G-BLEW wrote:GtE wrote:Because the tailwheel is steerable through the rudder pedals but the nosewheel is free castoring.
Presumably this is an Escapade specific problem as there are plenty of other aircraft with fully castoring nosewheels?
Ian
Yes. I was involved in the certification of both - the tailwheel aeroplane was the baseline, and has a very conventional setup which handles extremely well.
The nosewheel and moveable maingear were not quite an afterthought, but not the core design intent, and adding steering mechanism to the nosegear was deemed to add too much weight and complexity.
The combination of a castoring nosewheel, particular CG range relative to the wheels and (on some builds) heel brakes on the Escapade nosegear mean you have to be aware of the risk of a ground loop and at times more ahead of the aeroplane than, say, on an AA5 which also has a castoring nosewheel, but tends to track straight rather better.
We all on the team considered the nosegear aeroplane acceptable, and it's still very nice to fly - but we also all agreed that the tailwheel aeroplane has the better ground handling. The nosegear aeroplane is very much there because, well, some people just want a nosewheel and otherwise wouldn't have bought the aeroplane.
G
I am Spartacus, and so is my co-pilot.