Tricycle versus tail dragger

[Byrneman]

I have never flown with flaperons and spent almost all of my time in C152s.

Is the tail dragger difficult to transition to and should I focus on a tricycle gear Kitfox?

It seems to me that the flaperons get you so slow that many of the tail dragger issues are minimized.

Byrneman

[Dave S]

After flying a trigear Kitfox for quite a while now, I am happy with the original choice. Insurance is cheaper, still makes a darn good off road vehicle for the grass strips we have around here. I used to fly C140, supercub and taylorcraft. But our little trigear kitfox goes in and out of places an Arrow or warrior will not and very comfortably.



Most Kitfoxes are set up as a tailwheel craft.


I think this is a personal choice and what a person considers difficult or not has to do entirely with a person's willingness to learn and apply themselves. The only real way you can figure this out is to fly both under a good instructor's tutelage.


The mission is important. You do not want a trigear if you intend to bounce off rocks on a remote sand bar.



I don't know that the flaperon effect changes the tailwheel equation much. Our S7 decreases stall speed by about 5-6 mph with the flaperons extended. Others may be a bit different. just a plain fact that a tailwheel requires more attention than a trigear.

[Esser]

Super easy to learn tail dragger. Like after I learned in the Kitfox I literally could not believe what all the fuss was about. You’ll get he hang of it super quick.

[GMKman]

Putting the 3rd wheel in the tail vs. the front creates an overwhelming urge for some to buy a go-pro and make a YouTube channel. They film some of it in slo-mo so us tricycle guys can process what’s happening.:D

[SkySteve]

Putting the 3rd wheel in the tail vs. the front creates an overwhelming urge for some to buy a go-pro and make a YouTube channel. They film some of it in slo-mo so us tricycle guys can process what’s happening.:D

And some of us nosewheel guys also make our own videos and put them on Youtube so the tailwheel guys can see places they should be able to land. See my Youtube Channel. (Link in my signature)

[HighWing]

My take is that it depends on what you get used to. Only about a dozen of my 1300 hours are in nose gear - I learned in a C-170B and it would require some real concentration to go tri gear at this point for me but doable - I almost always three point. Kitfox? I like the tailwheel look.

[Dorsal]

-In my opinion- if you plan to put big wheels or skis on then you need to go tail dragger. If not then it is personal preference mostly based on appearance (of the plane and the pilot). Personally I like the look of the TD but when I'm flying I can't see it :) when I am taxiing for a mile or so at a bigger airport I'm happy to be in a tri-gear. For me, tri-gear also made it easier to let my sons (not pilots) take-off and land the plane. Go with what makes you happy :D and, thanks to the cool design of the KitFox, if you don't like it you can switch.

[GMKman]

And some of us nosewheel guys also make our own videos and put them on Youtube so the tailwheel guys can see places they should be able to land. See my Youtube Channel. (Link in my signature)

Nice videos Steve! I need to fly up to your area and explore some of those great Utah strips. Utah is one of my top states to move to when I can’t take the heat here anymore. Although it was a mild 110 degrees yesterday here. Landing on unimproved dirt areas (unless it’s a dry lake) around here isn’t advisable unless you like fixing flat tires.

[SkySteve]

You're right, Brad. I've been to Tucson ... it's REALLY hot and dry! Remember though, it does get cold here in the winter.

[Jaguar56]

After flying a trigear Kitfox for quite a while now, I am happy with the original choice. Insurance is cheaper, still makes a darn good off road vehicle for the grass strips we have around here. I used to fly C140, supercub and taylorcraft. But our little trigear kitfox goes in and out of places an Arrow or warrior will not and very comfortably.



Most Kitfoxes are set up as a tailwheel craft.


I think this is a personal choice and what a person considers difficult or not has to do entirely with a person's willingness to learn and apply themselves. The only real way you can figure this out is to fly both under a good instructor's tutelage.


The mission is important. You do not want a trigear if you intend to bounce off rocks on a remote sand bar.



I don't know that the flaperon effect changes the tailwheel equation much. Our S7 decreases stall speed by about 5-6 mph with the flaperons extended. Others may be a bit different. just a plain fact that a tailwheel requires more attention than a trigear.

I went way down the path of changing my S7 to tailwheel. Mainly because it looks better. But after all the research I always talk myself out of it. Mostly for the reasons above. One additional. I will be taking my non-pilot wife with me on flights. With the Tri-gear and her Pinch Hitter training she could likely get it down in one piece. With the tail gear almost certainly not without significant training.

I was following a group of 10 tail draggers headed to Burnett, TX recently. They were landing in trail with a fairly brisk crosswind. There was a lot of chatter about it and one of them lost it and rolled in to a fence. I had to divert, make a crosswind landing at my home airport (grass) without any concern.


In my case, its kind of like Forrest says, "one less thing". But I really do like the look of the Kitfox with a tailwheel...….