At Sun-n-Fun, I watched the C-54 land and the guy held the nose wheel
off the runway for quite some distance down the runway. Reminded me
what we used to to to aerobrake airplanes in the Air Force and how we
used to enhance elevator effectiveness to hold the nose up longer on
landing rollout and induce a lot of aerodynamic drag. Saves the
brakes, you know.
The caveat is that there may be a way to get a higher angle of attack
and/or full stall in the Ercoupe, if conditions are right, and
subsequent autorotation (spin).
Elevator effectiveness is increased significantly, at least in the
C/D with the bigger trim tab, if you trim full nose down. You can try
it if you don't believe it on landing rollout if there is no
crosswind (need that nosewheel on the ground to steer). You can hold
the nose wheel off the runway significantly longer with full nose
down trim than you can if the airplane is trimmed for landing.
The dynamics are, with full nose down trim, the elevator trim tab
moves upward, increasing the effectiveness of the up elevator input.
The danger is, if you are trimmed full nose down and practicing
stalls, you might exceed the design certification test parameters,
get a full stall and departure and end up in a spin and become a test
pilot.
Now, before some jump on me saying the above fearing that someone
might go out and try it, I am doing it as a matter of promoting
flying safety because there may be a way to spin an Ercoupe and
everyone should be aware of the possibility.
I'm not saying to do it, the same as I am not saying to push the yoke
full forward and add full power to see how fast you can go before
the wings diverge and come off, or to put a gun to your head and
squeeze the trigger to see what happens. I am just issuing a warning
that there might be a subtle booby-trap that can possibly get you in
trouble.
Bart
