wrote:
The three point
attitude seems more natural on the grass strip, whereas the flatter
approach of a wheel landing seems more natural on a hard top runway.
Maybe I just need a lot more practice. :-)

Dave,

We all could use more practice.

You've had a lot of good advice so far. Some of the other responses
above were from guys with a boatload of hours in the Super D. I've
only had a few hundred, so take this for what it's worth:

The Super D is pretty draggy; I agree that one can enter and fly the
pattern just as fast as blazes, no problem. Squeeze the power off all
the way to idle abeam the numbers, hold altitude (no climbing!), and
watch your airspeed drop like a stone. After the prop falls out of
governing range (about 95 mph), push it full forward and you'll get
another bit of extra drag. As the airspeed sinks to about 80, drop the
wing and start your base.

My first rating was in gliders (many happy hours at Van Sant... tell
Azhar I said, "Hi!"), so I prefer a steep, gliding approach. Slow to
70 on base (trim it!), and play the angles from there to reach your
desired touchdown point. I usually slip hard on final and aim for 70
heavy/65 light over the fence. It's just as easy to hold out a little
longer on downwind and forego the slip if you like that better.

The Super D is an easy, honest airplane, and it'll rescue you from many
mistakes on landing with a good shot of throttle and/or a go-around. I
*much* prefer 3-pointers, but I've learned to wheelie it at will, too.

The Super D will safely 3-point in any crosswind that I'd want to taxi
in (BIG rudder, powerful control surfaces), and I'd take the Super D
over a Cessna or Piper in a strong crosswind any day of the week.

Lastly, bad guys always wear black because black means evil, and
asphalt is black. Everyone knows that green means good, and grass is
green. :-)

Have fun!

-Dave Russell
8KCAB / N2S-3