Ooooo, Ooooo, Mr. Kotter, Mr. Kotter! OK, Kevin is right. I cannot resist sharing what I have learned on this admittedly arcane issue. But, I actually think I have figured it out, understand it, and can explain it and the history thereof, thanks to the insights of some wise 'Coupers who have gone before.
CONTENTIONS: -The rudderless "Coupe was designed with the expectation that it would fly from grass fields. So, landing sideways (as it was designed to do) in a cross wind did not overly wear on the tires. When you land a Coupe in a crab, even with the nose high, the longggggggggg nose strut allows the nose wheel to contact the ground immediately, thereby providing directional control that would, otherwise, be absent due to lack of rudder pedals, and independent rudder control. -HOWEVER, when you add rudders to a coupe, you can change technique and slip the bird down in full alignment with the runway. This results in less tire wear than landing in a crab. Some folks particularly prefer this on paved runways. But, using that technique, you really don't want that nose gear reaching way out down and ahead of you in cross-control. So, if you add a snubber cable, you can eliminate that problem. It handles more like a Cessna or something similar. You can hold the nose-gear off until your mains are solidly down. -Problem is, some (or many) Coupes end up with no rudder pedals AND a snubber cable. This is a situation at crossed purposes. (Mine was like that.) Wen you land in a crab, your directional control is delayed until the nose wheel touches down, and that touch-down is delayed due to the snubber cable. Bit dicey. CONCLUSION: -The nose-gear snubber cable should not be installed on a bird unless it also has rudder pedals. But, if a bird DOES have rudder pedals, the snubber is a good thing to have. Anybody note inaccuracies or mis-perceptions here? VR, Dave Winters To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:27:23 +0000 Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Re: nose gear cable Oh no, here we go................ Kevin1 --- In [email protected], BRIAN BARAGWANATH <baragwana...@...> wrote: > > There should not be eyeles or a cable on you nose gear. > > Brian Baragwanath > N3085H > Cranland-28M > > --- On Wed, 8/18/10, c.d.gu...@... <c.d.gu...@...> wrote: > > > From: c.d.gu...@... <c.d.gu...@...> > Subject: [ercoupe-tech] nose gear cable > To: "ercoupe-tech" <[email protected]> > Date: Wednesday, August 18, 2010, 12:18 PM > > > > > > > > #yiv2114504591 p {margin:0;} > > > > > Fellows, > Before my nose gear was rebuilt, the bolts attaching the scissors to the top > steering collar and the bottom fork, were not tight. This, of course, is > wrong, but it allowed the cable "eyelet", to which the cable is attached, to > rotate freely around the bolts. (the cable limits the nose gear to extend > completely). This free movement in turn, allowed the cable crimp area, to > stay clear of the scissors as they moved up and down. > > Now that the nose gear is rebuilt, and the bolts are tight as they should be > to pinch the steel bushing, the cable eyelet, which is also held on by the > same bolts (just like a washer), is not free and I see the cable loop is > beginning to get damaged. Let me be clear, the eyelet I'm speaking of is an > elongated piece of metal with two holes, one with the cable looped through > and the other end with the bolt going through. > > The damage I see is the small piece of metal inside the cable loop which is > part of the crimp. It is beginning to dislodge from its proper place in the > crimped cable end. Also the loop is no longer nice and flat, but is slightly > bent, probably from being somehow pinched as the scissors are moving up and > down. > > My question... is this the correct way to attach the cable? It seems to me > the eyelet should have a bend in it to keep the cable away from the action of > the scissors. > > Thanks for any suggestions. > > Darick >
