--> KR-List message posted by: "Robert X. Cringely" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Pazmany says you want 8-10 percent of the total loaded weight of the airplane on the tailwheel. Of course your numbers are for an unloaded Kitfox, probably with some fuel onboard, but its pretty clear that 66 lbs was too much. His rule of thumb for tricycles, by the way, says to put 25 percent of the loaded weight on the nose gear. I fly a Glasair FT and you almost can't hold the nose off on those because the main gear is too far aft. I shifted my axles forward the way Cessna did on the 170A's until a scale under the nose read exactly 25 percent and the change in landing behavior was remarkable. Bob >--> 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 _-========================================================================
