Donald asked: > some Ercoupes have what resembles a u shaped piece of > aluminum on the nose wheel sissors. Mine and some others > don't have this piece, it looks like it would be a major drag > in the air anyhow, just what is the function of this piece and > why do some have it and others don't?
Donald, That's the fairing for the back of the nose gear strut. When the strut is fully extended, that fairing should be held right up against the strut tube making it a streamlined teardrop shape. When the strut is fully extended, there is full travel on the nose gear shock absorber and the wheel and "fork" are down below the propeller's slipstream reducing the drag. Adding the properly adjusted nose gear fairing gives and additional one (1) mph in speed, according to Fred Weick, designer of the Ercoupe. He told me that was a carefully measured speed differential. Some people have added a "snubber cable" to the nose gear, reducing the amount of shock absorber travel. If they also leave the fairing on the plane, then it acts as an air scoop and may cut speed by 2-3 mph. No one knows just how much. Having both the snubber cable and the fairing is the worst case for drag. Also, the snubber cable holds the nose gear up higher, possibly holding the gear and wheel a little bit into the slipstream. They do this so they can let the main gear wheels touch first. This is unneeded as you should always land the plane nose high and, besides, the nose wheel will instantly turn to eliminate side loads if you have a drop-in landing (do NOT hold the yoke firmly at touchdown time to allow this). The Ercoupe was designed allowing for conditions where the nose gear touches before weight is fully on the main gear. It's OK. Fred Weick did not think the snubber cables should be on the planes. Ed Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/index.htm ed -at- edbur???khead.XXX change -at- to @, remove ??? and change XXX to com
