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Chapter 11 — Approaches and Landings
Bouncing During Touchdown
When the powered parachute contacts the ground
with a sharp impact as the result of an excessive sink
rate, the cart tends to bounce back into the air.
The corrective action for a bounce when it is very
slight is to make a follow-up landing by applying sufficient
power to cushion the subsequent touchdown
and by adding flare as needed.
When a bounce is severe, the safest procedure is to
EXECUTE A GO-AROUND IMMEDIATELY. No
attempt to salvage the landing should be made. Apply full power and check the wing is LOC (lines free,
cells open, wing centered) since a hard landing can
collapse a ram-air wing. It would be extremely foolish
to attempt a landing from a bad bounce since the
skill set that would allow a student to make a severe
bounce would not be up to the task of salvaging a bad
landing.
Hard Landing
When the powered parachute contacts the ground during
landings, its vertical speed is instantly reduced to
zero. Unless provisions are made to slow this vertical
speed and cushion the impact of touchdown, the force
of contact with the ground may be so great it could
cause structural damage to the powered parachute.
Reductions in rapid descent rates are made through
throttle increases. Closer to the ground, additional
flare is applied before touchdown.
The purpose of pneumatic tires, shock absorbing landing
gears, and other devices is to cushion the impact
and to increase the time in which the powered parachute’s
vertical descent is stopped. Within a fraction
of a second, the powered parachute must be slowed
from a high rate of vertical descent to zero, without
damage.
During this time, the landing gear together with
some aid from the lift of the ram-air wing must supply
whatever force is needed to counteract the force of the powered parachute’s inertia and weight. The
lift decreases rapidly as the powered parachute’s forward
speed is decreased, and the force on the landing
gear increases by the impact of touchdown. When the
descent stops, the lift will be zero, leaving the landing
gear alone to carry both the powered parachute’s
weight and inertia force. Any time you have a hard
landing, inspect your landing gear, tires, and structure
to make sure there is no structural damage.
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