“………….Left to its own devices a B-29’s nosewheel will remain on the ground, resulting in the mains levitating first, especially if 25º flaps is used instead of the normal 15º. ……….”
“………….The aircraft has more of a tendency to land nosewheel first with full flaps and in fact, the first landing at Harlingen occurred this way. We used to do our short field landings this way with the C-97s, touching down precisely where we desired, although the USAF certainly viewed it with a jaundiced eye. With 25O of flaps as normally used in a crosswind it’s fairly easy to strike the tailskid bumper. Any scrape marks on this heavy iron forging requires a round of beer for the crew! Threshold speed varies with weight but a good average is 120 MPH. Some like to use two hands for landing, relying on the engineer to promptly set the manifold pressure called for by the pilot. Others prefer controlling the throttles themselves. The really important thing is to make the airplane assume the attitude the pilot wants for landing, regardless of the control forces required. A moderate amount of elevator trim applied prior to the roundout is helpful. ……….”
The above quotes are extracted from a report about flying B-29 FIFI and also makes the above reference to landing C-97s (military equivalent of the Stratocruiser) nose wheel first.
See: http://www.warmkessel.com/jr/flying/td/jd/56a.jsp
Hope this helps
Tim
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