
 
I don't worry about the speed on downwind. When I get abeam the numbers, I pull the power to idle, hold the nose up and it will quickly slow down to 82 kts. I then put out one notch of flaps and trim for 65 kts. I hold 65 as I turn base and then when I turn final, unless I am low, I will add the second notch of flaps and slow to 60. As I go over the numbers I am slowing further and begin my flare.

If the wind is calm and I am alone and if I am high, I will slow to 50 kts on final. One established at 50 kts, the airplane will come down. The caveat to this is you will have a high descent rate and will either have to lower the nose about 50 feet about the ground to gain some more speed to allow you to flare, or you will have to add a slight amount of power to slow the descent rate. I have not landed on any really short runways, but this technique works well for short field landings.

This is not the only way to land an RV12, but it has worked very well for me.

If you have two heavy people in the RV-12, a mostly full tank, and strong gusty winds, you would not want to get as slow as 60 kts. You wold wnat to be at 65 to 70 on an approach lke this.
 
As with any airplane, it is imperative to fly a stabilized approach. That means consistently on-speed, on-glide path, and on-heading – every time and every flight. I use POH recommended 55 kts unless winds warrant an increase in speed. I have an airspeed bug set at 55 kts for a visual speed reference.

I come into the pattern at cruise speed and begin slowing early on downwind leg. Abeam the numbers, power is pulled to idle and the nose of the aircraft is held in level flight using up trim to bias back pressure on the stick. At about 70 kts I pull both notches of flap in one smooth slow motion so that pitch is not affected. I keep adding up trim as speed slows until 55 kts is achieved hands-off. This all happens in succession and is completed approximately halfway from abeam numbers to the turn onto base leg. If the airplane is not completely hands-off at 55 kts prior to turning base leg I consider the approach not stabilized.

The turns onto base and final are accomplished with side pressure on the stick and a touch of rudder input to keep the ball centered. Very little back pressure on the stick is needed in the turns if the airplane is trimmed correctly. If power is needed to change glide path I add down trim to compensate for the increased pitching moment. This again allows hands-off consistent speed so the pilot does not have to hold pressure to the stick which often results in varying speed.

You can play airplane pilot and drop flaps in two separate steps, but to be honest, the flaps on the 12 don’t affect pitch very much. The flaps increase lift, reduce stall speed, and to a lesser degree, increase drag.
 
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Jim, that's a very interesting approach (no pun intended) and I'll have to try it the next time I'm out and see what happens. There's always the option of a go-around if it doesn't work out for me.

I've been landing pretty much the way I was taught in a Cherokee and a 172 (and as outlined in the RV-12 FTS) with the speeds adjusted for the plane. 80 knots by the time I'm abeam the numbers. Throttle to idle, one notch of flaps, trim for 70. Turn base, reduce speed to 65, turn final and drop the second notch of flaps and hold 60 depending on weight and winds until I cross the fence. Over the threshold I'm at 55 kt, but with me in the plane it just seems to glide like a Steinway at that speed.
 
Over the threshold I'm at 55 kt, but with me in the plane it just seems to glide like a Steinway at that speed.

55 kts works quite well for me with two onboard and a good amount of fuel. Still, plenty of energy to bleed off in the flair. You might try holding a little bit of power to arrest sink rate.

Steinway - Good one... Reminds me of Laurel and Hardy moving a piano. I had a good laugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgqXVeIPSzA
 
IMO it’s important to establish 55 kits on final with full flaps extended. Going slower just reduces the margin of safety. Higher is okay if you have the runway but you’re going to put stress on the gear and tires if you make this a habit. Pull throttle on downwind, hold altitude until you slow flap speed, extend flaps and control altitude with the throttle while working your way down to 55 kits.
 
Something so far not mentioned... where your idle speed rpms is set, all warmed up, has a big effect on your air speed for approach to land, with the throttle pulled back to idle. Make sure it's set at 1650 rpm or slightly under, throttle off, fully warmed up, on the 912 ULS model, I believe, per the manual.

That's correct. I believe my windmilling engine idle speed at 55 kts is ~2200 RPM. On the ground, I need to advance the throttle to remain above the yellow RPM arc.
 
Concur with putting in full flaps abeam the numbers. Two step procedure just seems bothersome and ineffectual. Abeam the numbers, or landing point, I go to idle, trim to 60, full flaps. Solo, I slow to 55 on final. If the winds are calm, I need no additional power on base or final.
 
My 2 cents....

In my opinion, what makes a good pilot is one that can evaluate a situation and make adjustments based on what is happening.... and not have the change(s) cause them any issues.

Because of a variety of different circumstances (very busy pattern, tower controlled airport with controllers dictating pattern size, etc.), it is not always possible to fly a patter in a specific way (I.E., full flaps abeam the threshold).

For that reason, I don't think any pilot should specifically use other pilots examples as something to copy.

A stabilized approach at a proper IAS is the key, but that can be done in many different ways.
If in a very busy pattern where I am being forced to fly an airliner sized pattern, I will stay at 90 kts (helps stay even spacing with most typical traffic) until midway on base (some times until even turning final if forced into flying a very large pattern)and then induce flaps and adjust speeds as needed during the rest of the approach to have about 60 kts IAS before hitting the 1 mile final point. Then bleed speed off on short final so that I am beginning the round-out to the flair at about 50kt IAS.
The RV-12 doesn't require any super pilot skills to execute short lands. Just some practice while slowly working down to the proper speeds that should be used.
 
One observation I have made is that speed control is paramount because the 12 does not like to slow down. If you’re high resist the urge to dive for the runway. S-turns and go arounds are better options.
 
As with any airplane, it is imperative to fly a stabilized approach. That means consistently on-speed, on-glide path, and on-heading – every time and every flight.

It's been years since I've aligned my blind biplane on runway heading prior to about two feet off the ground. :)
 
80-70-60

I am going to try some of the other techniques as written above.

On any runway of 3000' or more I keep it simple, 80 on the downwind, 70 on the base and 60 on final. For me this is easy to remember and I never have to worry about flap speed once on the downwind.

That written I like some of the advice above.
 
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