Taildragger or Nosedragger?

[kitfoxjen]

I'm just wondering:

Are most folks preferring nose draggers? Or taildraggers.

Me? I've done both for decades, and I find as I consider a Kitfox, I'm wondering which...

Jen

[Av8r3400]

I fly skis, so it's tail dragger for me.

[GWright6970]

Flown helicopters and nose wheel jobs all my life... time to drag a tail...:D

[DanB]

Jen,
The nice thing about the later model Kitfoxes is they are convertibles. Many folks will get their ticket in a tri-gear so setting up your Fox that way makes the transition somewhat easier. When you are ready, go get your tail-dragger endorsement from Paul at www.stick-rudder.com (they use Kitfoxes), then drop your bird into conventional and away you go. Of course, if you don't have your ticket yet, you could train conventional from the on-set.
Best Wishes and Merry Christmas!
Dan

[Dorsal]

I fly a nose dragger, for me it is more relaxing. Some day I would like to fly skis, it is nice having a convertible :)

[AirFox]

The thrill of learning to land a taildragger is one of the most exciting challenges that I've done! FUN!

Scott

[DesertFox4]

I'm just wondering:

Are most folks preferring nose draggers? Or taildraggers.

Me? I've done both for decades, and I find as I consider a Kitfox, I'm wondering which...Jen- as Dan B said, the series 7 Super Sport comes standard with the ability to quickly change from one gear configuration to the other. What ever your mission or preference, you can have it your way with the Kitfox. The Kitfox is the most accommodating kit built aircraft available. They think of everything so you don't have to.:)

[SkySteve]

One of the benefits of the Kitfox is the ability to go both ways. When I bought mine it was a taildragger. I converted it to nose wheel and fly it that way now (much easier to see when on the ground). I do a lot of off airport landing and so far I've been able to land off airport anywhere I've wanted to, right along side of taildraggers. There are a few places I wouldn't land in the nose wheel configuration, but not many. Just hold the nose off the ground 'till your stable and slow. I always land this way, whether I'm landing on or off pavement. Great planes, great performance.

[farmboy]

Jen
I bought my first Kitfox before I completed my private ticket in a Piper cherokee,then went to another instructor and got my Taildragger endorsment. I would have to say it took about six hours to consistantly take off and land the taildragger. I needed 15 hours with a instructor for my insurance to be binded. As far as the Kitfox your options are much greater, such as resale ,nose or tailwheel ,folding wings, wing struts are behind you so you do not have to look through them as with competitors. When it comes down to it I feel safer flying my Kitfox than a full size four seat craft. I do practice off field landings in hayfields and soybean fields after they have been harvested in fields that I am familiar with, heaven forbid I ever have to for real. Good luck with your ventures!

[jtpitkin06]

Everyone has their own reasons for preferring one or the other. In this part of Texas many of the smaller airports are grass. Flying farmers will put on a bar-BQ using the lamest excuse. Fly-in’s are plentiful on grass strips. Tail draggers seem to do well on grass and generally have less damage to the prop from sand or small stones. As a result, we see lots of tail wheels. When I flew in Southern California a tail dragger was an oddity. Most of the world is paved in that part of the country.

My Kitfox has a tailwheel and a two blade prop so it fits nicely in a garage and doesn’t hit the ceiling. For some that's not important. I happen to think flying a tail dragger is fun so that was also a motivating factor.


John P

[HighWing]

Jen,
I like the taildragger configuration personally, but I guess it is largely because that is pretty much all I know. I have only about 15 hours in tri gear out of just over 1000 hours.

Some of the plusses:

I prefer the look. There is something stately seeing an airplane with the prop up and tail down.

I like not having to worry about the most fragile part of the airplane when landing on relatively unimproved strips. A part, I might add that if damaged or destroyed can result in significant costs to any needed repairs.

Prop clearance was mentioned. I have a video of me doing some significant grass trimming once when landing at Fish Lake in Idaho. The grass was really tall - and I was tail wheel.

Some of the neutral issues:

Cross Winds - A flight of 6 - 5 Model IVs and one Nose wheel Rans S6, landed at Jackpot, NV. We were low on fuel and it was late in the day in direct cross winds that five of the six will say exceeded 20 kts. and the flight leader in the Rans (our bring along CFI) pegged at 28 kts. With some practice, cross winds are not much of an issue.

Feels the same in flight, but probably a bit less draggy than tri.

Recent posts tend to indicate there is not much change in CG with either - maybe a bit aft shift with tailwheel which could affect Baggage capacity some.

