--> KR-List message posted by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I turned the landing gear around "backwards" on my Kitfox 6 which moves the axles back 3 inches closer to the center of gravity (cg).
I flew our BD-4 over 1000 hours with no ground loops, but looped the Fox 3 times in 120 hours. I did wheel landings on the BD, but that won't work on the Fox. The factory recommends full stall landings. The reason, I found, is that the Fox cg is 11.6" aft of the axles, whereas the BD is only 9.6". The level weight on the tailwheel went from 66 lbs to 56 lbs; still plenty of weight to hold the tail down on a soft field. The BD has only 33 lbs on the tail, level. Anyway, I have flown it several times, and do great wheel landings, I much prefer to fly it on the ground at about 50 mph, nudge the stick forward as soon as the wheels touch ( this makes the wing lose its lift and the airpllane won't bounce up).. Then , as the speed decays and the tail wants to drop, I use aft stick to plant the tailwheel for steering. With the full stall landing, I always felt helpless, hoping the stall occured at the ground. Sometimes it would float awhile, and sometimes it would bounce. At age 75, perhaps I'm not the pilot I used to be. No, I don't recommend everybody do this because the downside is more tendency to nose over on soft ground or hard braking. But for somebody like me, that risk is less than a ground loop.. So I don't call it an improvement, my ego requires me to call it the "Ward Modification" Ray and Ann Ward, N23AW _-======================================================================== _-= - The KR-List Email Forum - _-= This forum is sponsored entirely through the Contributions _-= of List members. You'll never see banner ads or any other _-= form of direct advertising on the Matronics Forums. _-======================================================================== _-= !! NEW !! _-= ALL NEW LIST CHAT!! http://www.matronics.com/chat _-======================================================================== _-= List Related Information _-= Post Message: [EMAIL PROTECTED] _-= UN/SUBSCRIBE: http://www.matronics.com/subscription _-= List FAQ: http://www.matronics.com/FAQ/KR-List.htm _-= Search Engine: http://www.matronics.com/search _-= 7-Day Browse: http://www.matronics.com/browse/kr-list _-= Browse Digests: http://www.matronics.com/digest/kr-list _-= Live List Chat: http://www.matronics.com/chat _-= Archives: http://www.matronics.com/archives _-= Photo Share: http://www.matronics.com/photoshare _-= List Specific: http://www.matronics.com/kr-list _-= Other Lists: http://www.matronics.com/emaillists _-= Trouble Report http://www.matronics.com/trouble-report _-= Contributions: http://www.matronics.com/contribution _-========================================================================
