Howdy guys - my only fixed wing experience to date is on nose wheel aeries.
Can you guys in the know point out the pros and cons of each please?
Nose vs Tail Wheel
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DarkHelmet
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Hi Have a look at www.taildraggers.com
Here is an extract from the site
What's Different About Taildraggers?
What makes a taildragger different from an airplane with tricycle gear? There really is only one simple difference. The center of gravity is forward of the main gear on the tricycle gear airplane and behind the main gear of the taildragger. This one little difference accounts for some pretty significant differences in the way the airplanes behave while on the ground and during takeoff and landing.
Taxiing
The first difference you would notice comes during taxiing. Since the center of gravity is behind the taildraggers main landing gear, the airplane does not want to go straight. The tail wants to come around and go in front of you because the center of gravity is pushing from behind. When you push something, its tricky to keep it going straight. Since the tricycle gear airplanes center of gravity is forward of the main landing gear, it acts to pull the airplane behind it. When you pull something, it comes along nice and straight behind you.
A good analogy can be made with one of those carry-on pieces of luggage everyone seems to have these days with two wheels on it and a pull out handle. If you pull it behind you it rolls straight along. This is the principle of the tricycle gear airplane at work. If you try to push it out in front of you, the principles of the taildragger are at hand and its a different animal. You really have to pay attention and be quick to keep it out there in front of you. It constantly wants to go to either side and swing around behind you. The further off-center you let it get, the more difficult it is to get it straight again. If you let it get too far off center its too late. Its sideways and you cannot get it back in front of you. If you have a piece of luggage like this, give it a try. You will get an excellent feel of the forces affecting the ground handling of a taildragger.
This is really the exact same physics at work as trying to balance a baseball bat standing straight up on the palm of your hand, with the grip end up in the air. Its not quite that quick in the airplane because most taildraggers have a much wider wheelbase to length ratio than a baseball bat. The taildraggers center of gravity is much closer to its main gear than the baseball bats is to its tip, but this analogy really brings the point home. As long as you pay attention you can keep that bat balanced up there, but let your attention wonder just for a moment and the bat might start to fall. More than likely it will get too far over to save. You will soon run out of arm movement necessary to get back under the balance point, which would be like running out of brake power, rudder, and runway in the taildragger.
Takeoff
The next difference you will notice comes during takeoff. With a tricycle gear airplane, you accelerate down the runway, the airplane pretty much rolling straight on its own, until you reach a desired speed, at which time you simply pull back on the wheel and lift off. Takeoffs in a taildragger require a lot more work. Predominantly, right rudder will be required to keep the airplane rolling straight down the runway, but constant rudder corrections are necessary to keep it rolling absolutely straight. With the tailwheel on the ground, most taildraggers are rolling down the runway right at the stall angle of attack. This is by design for landing purposes. The normal takeoff procedure is to raise the tail just a little to the proper angle of attack for the airplane to fly itself off the ground. When the tail comes up, you lose the traction of the tailwheel, so a little more right rudder is required to keep it going straight. Also, there is a law of physics that says when the plane of a gyro is tilted, it reacts with an opposite force 90 degrees in the direction of rotation. Well, it turns out that the propeller is a pretty good gyro. When the tail comes up, you are tilting the plane of the propeller. The force you are applying is the equivalent of pushing at the top of the propeller arc from behind. Since the propeller is rotating clockwise when viewed from behind, the gyroscopic reaction comes as if it were pushing on the airplanes right side of the propeller arc. This tends to turn the airplane to its left while the tail is actually moving up. So, while the tail is moving up, an extra dose of right rudder is required. A good taildragger pilot leads with a little extra right rudder an instant before the tail starts up to keep the nose aligned perfectly straight, rather than waiting for it to start left and then apply the correction. Also know that the more horsepower the engine has, the stronger this gyroscopic reaction is, as well as torque, so more right rudder will be required. In some really powerful airplanes, you would not have enough rudder to counteract these forces, so power is carefully applied and increased thought the takeoff roll so you don't run out of rudder. Once you get the tail up and stopped at the desired pitch attitude, youre in pretty good shape. The airplane is picking up significant speed now, so the rudder is becoming very effective. The P-factor is also reduced with your now lower angle of attack. You still have to pay full attention straight ahead and use the rudders to keep the airplane going straight, especially in a crosswind. Soon, the airplane lifts itself gracefully off the ground. Many people get the tail too high on the takeoff roll and then pull back on the yoke to lift off. Its better to learn the right attitude for your airplane so it flies itself off under normal conditions. This allows you to look straight down the runway and ignore the airspeed indicator so you can keep the airplane straight.
