Center Line

[pudestcon]

....and take your wallet out of your left or right back pocket....it only makes u sit "not quite straight"......

My wallet is so thin it doesn't make a difference:wink:

Pud

 

 

[Ultralights]

i think too many students, and instructors place too much emphisis on keeping on centre line early on in the circuit training. the key ingredient is to look far down the runway, right past the end, as far as you can through the flare and touchdown, doing this will make keeping on centreline far easier, as well as result in far better landings...

 

 

[turboplanner]

How do you feel about taking off on the runway heading and maintaining that heading UL?

 

 

[dazza 38]

Im surprised how many people are flying out of airfields with a centre line.The last time I landed on runway with a centre line, and bitumen would have been years ago.Probably Archerfield.I like grass.This has been a good thread, because I have not given this subject much thought.

 

PS- when landing alot on grass, you will land in centre of the runway anyway.You dont need a painted centre line. As the other guys have mentioned.. As you start rounding out, look towards the end and centre of the runway ,thats your aim point to head for.That will keep you tracking straight and centre.

 

 

[Ultralights]

How do you feel about taking off on the runway heading and maintaining that heading UL?

maintaining heading after take off doesn't mean you wont drift off the runway.actually make it more difficult, as keeping a runway heading after take off will mean you are not correcting for slipstream and torque effects. sure, you will be on the same heading, but rapidly drifting away from centreline. not a good thing in area with parallel runways. the only way to ensure you are TRACKING the runway heading is to maintain it visually until it becomes second nature and you automatically correct,

 

 

[turboplanner]

Sorry UL, caught myself nicely. I should have said TRACK, not heading.

 

 

[rdarby]

I don't think a focus on landing on teh centre early on is a problem. In fact it forces you to learn how to control the airplane near the ground, else you tend to accept an okay landing without actually ever learning precise control. When I first did my solo XC I went to a narrow runway with a centreline, and I had to go around three times before I could get it down, as it was only with a centreline that I was aware of how I was drifting left and right. It makes it precise early on, instead of just on the runway.

 

 

[facthunter]

It's true that some pilots will land off centre consistently in one direction or side. If they are doing everything else right, just ask them to land on the RHS/LHS of centre as appropriate and then say" THAT one was on centre. Do that everytime."

 

Everone is saying look well ahead etc. Is that really the answer?. Various pilots determine flare height in different ways, and if someone is getting it right leave them alone. The flare and hold off is normally where the problem is, not the centreline.

 

Practice landing on the right or left and when that is executed well, landing on the centreline will be easily accomplished. Just a matter of making the effort, and attaching the right degree of importance to it. Nev

 

 

[T500]

try landing on the centre white Line on a grass strip and see where that gets you

 

 

[rdarby]

I learned on a grass strip, and what it taught me was that I wasn't straight at all! My solo cross country was to a narrow runway with a line on it and I had to go around three times before I could line it up! That line is at least something to measure yourself against. Ryan

 

 

[Guest davidh10]

It's funny how it is all relative to your experience. we have people tell us how narrow our main runway is (15 paved centre section), and some people say they won't come here because it is too narrow. The clear centre area of our clay cross strip used to be 6m wide when I was learning and we didn't have trouble with that.

 

I guess the message is related to what rdarby said. You'll get used to it with experience and be able to place the aircraft where you want it. It's just practise.