Air Heritage C-123K Rough/Exciting Landing at Geneseo 6/3/23

[Ken]

Never flown a C-123, but as a career C-130 guy, I can imagine how this unfolded. I assume that the left-seater was flying and also assume that, upon touchdown, procedure dictates that the left-seater transfers the yoke to the right-seater in order to free up his left hand for the nosewheel tiller.

Doing so, the situation demands that the right-seater, who was not flying (feeling the control pressures, assessing the wind, etc), must immediately start making those inputs where the other pilot left off. It can be a tough transition. While it usually isn't an issue, sometimes it is.

The Herk acts top-heavy and will "lean" a lot, which is hard for some to grasp; the C-123 looks as if it has similar tendencies. All wheels can be on the ground, yet you're still flying the upwind wing down and into the wind, even varying bank angle during rollout - unlike a T-6, for example, where individual tire contact and bank angle are essentially hard-connected. The distinction is that, although both C-130 and T-6 pilots finish with full aileron into the wind, the C-130 pilot can actually modulate the bank of the airplane within the limits of the gear struts and, until the ailerons are no longer effective. A side issue is that rolling a C-130 yoke full-travel takes it to approximately 135 degrees, and can be tough on the wrist; some pilots feel as if they have "full travel" but still have a lot of throw remaining; not sure about the C-123.

All that said, I stop/started the youtube video in 1-second increments and watched both bank angle and aileron deflection throughout the landing; kinda surprising given the reported winds. Larry made a great suggestion about the possibility of asymmetric prop reverse as well, but the ailerons appear to tell the story.

Thankfully there was no apparent injury or damage. Anyone who flys can have an oops moment at any time, whether caused by the pilot or an issue with the airplane. Rather than criticize anyone, I hope this video ends up being a valuable crosswind training tool.

Respectfully,
Ken

[Larry Kraus]

Ken makes a good point on the flight controls and the c/p handling the yoke on landing rollout. One item that is unique to Fairchild airplanes is the automatic locking of the rudder and elevator during and after reversing. I knew that the Boxcar had this feature, but had to check to see if it was also used in the C-123. This feature was to prevent the yoke from beating the pilot to death from turbulence over the elevators during reversing. It could be unhelpful in some situations, however.

The only airplane that I flew regularly that had reverse was the DC-7 and we reversed on most landing both to shorten the landing roll and to keep the system exercised. The co-pilot definitely had to handle the yoke during reverse to keep it from flailing around from turbulence over the elevators. I once had to shut down #3 engine (right inboard) for some reason. On landing I opted to reverse the other 3 engines. Things got pretty exciting for a few moments when #4 (right outboard) went to feather instead of reverse. It’s amazing how quickly the airplane can head for the ditch with full reverse on one side only. Needless to say, I came out of reverse immediately.

The point of this being that the pilot and c/p in the C-123 would have not have the rudder available during their Mr.Toad’s Wild Ride. There is a T handle outboard of the pilot’s seat to disconnect the control lock, but that takes a free hand and a few seconds of time when you already have your hands full.

IMG_8171 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_8172 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_8173 by tanker622001, on Flickr

IMG_8174 by tanker622001, on Flickr

[Ken]

Thanks for this insight Larry - I had no idea about the Fairchild locking features - odd, but I guess the engineers felt they were necessary. Yes, the elevators could dance in reverse on a Herk, but we just manhandled the yoke, of course it was hydraulically boosted. Interesting!

Ken

[DH82EH]

Thanks for this insight Larry - I had no idea about the Fairchild locking features - odd, but I guess the engineers felt they were necessary. Yes, the elevators could dance in reverse on a Herk, but we just manhandled the yoke, of course it was hydraulically boosted. Interesting!

Ken

Ken, Larry, Really appreciate the sharing of first hand expertise and experience.
I learn much from you both.

Thanks

[lucky52]

Do they run the jets on that one?

[Larry Kraus]

I ran across another video of the landing on YouTube. Pretty much the same, but it starts a little earlier and isn’t taken by a vertical smart

https://youtu.be/S79CMXdDJGQ

Don’t know if the run the jets. I would doubt it as they are real gas hogs. Incidentally, besides the rudder and elevator automatically locking when reversing, the jet doors close when reversing starts in the K model C-123.

I see that Archer has already posted this video. Doh!

[mustangdriver]

We took the jets out of it in the 90’s. It’s just the pods out there.

[lucky52]

Thanks Chris. That's interesting.