Oh, Graham!
Why must you rid me of my blissful ignorance? -as well regarding the
mathematic numbers
as the number of US first timers coming to grief.
Not any longer strutting around thinking that I am good AND lucky, but
henceforth realising that I am
just plain lucky, probably even unjustifiably so, will from now on mar my
every take off and landing.
(the latter never having won me any prize for elegance anyway).
Still, bearing your opening remarks in mind, and granting that you and Paul
are predominantly right,
I cannot but help giving an illustration to support my opinion on the
matter:
The year is 1995. ODA is inexorably taking shape, and my speculations about
the relentlessly
approaching day, where I must bow to the demand for tail-wheel tutelage is
beginning to ever so
faintly affect the peristalsis of my alimentary canal.
-We now jump a couple of months ahead. The dearth of tail wheel instructors
in our Queendom
made the choise easy, and I am now the humble survivor of 115 tail wheel
landings. "Why so humble,
this is not like him", I hear you mutter. Well, let me explain:
The long drawn out battle against a host of non-cooperative natural laws -
and, mind you, I am not using
the term 'losing battle'- has by now turned into a battle of attrition. Be
informed, that nothing has
been broken yet, not even the undercarriage of the clumsy, yes I used the
word clumsy, canary-yellow
Piper Cub. The only casualties so far are my pride and the sorely tested
patience of my instructor, a sinister,
but not entirely unfriendly man. You see, this cub was not blessed with an
intercom. Thus verbal tuition from
my tutor, long ago resigned to his fate, was not forthcoming during the
final approach to seemingly certain
desaster, but in the back of my head his icy disapproval of the proceedings
was evident, resulting in a tense-
ness in the abject pupil (me) beyond description. After 22 years with nose
wheel flying it is simply not possible
to look sideways during the final stage of landing, now, issit?
Finally, after another survival, he put a still slightly trembling hand on
my tense shoulder, sighed heartbrakingly,
and uttered these words, "Niels, I don't think you should spend more money
on this." My 6 ft something shrank
to approxymately half that size. But then his good heart, bless that, cut
in, because, after another, even deeper
sigh, he added.: "You get in now, make a circuit, and show me that you can
do this".
Lo and behold: I did it, of course. With an almost overwhelming sense of
freedom and relaxation.
and, so far I have been lucky.
That's my point.
Niels
----- Original Message -----
From: "Graham Singleton" <grahamsingleton@btinternet.com>
Sent: Friday, June 08, 2007 1:24 AM
Subject: Re: Europa-List: builder test flying his own creation?
> <grahamsingleton@btinternet.com>
>
> Niels
> good to see you here! I suspect that some monos ARE prone to ground loop
> and some aren't. Similarly some pilots are and some aren't. Two variables
> equals four times the risk, if you see what I mean.
>
> It is important to have full 13 degrees of up elevator to give enough down
> force with the tail wheel on the ground. that will give an AoA on the
> elevator of about 3 degrees? At 20 knots there isn't much force.
> It's also important that the pilot recognises the incipient yaw as soon as
> it starts because as soon as rotation starts momentum builds up and there
> isn't enough rudder/tailwheel resistance to stop it. Add the confusing
> effects from the outriggers rocking side to side and the pilots gyro will
> start to topple ?:-)
>
> In the USA the number of accidents to builders first flighting is
> depressingly high, (not just Europas) we spend all our waking hours
> thinking and doing the build and tend to neglect our flying skills. Then
> we try and fly an aircraft with unknown characteristics which might not
> even be true to type.
>
> Hope to see you over here one day?
>
> Graham
>
>
> Niels Kock wrote:
>> Paul, I am not sure that i quite agree with you, that if at all possible
>> the builder should refrain from
>> test flying his own Europa.
> I cannot, however, but ponder the number
>> of accidents having occurred to builders test flying their own Europa. Am
>> i wrong in assuming that
>> this number is very small ?
>
> --
> Graham Singleton
>
> Tel: +441629820187
> Mob: +447739582005
>
>
>
--
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