I I think the biggest problem with taildragger is the poor visibility or the restricted pilot views outside the cockpit, primarily during taxing and landings. Since I have gotten a taildragger, and I realize it's much harder to find a pilot who can test flying this bird, much less hope of flying it by myself, I have been thinking of innovative ways for improving the cockpit views on this bird. I want to elevate the seat position but will need to replace with a bigger canopy first....
I was wondering if anyone has thought about, or tried in the past to overcome this issue with well-designed optical or video devices, which could significantly improve the pilot views in the cockpit....?! Another issue on improving the landing safey for taildraggers is perhaps to apply restrictions from overstepping on break pedals during landing. I have taken a few flight lessons on flying a taildragger with my CFI, and it really crashes my confidence whenever I see my CFI needed to strike on the rudder or break pedals so quickly (back and forth) during landing. This to me is the 2nd biggest risk driver (next to the view restrictions) to land a taildragger.... Honestly, I have seen extremely few or almost none of the flying KR2s exist today with a tailwbeel configuration, and I am sure there must be a BIG reason for that! I would definitely choose to buy a tri-gear KR2 if I had the knowledge today.... Stay safe & flying high! Dr. Hsu On Fri, Sep 4, 2020, 3:45 AM Gary Sack via KRnet <krnet@list.krnet.org> wrote: > Tricycles drive better. Tailwheels fly better. > > Gary Sack, 81JM, A retractable tailwheel > > On Thu, Sep 3, 2020 at 11:55 PM Mike Stirewalt via KRnet < > krnet@list.krnet.org> wrote: > > > Sam said, > > > > > "Moral of the story............... Fly a tri-gear." > > > > I don't know if flying a tri-gear is the moral of the story, however it > > surely does make ground handling more comfortable since you can see > > things better and are sitting in a level, more natural, attitude. I was > > amazed the first time I flew a KR tri-gear (Jim Morehead's plane) how > > effortless it was to handle on the ground and to land. > > > > I think once a person is comfortable with conventional gear, all landings > > - whether tri-gear or not - are made exactly the same. Stick full back, > > as close to the stall as possible. Full attention to the rudder. > > Tailwheel or tri-gear, exactly the same procedure. Having a nose gear > > should make landings uneventful and a pleasure . . . instead of the > > white-knuckle experience it is for most people who are doing their first > > landings in a tailwheel KR. > > > > Still though, tri-gear landings go bad. Guys hit their nose gears on > > touchdown and bend or break them . . . a consequence of coming in much > > too fast and trying to force the plane onto the runway. Tailwheel > > training should help/prevent that from ever happening. If I were ruler > > of the world I would make it mandatory that pilots do their first few > > hours in a conventional gear aircraft. They would from then on > > instinctively land whatever plane they might be flying as if it had a > > tailwheel. I think I would also mandate (as ruler of the world) that > > all student pilots get at least a couple hours in a glider. > > > > Re Jim's plane, as effortless as it was to land, he and his instructor > > still wound up off the runway upside down - at the very same airport > > where I had done the first flights with his plane. Jim had utterly no > > feel for flying. Some people don't. Some people shouldn't. > > > > Jim some of us may not know, has passed away. Not as a result of > > flipping his KR but rather a result of allowing a surgeon to do a knee > > replacement while Jim had a slight infection on his arm. The surgeon > > didn't want to change his schedule and dismissed the arm infection as > > inconsequential. Minor infection or not, once the surgical procedure > > was done the infection headed straight for the knee incisions and turned > > into MRSA which prevented the procedure from ever healing. Jim and his > > wife Rae went through several years of what was one horror after another > > as the doctors tried to get rid of the infection and get the new knee to > > heal. They even re-did the replacement with another knee, with no > > success. They removed the knee replacements completely in a last-ditch > > effort to give Jim at least some freedom of movement . . .tried to get > > the upper leg bone to bond with the lower leg bone. That would have left > > Jim walking like Chester on Gunsmoke, but even that wouldn't heal. I'm > > mentioning this to remind any and all of us to never do any surgical > > procedure if there is the slightest infection anywhere in/on the body. > > Jim was one of the healthiest-looking guys you can imagine. He was > > slender and without any bad habits - no hypertension, no diabetes, no > > nothing . . . just a calm, healthy guy who let a doctor do something that > > should have been postponed. Rae was equally healthy and was an > > energetic, optimistic woman who only allowed healthy food in the house. > > (I stayed with them for three days). Taking care of Jim once the trouble > > started had worn her down to a shadow of who she once was. > > > > Jim and Rae drove from Cameron Park to McMinnville for our fly-in and > > they barely resembled the healthy people I had met several years earlier > > when we did the first flights on his beautifully-built KR. Sorry to > > bring this bit of misfortune into this conversation but perhaps > > mentioning what happened to Jim, and how it happened, may save someone on > > the list from making a similar mistake . . . a reminder of how easy it > > can be to turn our world utterly upside down and over. In this case the > > mistake was being too nice. They didn't want to inconvenience the > > surgeon. This is also a reminder that hospitals and clinics and all > > places which cater to people with medical problems are ground zero for > > virus' and antibiotic-resistant bacteria. > > > > Mike > > KSEE > > > > ____________________________________________________________ > > Sponsored by > > > https://www.newser.com/?utm_source=part&utm_medium=uol&utm_campaign=rss_taglines_more > > > > Former Top Aide to LaPierre Rips NRA > > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5f5165fa282465f954c9st04vuc1 > > Market Just Had Its Worst Day in Weeks > > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5f5165fa2348665f954c9st04vuc2 > > 'Green Drone' Drops Hundreds of Bags of Pot on City > > http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/5f5165fa447f665f954c9st04vuc3 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Search the KRnet Archives at > > https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. > > Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. > > see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to > change > > options. > > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org > > > _______________________________________________ > Search the KRnet Archives at > https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. > Please see LIST RULES and KRnet info at http://www.krnet.org/info.html. > see http://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet_list.krnet.org to change > options. > To UNsubscribe from KRnet, send a message to krnet-le...@list.krnet.org > _______________________________________________ Search the KRnet Archives at https://www.mail-archive.com/krnet@list.krnet.org/. 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