lml@lancaironline.net Mailing List Archive

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> << Lancair Builders' Mail List >> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<--->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >> I was talking with Doug Shane the other day. He's a test pilot and VP at Scaled Composites in Mojave. He told me that he had the opportunity to fly a 360 with a small tail, and then fly the same airplane again when a larger tail was retrofit after a landing mishap. He said there was a significantly lower workload with the big tail, and while theory and numbers told an interesting story, it's really the pilot workload that's the proof of the pudding (or words to that effect). He further commented that, oddly enough, switching to the big tail increased the "apparent" stability in the directional axis. He knows that the two are unconnected but said that he didn't have enough mental bandwidth to properly fly the airplane in the directional axis with the small tail's higher workload in the pitch axis. When the workload went down with the bigger tail, it was easier to keep it straight. I have no idea what the wind conditions or CGs were for those flights. I know there's a lot of happy small-tail pilots out there. I have next to no experience actually flying a Lancair. I'm not saying small or big tails are good or bad. I'm just relaying a story here that y'all might find interesting. If there's any other disclaimers I need, I'll post them tomorrow... - Rob Wolf >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> LML website: http://www.olsusa.com/Users/Mkaye/maillist.html LML Builders' Bookstore: http://www.buildersbooks.com/lancair Please send your photos and drawings to marvkaye@olsusa.com. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>