Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN]

[Hartmut Beil]

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If you find that your aircraft has not the ability to "automatic swivel straight down the runway", you are flying a taildragger.

 

It is the simplest form of physics. The center of gravity is in front of the main gear on tricycle planes, holding the tail up.

 

This center of weight will pull in front of the main gear toward the flown path before touch down.

Without any aid of steering, your plane will on touchdown straighten itself toward the previous flight path. It is like pulling a 2 wheeled, one axis trailer behind you.

 

Agreed that with the nose wheel fully extended, the wheel touches earlier in the landing process and one needs to let the steering do it's thing for a moment, but this can be learned rather quickly.

I can see that pilots that converted to the restricted elevator setup of a 415-D were confused with the early contact of the nose wheel when landing and the snubber cable seems to be the logical answer to that. However,  one has to understand that he looses out on the dampening capabilities of the Nose gear.

Clonk !. is not good when landing.

 

 

hartmut

----- Original Message -----

From: Roy Stubbs

To: Dan Hall ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; Ed Burkhead ; Cflyin

Sent: Monday, October 16, 2006 1:25 PM

Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN]

----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----

I agree with Dr. Beeman. 

Well put.

 

Roy

N70UF

---

From: Dan Hall [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Mon 10/16/2006 3:00 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Ed Burkhead; Cflyin
Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN]

----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----

Hi Dr Beeman,

I've landed in 90 degree direct cross winds of up to 20 gusting to 27 knots, and I'll agree with Ed & Harry. 

 

The rudderless Ercoupe will straighten out of the crab best, with the nose wheel held OFF of the ground. 

 

The CG of the airplane is in front of the main gear, so call it centripetal force (or momentum, velocity vector, or whatever).  The bottom line is that the Ercoupe will & does straighten out parallel to the flight path over the ground before the nose gear ever touches down. 

 

However once on the runway the nose gear is absolutely REQUIRED to counteract any cross wind component and keep one from 'cutting daisies'.  

 

Best regards,

Dan Hall

N3968H

1947 415 CD (no rudders)

1,300 hours and no daisies damaged....yet! 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To: Ed Burkhead ; Cflyin

Sent: Sunday, October 15, 2006 8:26 PM

Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN]

If you land an Ercoupe on the mains in a crosswind and wait "...until the coupe itself swivels straight down the runway..." please tell me specifically what force will cause the aircraft to "swivel straight down the runway"?

The answer is there is no magical force available to an Ercoupe or a spam can for that matter. A spam can uses rudder to counteract the crab just before touchdown, but a rudderless Ercoupe must use the runway itself to counteract the crab, for if the Ercoupe pilot tries to take out the crab before touching down, he'll simply fly away from the centerline.

The only counterforce to a crosswind crab that a rudderless model of the Ercoupe possesses is the force exerted through the nose wheel touching and counteracting the cocked main gear. This is what the POH calls for and this is all there is. There is no automatic swivel straight down the runway and if you wait for it before planting your nose wheel you'll be cutting daisies.

Dr. R. Beeman

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Burkhead
Sent: Oct 15, 2006 10:58 PM
To: Cflyin
Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN]

----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----

 

Good comments, yourself, Harry.

 

I’ll take mild exception to this paragraph Harry wrote:

> To successfully land a coupe you must keep the nose

> wheel off the ground until the coupe itself swivvles straight

> down the runway, THEN LOWER THE NOSE, AND LOSE

> LIFT......RESULTING IN LITTLE IF ANY SIDE STRESSES

> ON THE NOSE GEAR AND ENGINE MOUNT ( NOSE

> GEAR IS ATTACHED TO ENGINE MOUNT).

 

I would revise it to say:

For an ideal landing in a Coupe, you must keep the nose

wheel off the ground until the Coupe itself swivels straight

down the runway, THEN LOWER THE NOSE, AND LOSE

LIFT......RESULTING IN LITTLE IF ANY SIDE STRESSES

ON THE NOSE GEAR AND ENGINE MOUNT ( NOSE

GEAR IS ATTACHED TO ENGINE MOUNT).

 

 

We all know of gobs of successful Coupe landings in which the nose gear DID touch before the aircraft turned to line up with the direction of travel.

 

A minor quibble.  Harry’s right about his described landing being the right way to do things, if you can.

 

Ed Burkhead

http://edburkhead.com

ed -at- edburkhead???.com          (change -at- to @ and remove "???")

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