----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
David Douglas Winters wrote:
Ed,
Interesting tid bit.
I am sure you recall
that popular belief is that the Coupe has landing gear that actually castors
for cross-wind landings. You have referred to it, yourself, no?
Well, I think I have
found the solid source from whence that belief comes.
I was reading the
Weick patent and in every claim it said that the gear was configured to CASTOR
upon landing touch-down and, thereby, point the nose down the runway.
He meant that it would
castor the entire plane, but the claims could easily be misread in this
respect. Thus is an urban aviation legend born.
Referring to Stick and
Rudder, the author explains that tail draggers have the gear backwards and,
upon landing, have a strong tendency to get oriented in a tail first
roll. The result, of course, is a ground loop. I do not fully
understand this, but I believe it. So the Coupe with the trike gear,
avoided this. It “castors.”
Anyway, now you can
add this Weick patent bit of explanation to those who are curious.
Huh….Maybe I
should have directed this to the entire network….Oh well, if you think
everyone would be interested, by all means, forward this mail.
Grins,
Dave Winters
___________________________________________
David,
You have found good information.
Maybe that’s where the word got attached to the Coupe gear.
You’re right that it’s correct
to say the whole aircraft castors upon touchdown. It’s also true to
say the nose gear castors and by the nose gear not providing lateral
resistance, the lateral resistance of the main gear makes the airplane turn to
line up with the direction of motion.
But, we Coupers know, the main gear is
laterally fixed and doesn’t – in itself – castor.
Ed
============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
