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----- Original Message ----- From: "Mark Julicher" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, August 22, 2001 4:47 PM Subject: taylorcraft: T-craft Accident Statistics > Tribe, > > Much as we all love our Taylorcrafts, the airplane does indeed have a somewhat bad reputation. I was once a safety officer for a very large aero club (500 members) and spent many hours in the accident statistics books. I was much > surprised to learn that the Taylorcraft has about the highest accident rate per flying hour of any two seat trainer! (And we all thought the Piper Traumahawk was the worst!) The most common statistic is for a T-craft pilot to > UNDERSHOOT a landing. > > Now that is truly an amazing thing to ponder, but I believe there are two attributes of a T-craft that make it very different from any other plane I ever instructed, and one of those attributes can cause short landings. > > Attribute ONE: It floats better than Ivory Soap. The high lift and low drag makes the plane faster and more efficient than its cousins like the Champ, Chief, and Cub, but, as we all know, it means that airspeed control on final approach > is much more important than in those other "high drag" air'chines. Taylorcrafts float in ground effect forever. He or she who does not control airspeed on final lands short or long..... He or she who lands long once too often is > tempted to "drag it in" and is therefore in jeopardy of comitting an early touchdown. I think this scenario played out many times back when T-crafts were more plentiful at flight schools (which was back when the earth's crust was still > cooling I think). > > Attribute TWO: The visibility to the sides is lousy. In a J-3 or a Champ, you can sort of get away with turning first and clearing second, but in the T-craft, if my students don't lift the wing and clear in the direction of a planned > turn before actually turning toward that respective wing, they hear a loud noise in their headset which is me giving them a ration of grief. > > So, I don't know what that all really means except that if you know the limitations of the T-Craft , keep it well maintained, and don't shoot out a lift strut while coyote hunting, it is as safe as the next plane. > > Mark Julicher > Marietta, Georgia > > Taylorcraft (TOC/TF) - Subscription info: > http://www.taylorcraft.org/links.html > > > > > ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Sid.bAhN69 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
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