Landing
The final difference you will notice comes during landing. This is probably where the difference seems most significant. First, there are the stability issues discussed above that begin during taxi. These issues have not gone away! When the airplane touches down, it must be going perfectly straight down the runway and its longitudinal axis perfectly aligned with the runway. In other words, no drift or crab (which really are the same thing). Second, at the moment of touchdown, since the center of gravity is behind the main landing gear, its downward inertia pulls the tail down, thus increasing the angle of attack so the airplane becomes airborne again, or seems to bounce. There are two ways to deal with this. The first is to make sure the tailwheel touches at the same time, or a few inches before the main wheels. This is loosely called a full-stall or three-point landing (there is actually a difference between the full-stall and three-point landing which is discussed in more detail on the landing page). The second is to make a wheel landing, which is where you make your touchdown on the main wheels as smoothly as possible so the center of gravity has little downward inertia. You also anticipate the moment the main wheels touch and push forward a little on the yoke/stick to stick it on. You can really push the nose over and actually obtain a zero or slightly negative angle of attack with the wings so youre really stuck down to the ground. Both these landing techniques are discussed in much more detail on the landing page.
The merits of wheel landings verses full-stall/three-point landings in a crosswind are discussed in our great debate. Please visit that page and add your comments.
Here is an extract from the site
What's Different About Taildraggers?
What makes a taildragger different from an airplane with tricycle gear? There really is only one simple difference. The center of gravity is forward of the main gear on the tricycle gear airplane and behind the main gear of the taildragger. This one little difference accounts for some pretty significant differences in the way the airplanes behave while on the ground and during takeoff and landing.
Taxiing
The first difference you would notice comes during taxiing. Since the center of gravity is behind the taildraggers main landing gear, the airplane does not want to go straight. The tail wants to come around and go in front of you because the center of gravity is pushing from behind. When you push something, its tricky to keep it going straight. Since the tricycle gear airplanes center of gravity is forward of the main landing gear, it acts to pull the airplane behind it. When you pull something, it comes along nice and straight behind you.
A good analogy can be made with one of those carry-on pieces of luggage everyone seems to have these days with two wheels on it and a pull out handle. If you pull it behind you it rolls straight along. This is the principle of the tricycle gear airplane at work. If you try to push it out in front of you, the principles of the taildragger are at hand and its a different animal. You really have to pay attention and be quick to keep it out there in front of you. It constantly wants to go to either side and swing around behind you. The further off-center you let it get, the more difficult it is to get it straight again. If you let it get too far off center its too late. Its sideways and you cannot get it back in front of you. If you have a piece of luggage like this, give it a try. You will get an excellent feel of the forces affecting the ground handling of a taildragger.
This is really the exact same physics at work as trying to balance a baseball bat standing straight up on the palm of your hand, with the grip end up in the air. Its not quite that quick in the airplane because most taildraggers have a much wider wheelbase to length ratio than a baseball bat. The taildraggers center of gravity is much closer to its main gear than the baseball bats is to its tip, but this analogy really brings the point home. As long as you pay attention you can keep that bat balanced up there, but let your attention wonder just for a moment and the bat might start to fall. More than likely it will get too far over to save. You will soon run out of arm movement necessary to get back under the balance point, which would be like running out of brake power, rudder, and runway in the taildragger.
