Hi Kevin, Comments interspersed:
WRB On Mar 15, 2009, at 22:27, kgassert wrote: > What you mean is no one has found a valid reason in your opinion to > have a cable. Nothing to do with "my opinion". No one has yet put forth a reason that makes sense to you either. . > If you look through the log books or just look at the bottom of the > firewall on most Ercoupes you will see that most of them have been > replaced because the nose wheel had been whacked off. It's possible to crinkle the lower firewall with numerous pilot errors. I presume you suggest that catastrophic side stress on the nose hear is responsible for "most" instances. Burden of proof would be on you as to that. Consider how many low time coupe pilots try to flare with too much speed, run out of airspeed about five feet up, and do not "catch the situation" with immediate full power. Consider how many times a coupe lands on soft ground and the smaller nose wheel "digs in". Consider how many "tail low" coupes get out of control near the ground in crosswinds and poor pilot technique compounds the problem. Consider that in a great majority of loss of power (off-field landings) situations, evidence of further poor pilot proficiency is likely going to accrue on the firewall. > I have no proof but I suspect it was a combination of too long a nose > wheel and people in the past that did not fly the Ercoupe properly. Until I see credible evidence otherwise, I believe the length of the nose strut design is as it should be. I agree 100% that many "people in the past did not fly the Ercoupe properly". > These days we have better informed owners so maybe these days there is > not as good a reason to have the cable. I have been around these > things 23 years and have been hearing this discussion the whole time. When, at most, 20% of active Ercoupe pilots are "on" this list, I'm not at all sure that an "average" owner (if such a person exists) is all that much better informed than in the past. There is an important difference between "hearing" and genuinely listening in a proactive search for the "truth" of a matter. I would instead suggest that maybe these days there are fewer and fewer excuses for not flying the Ercoupe "properly". > About 20 years ago I took mine off and didn't like it and put it back > on. I will admit I am not one to flare with my nose really high. I > don't have a problem with cross winds and last week was out in a 32K > crosswind ( people came out of their hangars to watch the show) but I > am willing to give it a go without the cable again. I will take it > off next week and try unprotected aviation again. > > Kevin1 Minds are like parachutes. They work best when open ;<) I'll bet your technique has changed a lot in 20 years...for the better. I bet I'm not the only one that will be looking forward to hearing the results of your careful evaluation! May the "Fred" be with you. WRB
