What I mean is that
1. All Europas having been cleared by their inspectors will, almost per
definition, be
well behaving when airborne.
2. I seriously doubt that an eventual accompanying flying-instructor can
prevent a ground
loop if the builder has initiated one. The extra weight of the
instructor only increases the
inertia.
3. The ongoing horror stories about the proneness of the mono to groundloop
are, I feel, somewhat
exaggerated, and, what is worse, they will unavoidably add to the
likely pre-take off apprehension
of the builder. Which may increase his concentration, but as likely
will deteriorate his flying perfor-
mance. And weeks or months of waiting for the availability of a
suitable test pilot serves
only to increase the apprehension .
4. Finally, one should not ignore the significance of the marvellous moment
where you yourself take
that blasted, expensive, beautiful toy, gestated, perhaps, in spite of
your wife's silent misgivings,
aloft for the very first time. And,afterwards, having parked and shut
down the engine, can lean back,
shut your eyes and enjoy one of the rare moments in life, where you
are truly in awe.
Niels,
Just goes to show how wrong you can be. You are not the first and you will
not be the last. I didn't test fly my mono, but with a good measure of
overconfidence in a 20 knot crosswind, it bit me also.
At least you are safe and just have the embarrassment of paying for a new
prop.
How would you now modify your previous statements -- repeated above.
regards,
Mike
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