Takeoff
The next difference you will notice comes during takeoff. With a tricycle gear airplane, you accelerate down the runway, the airplane pretty much rolling straight on its own, until you reach a desired speed, at which time you simply pull back on the wheel and lift off. Takeoffs in a taildragger require a lot more work. Predominantly, right rudder will be required to keep the airplane rolling straight down the runway, but constant rudder corrections are necessary to keep it rolling absolutely straight. With the tailwheel on the ground, most taildraggers are rolling down the runway right at the stall angle of attack. This is by design for landing purposes. The normal takeoff procedure is to raise the tail just a little to the proper angle of attack for the airplane to fly itself off the ground. When the tail comes up, you lose the traction of the tailwheel, so a little more right rudder is required to keep it going straight. Also, there is a law of physics that says when the plane of a gyro is tilted, it reacts with an opposite force 90 degrees in the direction of rotation. Well, it turns out that the propeller is a pretty good gyro. When the tail comes up, you are tilting the plane of the propeller. The force you are applying is the equivalent of pushing at the top of the propeller arc from behind. Since the propeller is rotating clockwise when viewed from behind, the gyroscopic reaction comes as if it were pushing on the airplanes right side of the propeller arc. This tends to turn the airplane to its left while the tail is actually moving up. So, while the tail is moving up, an extra dose of right rudder is required. A good taildragger pilot leads with a little extra right rudder an instant before the tail starts up to keep the nose aligned perfectly straight, rather than waiting for it to start left and then apply the correction. Also know that the more horsepower the engine has, the stronger this gyroscopic reaction is, as well as torque, so more right rudder will be required. In some really powerful airplanes, you would not have enough rudder to counteract these forces, so power is carefully applied and increased thought the takeoff roll so you don't run out of rudder. Once you get the tail up and stopped at the desired pitch attitude, youre in pretty good shape. The airplane is picking up significant speed now, so the rudder is becoming very effective. The P-factor is also reduced with your now lower angle of attack. You still have to pay full attention straight ahead and use the rudders to keep the airplane going straight, especially in a crosswind. Soon, the airplane lifts itself gracefully off the ground. Many people get the tail too high on the takeoff roll and then pull back on the yoke to lift off. Its better to learn the right attitude for your airplane so it flies itself off under normal conditions. This allows you to look straight down the runway and ignore the airspeed indicator so you can keep the airplane straight.
Landing
The final difference you will notice comes during landing. This is probably where the difference seems most significant. First, there are the stability issues discussed above that begin during taxi. These issues have not gone away! When the airplane touches down, it must be going perfectly straight down the runway and its longitudinal axis perfectly aligned with the runway. In other words, no drift or crab (which really are the same thing). Second, at the moment of touchdown, since the center of gravity is behind the main landing gear, its downward inertia pulls the tail down, thus increasing the angle of attack so the airplane becomes airborne again, or seems to bounce. There are two ways to deal with this. The first is to make sure the tailwheel touches at the same time, or a few inches before the main wheels. This is loosely called a full-stall or three-point landing (there is actually a difference between the full-stall and three-point landing which is discussed in more detail on the landing page). The second is to make a wheel landing, which is where you make your touchdown on the main wheels as smoothly as possible so the center of gravity has little downward inertia. You also anticipate the moment the main wheels touch and push forward a little on the yoke/stick to stick it on. You can really push the nose over and actually obtain a zero or slightly negative angle of attack with the wings so youre really stuck down to the ground. Both these landing techniques are discussed in much more detail on the landing page.
The merits of wheel landings verses full-stall/three-point landings in a crosswind are discussed in our great debate. Please visit that page and add your comments.
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andrepieterse
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RV4ker (RIP)
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Little Wheels at da back RULE. - Nuff said 
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Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
Hi Fliers!
Thanks to Swiftprop for a very good post on landing gear stability, but I have a better solution!
I set my landing gear at CG fifteen years ago and have never looked back.
Little wheel at front and little wheel at back works great.
Takeoff: on brake release, lift nosewheel and build speed at zero AOA on wing, steering with rudder. An undulating runway seems smooth since you are allowing the aircraft inertia to retain pitch. At expected flying speed one just eases back on elevator to lift off, push forward a little to build speed and away you go...
