Ron wrote:
> I guess even with rudder pedals, you could ignore them, and
> land 'Coupe normal... But, wait a minnit! You put rudder
> pedals in to ... so you ignore them when... maybe I'm
> confused? ;-)
>
> (Aww, c'mon guys, I'm just yanking yer chain! -er, nose
> gear cable?)
Yep, you just ignore those pedal thingies if you've got them - EXCEPT,
you have to push on them all the time to do your best to match what the
automatic linkage does!
Seriously, the pedals do have three real uses:
1. They let a student learn about pedals and get an unrestricted
license.
2. They let you steepen your glide slope moderately without the
gyrations of low-airspeed-high-sink followed by nose down to get the
airspeed back for the flare. Though, the gyrations of cross controlled
flight are themselves pretty unsettling to passengers who haven't had
explanations and warnings in advance.
As a corollary to #2, you do get to land wing low, airframe lined
up with the runway at crosswinds up to about 15 mph and this saves
marginally on tire wear. (Has anybody WORN OUT their tires on a Coupe?
I only had to replace mine due to age.)
3. You can hold and fold your maps with two hands, keeping your
direction and level using the pedals only.
A corollary to #3: if you have a real control system jam up, you
can fly the plane with the throttle and rudder pedals only. This is
rare to the point of "you've got to be kidding" as long as normal, good
maintenance is done.
If I am able to get a Coupe again, I think I'll prefer a no-pedals
plane. But, I won't turn down a nice one that does have the pedals.
Ed
