> "Who on the Net has flown both, and what is the difference????"
I think Lee was only asking about the differences between them, not which one is better. There are differences of course, but if you've been flying a taildragger KR getting in a tri-gear KR is like getting in a two-place Grumman. I think what Dan said about the variations in weight, fuselage length, & wing loading all make it difficult to say anything solid about TD KR's and three point landings. I've landed a number of times in the three-point attitude and had a wing lift or even found myself back up in the air. That's because the geometry of my current KR and the retractable I had before that both do not allow one to touch down at a full stall. Nowhere near it. At least 10 MPH over - even more with the retractable. There's still lots of lift left in my wings even though I may be (barely) on the ground in a three-pointer. That's why I find myself getting blown off the runway or salvaging a second touch-down if a gust crosses the wings at this critical point. I'll do them if things are calm but since I can't raise the nose in the flare any higher than my tailwheel will allow, I generally do my landings the way Jim Faughn describes in his treatise. The tri-gear on the other hand will let you play with the stall and get on the edge of it. The KR wing is very predictable and invites a pilot to do this (unlike a Lancair, for instance). I was surprised at how satisfying it was to be able to actually have control of the angle of attack on landing the first time I got to fly a tri-gear. I hate having to "drive" my plane onto the runway, but that's what I have to do with my taildragger. I have to land it with excess speed simply because slowing it down to the proper speed for touchdown - landing it with the correct angle of attack - puts my tailwheel way down there where it hits the ground well before the mains. Ugly. Ken or Steve put a block between the fuselage and the tailwheel in order to lower the nose - to better be able to see over it I guess. Taking that block out has been on my list of things to do so I'll be doing this once I finish with some other plane projects I'm working on. I've just learned to live with not being able to stall the airplane onto the runway. There are none of these concerns with the tri-gear. The tail is high enough you can bring it in full-stall and very slow. It was a real pleasure to full-stall land the tri-gear KR with that barn-door drag flap that Morehead's plane has. If it weren't for the nosegear drag once in the air and the fact that a tri-gear KR just doesn't "look" right, I'd probably prefer one. The retractable KR is the one that "looks right" to me, but that's just me. Mike KSEE ____________________________________________________________ Nutrition Improve your career health. Click now to study nutrition! http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL2141/c?cp=H5Wy-yi1qIetONn5wY7SywAAJ1A9mk8a0luj1TJO2sh3zRLgAAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASQwAAAAA=