On landing any technique works, wing low into wind or crab, high speed wheel landing or mush into a stall, never a need to line up before touchdown, the bird will just sideslips on the ground until you apply brakes, at which time you should be lined up with the runway. (Except if there are obstacles looming, at which time you might decide, as I once did, that full sideslip will reduce groundroll. Scraped a wingtip instead of bashing into trees.)
FlySafe!
Abe.
Thanks to Swiftprop for a very good post on landing gear stability, but I have a better solution!
I set my landing gear at CG fifteen years ago and have never looked back.
Little wheel at front and little wheel at back works great.
Takeoff: on brake release, lift nosewheel and build speed at zero AOA on wing, steering with rudder. An undulating runway seems smooth since you are allowing the aircraft inertia to retain pitch. At expected flying speed one just eases back on elevator to lift off, push forward a little to build speed and away you go...
On landing any technique works, wing low into wind or crab, high speed wheel landing or mush into a stall, never a need to line up before touchdown, the bird will just sideslips on the ground until you apply brakes, at which time you should be lined up with the runway. (Except if there are obstacles looming, at which time you might decide, as I once did, that full sideslip will reduce groundroll. Scraped a wingtip instead of bashing into trees.)
FlySafe!
Abe.
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RudiGreyling
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Good writeup up top.
In short for me.
Tail dragger more difficult to fly, you get better politting skills!
Tail dragger's rough and short field capabilities usually better than tricycle.
Regars
Rudi
In short for me.
Tail dragger more difficult to fly, you get better politting skills!
Tail dragger's rough and short field capabilities usually better than tricycle.
Regars
Rudi
"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure - Aviation offers it all"
http://www.RudiGreyling.com
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Duck Rogers
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A couple of months ago Boet said maybe he should build more tailies, then he would have a damm sight more work repairing the airies.
The nose wheel is for sissies??? How would a 747 with tailwheel go down with pilots on a wet sleet laden night landing?
It has been shown that fewer nose wheel aircraft get bend in the long run.
Modern undercarriages can take a pounding on rough unimproved strips.
Just check how many taildraggers operate into the Okovango Delta, you might be lucky and find that it is probably less than a couple per year.
Then check how many C210 and C182 operate into those rough strips.
Yes a tailwheel will make you a better pilot but even very experienced pilots will get caught out every now and then in a tailie.
All this is just my personal opinion.
Kind regards,
Gunter Rostek
The nose wheel is for sissies??? How would a 747 with tailwheel go down with pilots on a wet sleet laden night landing?
It has been shown that fewer nose wheel aircraft get bend in the long run.
Modern undercarriages can take a pounding on rough unimproved strips.
Just check how many taildraggers operate into the Okovango Delta, you might be lucky and find that it is probably less than a couple per year.
Then check how many C210 and C182 operate into those rough strips.
Yes a tailwheel will make you a better pilot but even very experienced pilots will get caught out every now and then in a tailie.
All this is just my personal opinion.
Kind regards,
Gunter Rostek
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RudiGreyling
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Modern day pilots are becoming average and the Art full Skill of precision flying is slowly becoming lost and in return we get a lot more average pilots and maybe a lot more pilots that should never have been pilots in the first place.
Nowadays you battle to find an airplane that can do aerobatics! Go look at the list of new aircraft on offer and see how many is aerobatic capable. Way back in the 1960 it was mandotary to do at least some simple aerobatics to get your PPL. Even the lowly trainers like a Tiger Moth from the 1930's were aerobatic capable. Now more than 60degree bank is considered Aeros and a no no!
Nothing personal, just my rant, think about it, we are being conditioned by market forces and legal liabilities to become average pilots.
Regards
Rudi
Nowadays you battle to find an airplane that can do aerobatics! Go look at the list of new aircraft on offer and see how many is aerobatic capable. Way back in the 1960 it was mandotary to do at least some simple aerobatics to get your PPL. Even the lowly trainers like a Tiger Moth from the 1930's were aerobatic capable. Now more than 60degree bank is considered Aeros and a no no!
Nothing personal, just my rant, think about it, we are being conditioned by market forces and legal liabilities to become average pilots.
