Quote:
Originally Posted by panzerlite
I can't imagine landing a aircraft of that size on only a skid. It's glide rate had to be horrendous. With the fuselage extending so far back of the wing it would be impossible to nose up at touchdown... and how do you stop this thing!
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This aircraft is designed to take off on its double wheel assembly attached to the skid. On take off it is attached. It is then dropped ( sort of like the German Me-163 rocket plane ). The side pogo struts are there to make sure the engines do not contact the ground. Once airborne, the main skid, pogos outrigger struts and the rear tiny landing gear are retracted. For landing, everything comes down and the plane assumes an angle appropriate to ground contact on the landing gear skid and the tail wheels ( there is no stall landing with this airplane ). It lands on a conventional concrete runway and basically makes a metal to concrete contact where the metal skid sparks up and the drag generated stops the plane on the runway. It is then lifted on ground wheels and then towed back.
Since this was only an experimental proof of concept plane, it did not fly often enough to need a fully functioning wheeled landing gear.
The video on you tube shows it taking off flying and landing nicely.
Isaac