----- Original Message -----
From: "nigel charles" <nwcmc@tiscali.co.uk>
>
> You are obviously quicker than David Hunter who has done about 6
> conversions.
I doubt it! David is a professional; I'm just a keen amateur. In any case,
the speed of hte resin tends to drive the pace during the main elements of
hte work.
> Some of David's conversions were significantly heavier after completion.
Probably because, by the time the aircraft was converted, it had gained
weight through other means; as aircraft tend to do.
There is little opportumity for variance in weight of the various
components; the gear legs come out within ounces of each other, a
resin-rich layup could add a pound or two, and there is some flexibility in
the choice of wheels/brakes/tyres which could add a couple more pounds.
> I did say that it was pilot error. There was no criticism of the
> conventional gear engineering. My point was that either version can be
> groundlooped.
Then we are agreed that the conclusion you draw i.e. "......shows that it
(ie the conversion) is not the answer..." does not follow from the debate
and we should instead be talking about pilot training. I don't dispute that
the taildragger conversion is still a taildragger and as such has a
potential to groundloop, but I still await the day (300+ landings to date)
that my converted Europa groundloops.
Duncan McF.
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