Regards
Rudi
"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure - Aviation offers it all"
http://www.RudiGreyling.com
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Wargames
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HearRudiGreyling wrote: Nothing personal, just my rant, think about it, we are being conditioned by market forces and legal liabilities to become average pilots.
Hear The forces to be want safer airspace, but they give licences away to pilots that is "not yet ready".
They shouldn't train pilots to get their licences, they should train pilots to fly.
Nice flying
The Naked Trike
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Pykie
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DH, I would be inclined to agree with Gunter.grostek wrote:
Yes a tailwheel will make you a better pilot but even very experienced pilots will get caught out every now and then in a tailie.
All this is just my personal opinion.
Kind regards,
Gunter Rostek
I'm a 300hr triker. Last year I did an MPL t/w rating on a twitchy Kitfox IV (912) at Petit followed by a (more docile) Cubby (VW) rating at Parys (for familiarity with the opposite torque effect).
I did the kitfox rating over about 6 weeks. I was 'signed-out' at 24 hrs. It was a very educational and rewarding experience, but..........
On reflection, I would neither recommend the purchase of a t/w or do a t/w rating again unless for the specific reason of wishing to 'master' a t/w. Whatever floats your boat...or your flare !
The problem isnt so much the 'wide-awake-on-the-rudders' story and the constant vigilance against the ever threatening 'groundloop' but the imperitive to correctly and constantly coordinate airspeed and angle-of-attack in the late flare in varying wind conditions - more 'variables' to my 'weekend warrior' flying than I really have the appetite for.
You put a tricycle main gear / nose gear down - the angle of attack closes and the aerie stays down - far less forgiving. No surprises. Opposite with a tailie.
You come in straight and a gust knocks you a little off-centre, the nose-wheel centre of gravity centres you on touch-down- far less forgiving. No surprises.
Rudi's observation re 'mediocrity' is perfectly valid, but the reality for me is that 'tailies' present more factors to take into account than is absolutely necessary for aviators who dont fly as often as they would like to.
Just my 2c as a triker recently converted to tailies...but interested to hear what others think.
regards
Kevin
ZU-DYL - Airborne XT 912
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RV4ker (RIP)
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Kev
Not sure I follow fully.
While I agree that nose wheels are easier to land in X winds, I know a couple weekend worriers that have less than 10hrs nose time and have 300+ hrs total time. They are quiet happy to get into a tailie or nosie anytime. Not same other way round. Why? In my opinion better understanding. Principles are the same, techniques different. There is nothing quiet like doing a perfect full stall landing or a wheeler in a strong xwind.
Nose gear are easier to fly that why they are more common. Schools don't like to pay repair bills and downtime costs money. There are few 6 seater tailies around locally and we have huge tracts of land to land on, even in the delta. If you want to see what the guys are talking about check out some of the tundra tyre piper cubs they fly in the Alaskan back country. That is domain of the C185, C170, beaver and float planes which use many of the same techniques I am told (Side slip for eg). The runways are short, they don't have over runs and many of the runways have 1 way in and 1 way out. Our bush flying is by def not the same thing as theirs where the tail dragger comes into it's own. I don't know of any strips locally that can only be used by "bush planes". Most of the old hands in Alaska (or other bus pilots) will land ne of these in same distance most of us would land a trike. Personally I have flown the Cubby without a tailwheel back to base. It then just became a tail dragger rather than a tail wheel aerie. No big deal. Was back in air same day. Try do that with no nose wheel. Bush flying where field maint is essential it better to keep prop as far from the ground as possible and the nose wheel is the week link in the U/C. If you landing on preparred strips all the time no need for a tailie, but these guys land on sand bars, river beads, mountain slopes etc. Suppose closest we will get is landing on beach. Try
My 2c - Tailies are better teachers. I have 300+ hrs on my old mans C182RG. I used to float the odd landing and plonk it down on the odd runway even after 200hrs on type and more than double that total time all on nose wheels. I was then doing plenty hrs on it a year. Enter tail wheel flight. I now do maybe 15 hrs a year on the RG and my landings are sometimes pissers but mostly greesers. I am flying it less, but far better in the landing phase - maybe the basic understanding of the landing took some time to sink in, I dont know, but the tailie convex def made me a better "lander" in nose wheel aeries. The tail wheel rating also woke my feet (the RG has rudder trim so I often flew with feet on floor to horror of my renewal instructors
) and suddenly I don't understand why I wanted to put the nose down so soon?
