Mitch,
Coupes certainly don't need rudder pedals for any mission except training student pilots. Wayne is right except when he says the rudders "won't have enough authority to even matter." They aren't big rudder surfaces, it's true, but they did let me land lined-up, one wing low to compensate for direct crosswinds up to 15 mph. Over 15 mph, I landed it level, in the crab, just like any self-respecting Coupe. And, the pedals allow a mild increase in glide angle if you're a bit high, but this isn't dramatic. You can also use the pedals to keep the dirty side down while folding maps and such with both hands. My Coupe had the pedals when I bought the plane and I was never quite annoyed with them enough to pay to have them ripped out. If you've got the pedals, you do have to push them, trying to match the coordination of the automatic, linked rudders. And, it takes a fairly large amount of pedal motion. Pedals do cramp your legs on long flights. They cramp your passenger's legs even on short flights because the passenger is trying to keep their feet off the pedals so they won't crash the plane (passengers do worry about such things). If you're going to use the plane for a trainer, then having the pedals could be a good idea. Otherwise, I'd advise against them. With about 800 hours of Coupe-with-pedal time, Ed
