Erich Hi!
I cant comment on improvement to tail wheel Europa ground manoeuvrability a
s
I had a Trigear but I would guess it=B9s significant.
I now have a tail wheel vintage Aircraft with the same style of tail wheel
operation and I would ask you to ensure you very regularly lift the tail an
d
check the latching mechanism for =8Cbreak out=B9 action and force. Having just
pirouetted (a more artistic word for ground looping!) off a paved (concrete
)
runway after rudder control became ineffective at 15 -20mph because my tail
wheel latching broke free giving no directional control at all. The forces
encountered are significant and damage was done but easily rectified with
Tig Welder and a lot of cursing.
If you operate regularly on grass the tail wheel breakout has an easy life
but still accumulates wear and changes in adjustment. I would recommend
lifting tail and checking the action by hand of break out force if an
excursion to hard runway is an intention or continual operation is on a har
d
surface. Tail wheel shimmy is another culprit in this area so beware if
anyone makes comment that they observed it. Other than that the latching
tail wheel is great. BTW. I have the Maule Unit but all types including
Scott, Matco, Lang tail wheel setups can enjoy the game of terrorising tail
wheel pilots if the opportunity arises!
This is not alarmist but a friendly nod that checking a great invention is
needed regularly. It sounds a good option to me.
Kind Regards
Gerry
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