"landing" isn't quite the word I'd use.
It was more like you were skidding across the surface... water, land , mountain, jungle... it made no difference. It did not interact with the terrain at all, it merely detected it. It also had no "physics" modeling or FM, as you could stop in midair.
If you've ever used CM Eye before, it was exactly like that.
I wouldn't use the ECM as a preview of what's to come... although I'm right there with you wishing for seaplanes.