[patton]

This morning on FNC, they ran a clip of a wheels up landing of a Cherokee.

The pilot did a great job, circled to burn fuel, cut the engine before flare, and dlid to a stop right on the centerline.

Honest question - any way you add it up, his repair bill is going to be $50k, starting with a prop and engine.

So, why not do the belling landing on the grass NEXT to the runway?

(Note - I have never landed without the gear fixed and welded.)

[Conspiracy Guy]

With most aircraft, the grass is more likely to result in a noseover than a hard surface. My flight experience includes 200 hours in a two place experimental amphib I built from a kit. When I sold it after 4 years the new owner, a higher time pilot than me, after a lot of check ride time with me and an instructor friend of mine asked me, “what is the most important thing to remember?” “I said always raise the gear on climb out no matter where you plan to land. “He asked why is that? “ I said, “A wheels up landing on concrete is better than a wheel down landing on water”. He looked at me funny.

After about six months of flying the amphib, be destroyed it in a wheels down water landing. He and his passenger were uninjured and swam to shore. The plane’s heaviest damage came during the recovery of the upside down plane by some nut with a barge and a crane who lifted the plane full of water straight up. Pile of parts.

[MindBender26]

>>>>So, why not do the belly landing on the grass NEXT to the runway?

On grass, you can “catch” something and flip. Bad Form. On concrete, you slide, and slide, and slide.

[diogenes ghost]

"So why not land on the grass..."

An airplane will slide nicely on concrete, but may hit a soft, high, or low spot that causes him to slide sideways, hence increased odds of hooking a wingtip & cartwheeling.

If the engine is off prior to landing gear-up, the starter can be used to "bump" the prop to a position where it won't strike the ground on landing. Therefore no damage to engine or prop.