Suitable safety clothing in the Harvardc

The original question on facebook was the consideration of head clearances for the pilot should the Harvard become inverted on the ground due to a take off or landing mishap... After 47 amazing comments the below conclusion was made...

I think the original question has been answered reference the head clearance for the pilot should the aircraft become inverted on the ground with a line drawn from the pylon to the front cowl... If you have a good fist distance between your head and the top of the canopy as you prepare your self for the flight you should be below the line... The if you become inverted on a hard surface you should be in the safety cell however becoming inverted on softer ground the pylon can dig in and go sub surface putting the pilots head in the danger zone and above the line... In all instances the common consensus definitely points to good solid head protection and safety clothing when flying the Harvard... Due to the risk factors discussed which are less common in light modern aircraft... Even a burst tyre on landing may cause an inverted Harvard... Personally for me I'll definitely wear a nomex suit, gloves suitable foot wear and look at options for helmets in the future...

Currency

IV not really blogged for a while even though IV flown a number of hours since the last scribble... Working backwards I completed about 4 hours flying over the week end in the T6 harvard... I concentrated initially on the landings and circuit work to get back in to the flow following a 3 month lay off....how did it go..? Fan bloody tastic! 

As ever I started the day with Glen sitting in the back.. I had ran through the drills a thousand times during my break and I felt quite comfortable when I climbed back in the cockpit... I am big on visualisation and I always take time out to visualise the walk round, checks and start procedure followed by take off and landing... I try to imagine everything from the noise to the smell of the machine and even the pop and crackle as it starts... I do this as a throw back to my competition days as a skydiver where you had to remember some very complx moves while falling through the air... It works for me...

I did 2 circuits with Glen and I was off on my own... I went on to do another 10 or so circuits tightening them up every lap... I started going around on a long final and finished with a spitfire curved approach getting the wings level just before the touch down...there was only a slight cross wind so not a lot of work to be done in that department.. I was really trying to nail the low tail wheel landings which worked well... Sometimes leading to a 3 pointer but on the whole very pleased with the results... I finally feel that the landings are quite easy now... Not being complacent however it's a learned skill and it's taken me a bloody long time to get to this stage! I did over 70 landings in June july and August 2014..

It's quite intuitive now to know when the main wheels touch first to ease the stick forward just enough to keep the tail inches from the ground and let the inertia do its work and lower or fly the tail down gently... This did not come to me naturally... It took many many landings and circuits to get this feel... 3 pointing the harvard has also become second nature now just like the AUSTER... I never ever though I would say that but it's all about the flare and holding the right attitude at the right time .... Once you brain has the picture it's just a case or replicating it....and at the right time and attitude the aircraft settles nicely on to 3 points...sometimes you get a skip or a bounce but the 2.5 tonnes soon settles back down with out the need for a go around... A big bounce or ballon is obviously a different story

Obvious learning points were to come in on a stable approach... Nice approach and inevitably your three quarters there to a nice landing....

I am so aware now of the cross wind effects and I have those dialled in early... On final if there is any weather cock I see how much rudder and aileron is needed to meet he centre line and that's exactly what I use in the flare and hold that stick in to wind progressively adding more as the airspeed decays keeping the beast straight with rudder.... All the way till she STOPS!

Cross wind landings have become second nature now at duxford with the usual southerly wind... If I don't have the southerly wind i feel cheated and I feel like something's wrong... ! IV actually trained in left wing down and right rudder... We definitely need some more north winds to recalibrate me....