The Needhaml's wrote: ---------------------------------------- >> "Are metal wings better than fabric?" ---------------------------------------- No. Fabric has the ability to be taken off every 20 years or so to make _sure_ the structure of the wing is perfect. Removing the metal wing cover is impractical.
Ignore the fact that the new fabrics say "lifetime." I'm at 17 years on my fabric now. The plane has always been hangared and I know of any bumps that have happened so I may stretch it to 30 years. Then, again, maybe I'll do the recovering closer to 20 years. ----------------------------------- >> "Is a rudder kit a good choice?" ----------------------------------- That depends. If you are building time for a commercial career, get a plane with pedals. Otherwise, it depends on which rudder pedal kit you get. All pedal kits restrict your leg space reducing the comfort of long cross country trips. The ERCO pedal kit lets the wheel steer the nose wheel. In a sudden emergency your reflexes honed by 50,000 hours of automobile driving will work faster than your 500-2,000 hour reflexes of pushing pedals and that's why ERCO (Fred Weick) kept the nose wheel linked to the steering wheel. If you are _not_ building time for a commercial license, I'd suggest you keep the plane two-control rather than installing an ERCO pedal kit. Demonstrated cross wind component for the two-control Coupes is 25 mph which is better than most other planes out there. (Your tail must be up to the 75 inch specification to be well behaved in a cross wind.) The ALON kit lets the pedals steer the nose wheel. This has the advantage that, after touchdown, you can turn the ailerons into the wind. This prevents up-wing lift. Before I got my tail raised to 75 inches (the correct height) I could confidently (with my ALON style pedal kit) land on a very narrow asphalt runway with a 30 mph direct cross wind. Now, with my tail up to 75 inches, my crosswind comfort is even better. My knees still lament the lack of leg space due to the pedals on flights over one hour. If you have pedals, you will be able to keep the ball centered as well as the linked rudders do if you put some effort into it. You should also be able to transition back to old-fashioned, three-control, tricycle gear planes almost instantly. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. N3802H
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