Dhumla Flight Trial 2

C7 & Genesis have finished their initial review of the Dhumla and its flight data. Gear is damaged, but thankfully can be repaired without needing to be replaced. Greater concern is lack of pitch authority at landing speeds making the aircraft tough to settle on landing

bounciness on both landings was due to Tedman holding so far back on the yoke at touchdown to keep the nose up even a little bit. The vertical strake will be modified to hold weights that will shift CoM further towards the rear. Can be removed if needed when carrying cargo loads

winds this day cycle are actually stronger than predicted, so much so that the Dhumla couldn't even taxi safely thanks to the huge amount of surface area making up its vertical stabilizer. Flight crew hoping forecast for the next day cycle is also wrong - but for the better

FOs Tedman and Aldeny are finishing up their briefing to continue flight testing and will soon be heading out to begin preflight. We will be looking first to see how the Dhumla performs on takeoff/landing with the new ballast weights in the tail before moving into further tests

Tedman has called in for taxi/takeoff clearance. Aldeny will be in command this flight. Although both pilots can control the airplane its always important to specify who actually will have control. If they need to switch roles during flight, a verbal exchange is required

a little bit of trouble turning about at the end of Rwy27, nothing a bit more experience with the big plane will solve. No problems reported at taxi - tail weight is well short of being able to lift the nose while on the ground. Aircraft is lined up & has clearance for take off

after a smooth roll and rotation the Dhumla has climbed out with no issues, already approaching 1.5km ASL and Aldeny is beginning to come around to setup for an approach pattern, being mindful on the turns as CoM has been moved upwards almost atop CoL

passing abreast of KSC to the south on downwind leg Aldeny reports the aircraft feels much more naturally stable in pitch - nose still wants to drop (good!) but not nearly as much as before. No unbalance noticed during banks as steep as 30°

beginning the turn onto final, 16km out, Aldeny will first perform a touch & go to see how well the aircraft settles on the runway to ensure they would have room for a full stop landing on the next attempt

aircraft is climbing back out after a successful T&G but there was a scary swerve off the side of the runway as the plane took back to the air that has everyone concerned. Crew and controllers are still discussing options

if needed the rear cargo ramp can be opened, the aircraft will pitch up and some or all of the ballast weights can be jettisoned if we come to the conclusion that aircraft stability is an issue. Engineers are running some quick numbers right now

already descending on downwind, final decision was made to leave everything as-is, Aldeny says he can try to make a better approach and that the problem wasn't evident early in the landing. If it happens again they'll just do another touch and go

so focused on speed, altitude, throttle and being so low for a flat approach both crew lost orientation out over the water and missed the turn to final, now making a slow circle in the opposite direction to reset for final approach

gear down, flaps at full, airspeed dropping to 80-90m/s and just under 10km out has the aircraft lined up for short final. Aldeny reports things are still stable and has some pull left on the yoke to get the nose up for the landing flare

touching down heavy in the first 1/4 of the runway still gave the crew plenty of distance to roll and come to a stop with reverse thrust. Tedman raised flaps right after touchdown to ensure the nose settled properly and no swerving was evident. Aircraft is taxiing back to HAB

our week of operations has concluded, be sure to check out our Weekly Ops Report to get all the information on what has transpired: kerbalspace.agency/?p=8769 (BTW new altitude record is 8.683km ASL)