Thanks and small clarification
R.P.Ping said:
Well said!
I have had this discustion many times, but you can't convince some one if they don't want to listen.
Enough on the nose gear/tail dragger issues. I was really interested in why ?Van?s? would make a statement about the clearance. Now I know the numbers.
Thanks to all,
Roger
Well one I know for a fact this can happen.
Nose wheel drops, Prop hits
About 20 years ago I had a Piper. I was taxing on an asphalt ramp. There was an unmarked drain area in the ramp in a taxiway between hangers and tie-downed planes. That drain had been sinking in the ramp, making a deep pocket or recess for years. Originally the drain was designed and intended to be at a low point, but it indeed was sinking and getting deeper, as the cracking asphalt showed. Not a lot deeper, 6"- 8" on average and may be 10" lower than high spots nearby.
When the nose dropped, the oleo compressed, the prop hit the far side high side of ramp near the drain . Clack-clack-clackclackclackclack. it was over. What the Heck!
Shutting down both tips where curled.
That is the only metal I have bent on a plane in 11,000 hours, except for the metal I bend in the shop making my RV.
Later the airport authorities painted the ramp area around the drain with yellow paint. Later they repaired the ramp, but not before a few other planes (tri-gear) bent props. Fortunitly the insurance payed for the new prop and the engine was not damaged because it was not a sudden stoppage.
As far as Van's statement, I quoted.
He never addressed prop clearance as far as I know. He did however address the rash of RV-A's that flipped this summer. In an RVator article last year he discussed the nose gear design compromises or goals, which was for simple structure and low drag.
He later revised the nose gear folk with more ground clearance, no doubt to improve rough uneven surface performance. He did not actually SAY the nose gear was less suited for soft field work, but I did extrapolate his comments. Of course he is not going to be critical of his own design, nor does he need to.
First by making it "SIMPLE" and low drag as his stated prime design goals, this implies that supper heavy duty rough field work was not his prime concern and may be a compromise was made to meet simple & low drag. That is my inference.
Also the fact he increased the nose gear folk to ground clearance it indicates there is room for improvement. It is a great design, don't get me wrong, but nothing is 100% perfect. I mean the Piper nose gear is pretty heavy duty but it stilled allowed the prop to hit the dirt, or the asphalt in this case.
If you look at Van's strip where his house is in North Plains OR, the strip is long and hard pack dirt and grass. I could land anything there.
George