Sideslope Landings

[belloypilot]

About a week ago I had my first experience with attempting a landing on a side sloped gravel strip. As Murphy would have it, there was about an 8 knot direct cross wind blowing from the upslope side. The combination and my lack of experience with that type of maneuver made it challenging. I had to go around the first try but managed to tame it sufficiently on the second.

Any tips or tricks with situations like this?

 

[Snowbirdxx]

kinda hard to give you an advice here not knowing the strips dimentions.

 

[belloypilot]

kinda hard to give you an advice here not knowing the strips dimentions.

Plenty long at about 1600 feet useable. About a 2 degree upslope at the threshold end reducing to about 1 degree upslope at the departure end. About 40 feet of usable width.

The side slope was greatest at the threshold end and became nearly flat at the departure end. The problem with trying to land long on the more level portion was it almost intersects with a road at the departure end and there is rising terrain making a go-around more risky the further down the strip one is when touching down.

None of this would have been a problem without a cross wind blowing from the up slope side. On the second try the wind shifted and was more of a direct headwind which made the landing a non-event.

 

[belloypilot]

Here's what the balked landing looked like:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qrv3thivwqko8pq/Muncho Lake Balked.m4v?dl=0

And here's the one that worked:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/15zhfjrmgkhtcl8/Muncho Lake Landing.m4v?dl=0

 

[Tommy2]

In Alaska we land on beaches with slopes and cross wind fairly regular. The best advise I was given was fly on the beach just like it was flat. If there is a stiff x/w or real steep (20kts+) wheel land faster than normal so you can use less bank and keep the wing tip out of the gravel. With xw's sometimes reverse landing direction can make a diference also. Slope causes tail wheel planes to turn up hill, tri- gear down hill. Don't over think it.

 

[bumper]

This guy is clearly coming in to hot for a downhill landing, (and he didn't have TomD's SGS system either):

 

[Bowser]

For SLOPED beaches my limit is 10 degrees slope. Preferably an upslope crosswind. Technique, pin the upslope wheel to the ground, lower the downslope wheel, slight turn downslope, drop your tailwheel and brake. By doing so, you will avoid ground looping tail going downslope.

 

[David]

Great photo illustrating exactly what you said. Thanks!
David

 

[Tommy2]

I know that beach, landed there with a 25kt breeze from the water. Everybody was landing over the big rock end. Loose gravel is bad wen parking out of the way. A few years ago two 206’s went into sink holes over there and were messed up bad.

 

[DogLip]

Bumper,

In helicopter parlance, we would call that bird brain landing "Settling with Power".

 

[Bowser]

Practice makes perfect. Amazing what a Husky can do when you know what you’re doing.