I would recommend a tail wheel rating to every single pilot and I think it whould be mandatory. Trainers tend to have low HP and they are docile beasts. Not so with bigger nose wheel aeries. Adding power changes the way it behaves on and near the ground, just like a low powered tail dragger (manage your feet and make smooth changes in all you do). Take away all the power whort finals in trainer maybe OK, but ill hurt in C210,C206 for eg. With tailie yu tend to manage the approach far beter to avoid the bounce. My opinion - When you are flying your family around in your newly aquired Bonnie or C210 the tailie training could save your life and def the aerie...
Just my 2c.
PS
I found the Avid easier than the Cubby and the RV's the easiest of the lot (exluding maybe the 8, but that has to do with the rudder bar and the brake setup?). I have flown the following tailies - Tiger Moth, Decathelon, Fokker DRVII, Avid, RV4, RV6, RV7, RV8, Bush Baby, Cubby and Cheetah. 4 ground loops in aout 400hrs. 2 I was not PIC and instructor was trying t show me what happens when it goes wrong. Other 2 mechanical failure. (lost brakes and steering) None of the ground loops resulted in any damage other than to ego and lif span. Keep the wing off the deck and do not be affraid to take power and try again if it does not look/feel right...
Not sure I follow fully.
I assume you mean here.. "far more forgiving" (the nose wheeler?)You put a tricycle main gear / nose gear down - the angle of attack closes and the aerie stays down - far less forgiving. No surprises. Opposite with a tailie.
While I agree that nose wheels are easier to land in X winds, I know a couple weekend worriers that have less than 10hrs nose time and have 300+ hrs total time. They are quiet happy to get into a tailie or nosie anytime. Not same other way round. Why? In my opinion better understanding. Principles are the same, techniques different. There is nothing quiet like doing a perfect full stall landing or a wheeler in a strong xwind.
Nose gear are easier to fly that why they are more common. Schools don't like to pay repair bills and downtime costs money. There are few 6 seater tailies around locally and we have huge tracts of land to land on, even in the delta. If you want to see what the guys are talking about check out some of the tundra tyre piper cubs they fly in the Alaskan back country. That is domain of the C185, C170, beaver and float planes which use many of the same techniques I am told (Side slip for eg). The runways are short, they don't have over runs and many of the runways have 1 way in and 1 way out. Our bush flying is by def not the same thing as theirs where the tail dragger comes into it's own. I don't know of any strips locally that can only be used by "bush planes". Most of the old hands in Alaska (or other bus pilots) will land ne of these in same distance most of us would land a trike. Personally I have flown the Cubby without a tailwheel back to base. It then just became a tail dragger rather than a tail wheel aerie. No big deal. Was back in air same day. Try do that with no nose wheel.
Bush flying where field maint is essential it better to keep prop as far from the ground as possible and the nose wheel is the week link in the U/C. If you landing on preparred strips all the time no need for a tailie, but these guys land on sand bars, river beads, mountain slopes etc. Suppose closest we will get is landing on beach. Try that here and you will have a couple stiches in forehead and HUGE repair bill.You put a tricycle main gear / nose gear down - the angle of attack closes and the aerie stays down - far less forgiving. No surprises.
My 2c - Tailies are better teachers. I have 300+ hrs on my old mans C182RG. I used to float the odd landing and plonk it down on the odd runway even after 200hrs on type and more than double that total time all on nose wheels. I was then doing plenty hrs on it a year. Enter tail wheel flight. I now do maybe 15 hrs a year on the RG and my landings are sometimes pissers but mostly greesers. I am flying it less, but far better in the landing phase - maybe the basic understanding of the landing took some time to sink in, I dont know, but the tailie convex def made me a better "lander" in nose wheel aeries. The tail wheel rating also woke my feet (the RG has rudder trim so I often flew with feet on floor to horror of my renewal instructors
) and suddenly I don't understand why I wanted to put the nose down so soon? I would recommend a tail wheel rating to every single pilot and I think it whould be mandatory. Trainers tend to have low HP and they are docile beasts. Not so with bigger nose wheel aeries. Adding power changes the way it behaves on and near the ground, just like a low powered tail dragger (manage your feet and make smooth changes in all you do). Take away all the power whort finals in trainer maybe OK, but ill hurt in C210,C206 for eg. With tailie yu tend to manage the approach far beter to avoid the bounce. My opinion - When you are flying your family around in your newly aquired Bonnie or C210 the tailie training could save your life and def the aerie...
