Steve-
I completed my Avid Flyer about 4 years ago. For the past 4 years I have
kept her in my garage and trailered her every time I wished to loose the
surly bonds. My airport of choice has been Frederick Municipal, about 50
miles distant from my home over generally good highways. I tow at 65 mph,
with no problems, except when behind large tractor trailers, I notice that
the A/C on an open trailer is subjected to wake turbulence buffeting which
causes disturbing motion, which I can avoid by--you guessed it--not allowing
any tractor trailers to get ahead of me. Even at 50 miles distance, I can
decide to commit aviation and 1 hour later, I can be in the air. This is
such an overwhelming advantage, that I cannot imagine ever going back to the
airport and hangar routine. Which is why I am now, after much study and soul
searching, building a Europa.
The secret to sucessful trailering is that the aircraft must be absolutely
securely fastened down and padded heavily where needed, and that anything
other than smooth highways must be avoided. The trailer springing must be as
soft as possible but, even so, a rough road will cause more wear and tear to
your A/C than many hours of flying. Smooth roads and high speeds pose no
hazards, but when the roads begin to get rough, I slow to a crawl to protect
my bird!
In short, after my Avid trailering experiences, I would not consider building
any aircraft which was not designed for quick rigging and derigging and
designed to be trailered. Trailering and garage hangaring has made flying
practical to me for the first time since I soloed a 7AC Champ 40 years ago
back in 1957. I am looking forward to enjoying my Europa in a like fashion,
and have spent considrable time developing self-rigging schemes to make this
possible. Trailering is definitely worth it!
Regards,
Pops
A36
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