<<If you've not flown on a 727, they flare up quite a bit just before the gear touches because the engines are so heavy and all in the rear.>>
That landing doesn't reflect normal practice, I don't think. The first big 727 accident at Salt Lake City (UAL) when the airplane was just going into service was caused by the Captain using a normal landing technique. As he raised the nose higher, a high sink rate developed, perhaps due in part to blanking the t-tail, and the main gear hit so hard that the gear legs were rammed up through the fuel tanks resulting in an immediate fire. I don't recall how many fatalities ensued but after analyzing what happened a revised landing technique was developed. Since the main gear is behind the center of lift, just before touchdown the nose is lowered a bit, thus reducing the descent rate of the wheels for a moment and making for a smooth touchdown. Next time you have a chance to watch a B727 (soon to be extinct due to noise regs) land, observe the decrease in angle of attack in the last few feet of altitude. The pix and details of this accident or still on the net. RLE
