RV tip over (flip upside down)

[oldsfolks]

Nosewheels NEVER fit on a dirt road for landings in emergency. Nosewheels make sloppy airplane drivers.
Real Aviators Fly Taildraggers

[gvgoff99]

If you look at how the birds do it you will notice that after making two "wheel" touch downs they usually put their noses down next. Obviously God intended for us to have the nose touch down too. This must be in the Bible somewhere! George

[maverick]

That's funny. I'll go look at birds landing now.

Though I think that taildraggers look better -- with their noses jutting into the air, it's as if they're yearning to fly!

Max

[Vince Koehn]

I would say that a real aviator is any aviator who is smart enough to know his limitations. This could apply to many areas of aviation nose gear versus tail wheel, IFR versus VFR, and so on. And if we get into the area of comparing our wonderful airplanes to birds we are all wrong...have you ever seen a low wing bird? Lets never forget the old saying "There are old pilots and there are bold pilots, but there are very few old, bold pilots." Have you seen the all new FA-18 Hornet "taildragger"....hmmm! neither have I!

VK

[Jaypratt]

The RV tail wheel is easier to build, and Easier to maintain, I would rather build them for that reason .
I welcome any one that wants to fly and join the RV family, even if they got to have a nose wheel. Come on in! the waters warm!!

[arffguy]

I wanted to make a post along the lines of N819VK but have held off. I think the cost of insurance could be the deciding factor for a pilot like me with no taildragger time (but lots of rides in them ) And I think that "real pilots" given the chance will fly anything that gets them airborne.

[admin]

Certainly agree with that mindset. I don't know how much more the insurance is for a t/w as opposed to a n/w. Maybe JT from NationAir can chime in.

Just so you'll know... I had zero tailwheel time when my RV-6 was finished, and after about ten hours of transition training found that landing a t/w aircraft to be no real big deal. Oops, I shouldn't have said that...the macho image of the t/w pilot is now busted .

B,
dr

Originally Posted by arffguy

I wanted to make a post along the lines of N819VK but have held off. I think the cost of insurance could be the deciding factor for a pilot like me with no taildragger time (but lots of rides in them ) And I think that "real pilots" given the chance will fly anything that gets them airborne.

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by arffguy

I wanted to make a post along the lines of N819VK but have held off. I think the cost of insurance could be the deciding factor for a pilot like me with no taildragger time (but lots of rides in them ) And I think that "real pilots" given the chance will fly anything that gets them airborne.

Yeah, this was the deciding factor for me. I'm just now finishing up my wings on my -7A and I ordered the fuselage a couple of weeks ago. The fuse is of course the point where the builder must really commit to wheel configuration. I went with the tricycle gear primarily because of insurance. After calling around and talking to Aaron at NationAir I discovered that it was going to cost me major $$ just to look cool in the taildragger.

This caused me to re-evaluate the 'mission' for my airplane. My mission is to keep this thing as simple, safe and cost-effective as possible. We're not rich, so every consideration must be made to keep costs down. I figured that by today's rates (and by the time I'm flying they're almost guaranteed to be more), I'll make up the difference in kit cost in insurance savings in less than a year.

Another factor was the time requirements. There was only one insurance company that would write policies for tailwheel RV's regardless of the pilot's tailwheel time. They are no longer writing new business. I have a tailwheel endorsement, but I only have about 15 hours in tailwheels. The remaining companies will not cover you for phase one if you don't have 50-100 hrs tw. This for me was another big factor in the decision since I want to fly my first flight.

Also, this is *my* airplane. My original intent was to build the tricycle gear, then I started getting hounded by folks telling me that only real aviators fly taildraggers and other assorted bullcrap which has no basis in reality. I've already heard people calling the tricycle gear a 'sissy' wheel. I guess when people start hounding me I can ask them if they built the real kit or the sissy kit (quickbuild)!

And oh yeah...there's that safety thing. I'm not saying that taildraggers are that dangerous, but there is an element of safety involved. This would have most likely been a non-event with the nosewheel.

Jamie D. Painter
RV-7A wings
http://rv.jpainter.org

[Davepar]

In addition to the points Jamie made, I also wanted an easier platform for my wife and maybe daughter to fly some day.

And there are some airstrips that were just plain built wrong. The airport closest to my parents house out at the ocean almost always has a 5-10 knot gusting crosswind, and it's a narrow strip. I landed there for the first time Sunday in a spam can, and it was tricky. I'd rather have that slight nosewheel advantage working for me.

Go ahead. Call it a training wheel. I can take it.

[Highflight]

Originally Posted by Jamie

I've already heard people calling the tricycle gear a 'sissy' wheel. I guess when people start hounding me I can ask them if they built the real kit or the sissy kit (quickbuild)!

mie D. Painter
RV-7A wings
http://rv.jpainter.org

Never forget; people who call them sissy wheels do NOT get a ride. That's called "sweet justice".

Vern
RV7-AAAAAAAAAAAA