Just my 2c.
PS
I found the Avid easier than the Cubby and the RV's the easiest of the lot (exluding maybe the 8, but that has to do with the rudder bar and the brake setup?). I have flown the following tailies - Tiger Moth, Decathelon, Fokker DRVII, Avid, RV4, RV6, RV7, RV8, Bush Baby, Cubby and Cheetah. 4 ground loops in aout 400hrs. 2 I was not PIC and instructor was trying t show me what happens when it goes wrong. Other 2 mechanical failure. (lost brakes and steering) None of the ground loops resulted in any damage other than to ego and lif span. Keep the wing off the deck and do not be affraid to take power and try again if it does not look/feel right...
4 Sale (will trade)
P166S, Jodel, hangar and other odds and sods
Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
P166S, Jodel, hangar and other odds and sods
Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
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Pykie
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Yebo..... :DRV4ker wrote:Kev
Not sure I follow fully.I assume you mean here.. "far more forgiving" (the nose wheeler?)You put a tricycle main gear / nose gear down - the angle of attack closes and the aerie stays down - far less forgiving. No surprises. Opposite with a tailie.
...
ZU-DYL - Airborne XT 912
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RV4ker (RIP)
- The Big Four K
- Posts: 5386
- Joined: Sun May 22, 2005 7:48 pm
- Location: The Coves & FAVB
This what I was trying to say...Personally I have flown the Cubby without a tailwheel back to base. It then just became a tail dragger rather than a tail wheel aerie. No big deal. Was back in air same day. Try do that with no nose wheel.
viewtopic.php?t=6427&start=0&postdays=0 ... c3edbc0efa
Not having a dig at Morph or Bosbefokker just illustrating a point.
4 Sale (will trade)
P166S, Jodel, hangar and other odds and sods
Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
P166S, Jodel, hangar and other odds and sods
Radial - http://tiny.cc/eppqp
Still @ The Coves (Harties) but dream has died
When I built my BB very I briefly considered the nosewheel option.
Tailwheel won cause I wanted to explore new skills.
I must admit that I was spooked bigtime before I tried it. There has been a lot of smoke blown about how dangerous tailwheels are.
I have absolutely no regrets about going tailwheel.
The envelope was fully explored during the post build taxi-runs before the first flight. Had a nice big field at my disposal and executed a sucession of ground loops whilst transitioning backwards and forwards through the tail up/down phase.
Once I had done that my unreasonable fear of the trolley wheel was conquered!
A couple of hundred hours later and I still love it.
From the beginning I found it relatively easy to conduct safe landings, even with crosswinds on tar.
Having said that, I still find it a challenge to pull off a gracefull 3 pointer, on the stall and without bounce. But thats exactly why this little plane will never get boring.
:D
Tailwheel won cause I wanted to explore new skills.
I must admit that I was spooked bigtime before I tried it. There has been a lot of smoke blown about how dangerous tailwheels are.
I have absolutely no regrets about going tailwheel.
The envelope was fully explored during the post build taxi-runs before the first flight. Had a nice big field at my disposal and executed a sucession of ground loops whilst transitioning backwards and forwards through the tail up/down phase.
Once I had done that my unreasonable fear of the trolley wheel was conquered!
A couple of hundred hours later and I still love it.
From the beginning I found it relatively easy to conduct safe landings, even with crosswinds on tar.
Having said that, I still find it a challenge to pull off a gracefull 3 pointer, on the stall and without bounce. But thats exactly why this little plane will never get boring.
:D
Nottaquitta
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