David. I can assure you that your theory of avoiding tire wear with a snubber cable can not be proven with my Ercoupe.
I had with the snubber cable a lot of wear due to the fact that I had to force the mis-rigged coupe on the ground while taking off. This only to avoid the eing blown off the runway. Now with the snubber cable removed, I don't need to force the nose wheel on teh ground, I just steer the plane lightly, even at stronger cross winds. The tire wear is gone. Hartmut To: [email protected]; [email protected] From: [email protected] Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:25:06 -0500 Subject: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Re: snubber cable HOW THIS ROUND STARTED All, Ummmm. I am the one who started this round of snubber-cable discussions. It was lit off by my observation that, having recently removed the snubber cable, I am elated at the improved control I get in cross-winds and regular landings, also. Video analysis of my landings indicates that, using my nose-high landing technique, and WITH a snubber-cable,I land on the mains with the nose wheel far off the ground. But, WITHOUT the snubber, I land just about precisely on three points every time. AND NOW A NEW ADDITION TO THE SNUBBER-CABLE THEORY (Not really a product of my own insight, however.) The Coupe was designed when most strips were grass surfaced. So, dragging the nose-wheel a bit sideways on landing was no big deal. But, dragging a nose wheel sideways across today’s asphalt can cause some serious tire wear. The snubber-cable may help to minimize this. ERGO: I suppose that the snubber-cable may allow the Coupe to straighten out more on the mains alone before the nose-wheel touches. This would save a bunch of wear in cross-wind landings. But, I really like the way my bird handles, now, without it. AND, I like the way it handles cross-wind TAKEOFFS better, too. Dave W -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of William R. Bayne Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 4:15 PM To: Ercoupe Tech Forum Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] Re: snubber cable In my opinion the purpose of this list is to help owners and potential owners and/or operators of the Ercoupe (et al) understand what the design is (and is not) capable of, and how to best achieve same. Everyone learns something here, sooner or later. Not one of us was born knowing it all. Some pick it up from available information (when all else fails, read the Instructions). Some need help locating "available information". The "average" Ercoupe changes hands every five years (some "never" and some much more often). It is, therefore, natural and desirable that around 400 "new" owners, more than one a day, may have a legitimate need to raise one or more questions that have been discussed before. There are few questions posed here that are "new". Just because a person has "advanced" to the point on a given subject that they believe they have "heard it all" does not mean that someone else's query should not post or run to its logical "conclusion", however parallel that may be to an earlier one on the same subject. _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™ Groups: Create an online spot for your favorite groups to meet. http://windowslive.com/online/groups?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_groups_032009
