Hi Dave, Bob Extremely well said, guys.
WRB -- On Dec 23, 2009, at 15:07, [email protected] wrote: > Bob, > > No need to stay home when the crosswinds are high. It's still the > same airplane aerodynamically with or without rudder pedals. Use the > rudders as you normally would, but when you run out of rudder just > allow the airplane to land in a crab. It's the same way the no-pedal > airplanes are landing except you have to do the foot work. Just make > sure you touch down wings level with no alieron displacement, or you > are going for a ride when the nosewheel touches down. Do not use the > "wing low" technique. It's the same technique we use to land big > swept-wing jets with podded engines and it works just fine in the > 'coupe! > > I recommend everyone with a three-control airplane fly to a safe > altitude and try their rudders at different speeds--Slow Flight > through Vma. They are plenty effective and give you what you need to > fly the airplane the way it was designed, and more. Remember, Fred > Weick didn't design the airplane without rudders, he designed it so > the rudders auto-coordinate with the ailerons. Flying an Ercoupe with > rudder pedals just means you have to learn more techniques to do what > the airplane does automatically. But it also means you have a couple > more tricks up your sleeve that a two control 'coupe doesn't have. > > I, too, am put off by the t-shirts and won't buy one. I also get > tired of answering people who ask "Does your Ercoupe have Rudders?" > ALL Ercoupes have rudders. Some just don't have rudder pedals. > > To understand what influenced Fred Weick's thinking, read Stick and > Rudder, by Willie Langewische. Written in the 1940's, Willie explains > how the problems with airplane design and training were contributing > to a high accident rate among low-time pilots in GA aircraft at the > time. He doesn't mention the Ercoupe by name, but you can tell he is > enthusiastic about the concepts behind the airplane. Fred Weick > didn't necessarily design a safer airplane, but it was certainly a > smarter airplane! It didn't need a lot of rudder input, because the > split tail and canted engine minimized the P-factor problem at high > power settings, and the large dihedral and differential ailerons > minimized adverse yaw in turns. The problem with the airplane's > safety record is not a reflection of the design, but of the idea that > "if you can drive a car, you can fly an Ercoupe!" > Flying requires a high degree of situational awareness. Lowering the > pilot's workload should result in a greater SA window to deal with > other tasks. The Ercoupe provides that-- it's a smarter design, with > or without pedals. > > Just my thoughts. Merry Christmas to all! > > From China, > Dave > > > --- In [email protected], Bob Stearns <pm3...@...> wrote: >> >> I have rudder pedals - they were installed when I bought the plane >> and have never flown an Ercoupe without them. I will say this, if >> you fly with your feet on the floor (ala 172) they don't turn worth a >> darn. They are fairly effective at lower air speeds and noticeably >> on takeoff roll. They aid in slipping and I have always been able to >> hold the nose straight on short final in the moderate xwinds we >> encounter in mid South Carolina. When the xwinds are too high I stay >> home and drink beer and leave the showing off to those with no rudder >> pedals. Besides, when the winds are like that no one else is flying >> to see what the Ercoupe can do. >> >> All in all I'm happy with the plane. But I do feel left out when >> everybody else is wearing the shirt with the "I don't need no stinkin >> rudder pedals" on the back.
