On 14 Nov 2003 10:07:59 -0800, (Joa) wrote:

to directly answer your questions...

Granted these are set
without weight on the aircraft and the toe-in may change slightly when
under load.

that is a very important issue. what the legs are set at without load
is irrelevant. it is the position of the wheel under load that is of
critical importance. tapered spring legs will behave differently to
pivoting arms which will be different from linear compression legs
with scissor guides. (tailwind vs Auster vs jodel)

I think it boils down to what wins when you start to go into a turn
with a taildragger- does the toed-in outside wheel "drag" and thus
want to straighten you back out or does the toed-out outside wheel get
weight transferred to it and tend to straighten you out (vs tightening
the turn)?

see my other post but I will make the comment that the way a toed in
wheel behaves is entirely dependent on the surface itr is rolling on.
it is likely to be manageable on grass because of the unherent sliding
that makes grass so much of a pleasure to land on.
a wheel with toe in on bitumen would be a decided handful because it
would track in the direction that it was pointed. there is very little
slippage experienced on bitumen which makes the requirements for
alignment before touchdown just that much more critical.

the key to avoiding groundloops is to land straight. dont let them set
up in the first place.

in heavy crosswinds I not averse to landing on the into wind wheel and
tailwheel and holding the wing down. I dont know what that does to the
geometry.

Anybody with some definite answers based on physics?

what I've written is demonstrated physics with my aircraft.

There's lots of
emperical and experiential opinions out there, anybody with some more
factual answers to the argument?

when you start out flying a taildragger dont underestimate the
difficulty, but dont over estimate it either.
learn to fly in ideal conditions. then as experience builds venture
gradually into less ideal conditions. you'll probably scare yourself a
few times and that is healthy. if you persist and master it you'll be
able to handle windsock horizontal conditions with confidence (you may
not enjoy them but you will be capable).

the opportunities for error until you master taildraggers are
considerable.
get yourself an experienced instructor to guide you through the first
few hours and you will be set for life.

be chastened by the example of the astronaut doctor who died in a
Tailwind. press on the wrong foot while correcting and it can be all
over in an instant.

Stealth Pilot