On September 6, 1997, at 1530 central daylight time, a Cessna 177B, N34829, flown by an instructor checking out a private pilot in the type of airplane, sustained substantial damage during a hard landing. Neither pilot reported any injuries. The instructor pilot said that the airplane porpoised on landing and came down hard on the nose landing gear. The instructional 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The local flight departed at 1400. The instructor pilot said that the pilot getting checked out was operating the controls of the airplane during the approach. He said that during the flare, the airplane ballooned and he took the controls, but "failed to gain control." He said the airplane "stalled," bounced, and the nosewheel collapsed. Neither pilot indicated any mechanical malfunction prior to the accident. The accident flight was the initial flight in this type of airplane for both the pilot getting checked out and the instructor pilot.