Negatives: Costly transition, as insurance for the first two or three years or so will more than double for similar coverage. http://www.teamkitfox.com/Forums/showthread.php?t=3968 That along with transition training can make it a real investment in cash for someone without the endorsement and some flight time. Jen, I suspect this will not apply to you as you mentioned you have been flying both ways for a while.

Visibility has been mentioned already, but I have gotten used to the regular S turns. My first Kitfox had a video camera on the lift strut with a viewer in the cockpit and I used that a lot in tight congestion.

One negative I didn't think of until I read John P's response. I have a hangar / shop attached to my house. I think I have more scars on my hairless head from trying to plow my head with the trailing edge of the flaperon than I would care to admit. There is almost always a scab on my head. I have seriously considered making an electrically winched ramp to lift the tailwheel for more clearance under the wing when indoors. A side benefit would be the better access to the engine compartment without needing a step stool. I definitely consider the greatest annoyance having to duck the wing every time I pass under it. Tri gear would definitely help in that area.

As John so well states it, it is a personal thing. Consider your mission and the numerous other little details.
Lowell

[jtpitkin06]

Lowell,

I can assure you converting to a tricycle gear won't help the scars on the head. My Cardinal (tri-grear) continues to reopen the scabs on my scalp. I've learned not to wear a hat in the hangar because the bill blocks my view of the trailing edge just enough to ensure I ram my head into the structure. Cessna did do me a favor, however, by making the ailerons and flaps on the Cardinal with a smooth fold at the trailing edge so the wounds are relatively minor. My hangar neighbor has a 172. He has some very cleanly punched diamond shaped scars on his forehead that match the 172 flaps.

With that in mind, I did see some trailing edge guards at the Oshkosh Kitfox display booth. They were made with foam inner and a sewn cover.
The guards were held on with Velcro. They did a great job of protecting the airplane and preventing eyeballs from getting jabbed at the outside corners.

A simpler version could be made with split pipe insulation noodles and glued-on Velcro.

JP

[HighWing]

Had to laugh, John as I could clearly invision the diamond shaped scars. I too find the cap visor an issue. My problem is that I always duck, but misjudge and getting along in years, ducking is not as easy as it once was. When weighing the ariplane with the tailwheel high it did seem a bit easire to miss the flaperons, though. My idea is to make a stand with casters and a winch with a ramp that I can place behind the airplane and by pushing the button, the ramp will roll itself under the tailwheel. The ramp will be out of the way under the horizontals with the third wheel under the aft fuselage. Anyway, that will be for future consideration.
Lowell

[carsonvbaker]

Jen,
Of course the important thing is to be sure to have that 3rd wheel somewhere.
I have a 7, with the 3rd wheel in the back, after some fooling around with a lesser cost tailwheel I finally gave in and bought the Alaskan Bushwheel 3200. Never regretted it, works good.
As a final note, be sure your tailwheel handling skills are sharp, this is no Cub and it will make a left or right abrupt 90 degree turn just to test your skills from time to time.
Vic

[n85ae]

I have F4 Phantom tail permanently engraved in my forehead from my days
on USS Independence CV-62. Those things are hard to see at night in the
dark ... How I learned there was such a thing as a butterfly bandage.

Regards,
Jeff

[cap01]

jeff , you have my congratulations , surviving a carrier deck . guess i didnt realize i didnt like boats when i enlisted in the navy . luckily i spent my time with a vp squadron . the scariest things in the navy , boats and carrier decks

[avidflyer]

This is what I do with my Avid when I want the tail higher up in the air. The rope hangs from the ceiling, and the loop on it below the hook goes on a nail high up on the wall when I don't want to use the rope. I just lift the tail and hook the hook on the handle with the other hand. If it was a bit to hard to lift, you could fasten the rope to the ceiling, come down through a pully with a hook on it that hooks on the handle on the plane, then go back up through another pully. When you pull down on the rope, the plane would go up quite easily. Could probably have a second hook tied on the rope, that when you pull the rope down far enough, it also hooks on the handle. When you don't need it, pull it over and hook it high on the wall where it's all out of the way. Just my 2 cents worth! Take care, Jim Chuk

My idea is to make a stand with casters and a winch with a ramp that I can place behind the airplane and by pushing the button, the ramp will roll itself under the tailwheel. The ramp will be out of the way under the horizontals with the third wheel under the aft fuselage. Anyway, that will be for future consideration.
Lowell[/quote]

[t j]

I prefer my kitfox to be tail wheel. Something about a nose wheel on a tube and fabric airplane just doesn't seem right to me.;)

The tail wheel configuration opens up more landing options too.