The Accurate Reloading Forums
Propeller planes — What are "tail draggers" advantages, if any?
01 August 2023, 11:10
NaphtaliPropeller planes — What are "tail draggers" advantages, if any?
Since childhood I have imagined airplanes
circa 1935–1945 to have been the heyday of propeller airplanes. Tail draggers and tricycle wheel designs were present, tricycle being, perhaps, better suited for carrying weight?
What differences or "advantage and disadvantages" occur within each general type?
It's so simple to be wise. Just think of something stupid to say and then don't say it. Sam Levinson
07 August 2023, 22:55
470EDDYIt is interesting to note that the ubiquitous Piper Super Cub, always a tail dragger, has now been modernized, or sissyfied by Carbon Cub with a very popular nose wheel version!!
What does that say??
470EDDY
15 August 2023, 02:07
DuggaBoyeMost trikes are not designed with off-field/rough-field in mind.
Small weak front struts as well as weak firewalls (esp in 182) lead to damage in many off airport scenarios .
Today there are some newer rough field "designed" trikes
DuggaBoye-O
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23 August 2023, 11:41
JBrownSexiness???
I’m not a pilot, but I can tell you that a tail dragger with bush wheels is about the sexiest thing with wings.
Just got back from a super cub drop hunt in the Alaska Range. No plane compares IMO.
Jason
"You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core."
_______________________
Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt.
Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry
Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure.
-Jason Brown
23 August 2023, 16:29
Todd Williamsquote:
Originally posted by JBrown:
Sexiness???
I’m not a pilot, but I can tell you that a tail dragger with bush wheels is about the sexiest thing with wings.
Just got back from a super cub drop hunt in the Alaska Range. No plane compares IMO.
Granted, a Super Cub on tundra tires is pretty cool but the "sexiest thing on wings"?
Hold my beer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMDferzGwjc25 August 2023, 10:51
Scott KingA slightly cooler tail dragger,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_G-21_GooseWe've had two Gooses and a Mallard in town at the same time.
Or,
https://youtu.be/FpgpVDKUP8k?si=tPG0mkw9meIjVmgq25 August 2023, 10:53
Scott Kingquote:
Originally posted by JBrown:
Sexiness???
I’m not a pilot, but I can tell you that a tail dragger with bush wheels is about the sexiest thing with wings.
Just got back from a super cub drop hunt in the Alaska Range. No plane compares IMO.
That's all well and fine, but I don't think we've seen any taken game photos.
25 August 2023, 21:37
470EDDYThere is a SPECTACULAR brilliant yellow turbine GOOSE conversion flying out here in the Northwest. There was an article about it in the EAA magazine recently. VERY SEXY...and COOL!! Really performs great with 2 P&W PT6s!!
Only thing more cool is the turbine MALLARDS operated by the So Pacific GOLD Pearl Oyster farms of the Northern Territories in Australia!! Quiet performers... and they are tricycle gear!!
I have flown the CARAVAN on amphib floats. What a dream machine!! 6 of us in it with demo pilot, 1200LBS FUEL... we each took a turn in the left seat... performed better than out 180 on floats, and the glide control you have on final with that 10ft Prop on the power lever is AMAZING!!
THERE IS NOTHING MORE SEXY THAN PULLING THE PROP INTO BETA ON A TURBINE IN FRONT IF THE DOCK OR AIRPORT CAFE!!
CHEERZ,
470EDDY
26 August 2023, 11:03
JBrownquote:
Originally posted by Todd Williams:
quote:
Originally posted by JBrown:
Sexiness???
I’m not a pilot, but I can tell you that a tail dragger with bush wheels is about the sexiest thing with wings.
Just got back from a super cub drop hunt in the Alaska Range. No plane compares IMO.
Granted, a Super Cub on tundra tires is pretty cool but the "sexiest thing on wings"?
Hold my beer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMDferzGwjc
Some prefer Ginger, some prefer Maryanne….
I couldn’t afford the cost of firing one up, so that factors in… Plus, the 100 yard, boulder strewn, gravel bar “runway” work appeals to me…
Jason
"You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core."
_______________________
Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt.
Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry
Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure.
-Jason Brown
26 August 2023, 11:29
JBrownquote:
Originally posted by Scott King:
quote:
Originally posted by JBrown:
Sexiness???
I’m not a pilot, but I can tell you that a tail dragger with bush wheels is about the sexiest thing with wings.
Just got back from a super cub drop hunt in the Alaska Range. No plane compares IMO.
That's all well and fine, but I don't think we've seen any taken game photos.
Ouch!
Not a single shot was fired on this hunt. Regardless, it ranks as the best hunt of my life, the one I wouldn’t trade for any other. Heck, I don’t know that I could trade it for every hunt I’ve ever made, and all my future hunts.
Finding a legal ram, then watching Renee catch the fever and push harder than most any grown man could, or would, did something to me. Watching her become a full hunting partner, observing, making wise decisions, noticing things that I had missed, pushing beyond her own limits, not just a tagging along, was an experience beyond words.
I would have posted a report on here, but the photo thing is too onerous(plus you can see it on FB).
I will copy and paste the text here:
quote:
Renee and I spent 15 days backpacking and hunting in the Alaska Range this year. The trip had a little bit of everything: sunshine and rainbows, thunder and lightning, glacial river crossings, heavy packs, sore muscles, curious animals, days of rain and fog, and days that were so beautiful that you couldn’t believe that every piece of clothing and gear that we had was soaking wet the day before.
There was lots of sweat, quite a bit of blood, and lots of tears. Mostly tears of joy, but also tears brought on by fear, and the tears that heal the wounds that we carry through life. Those might be the best tears, the ones that strengthen the bond that we share.
We had a huge piece of wilderness all to ourselves, and we had no one to rely on but each other.
We spent hours watching moose, bears, sheep, caribou, porcupine, and birds of prey, not to mention all the little creatures that inhabit the wild places.
We ate blueberries and rose hips to the point that I was sure we would be sick. Caught fish with our bare hands. We climbed mountains so steep that we could barely descend, stumbling into camp past midnight by the light of a dim headlamp. We drank from streams that were so clear you almost couldn’t see the water itself, and we drank from streams so laden with glacial silt that you couldn’t see past the surface.
We made mistakes and memories, we made pacts that will shape the rest of our lives. Our bond strengthened in ways that can’t be explained in words. We witnessed things that we can’t explain and saw things in ourselves and each other that were beyond what we could comprehend.
I used to dream that I would someday experience such adventures, but I never dared to believe that those dreams would become reality. I never in my wildest dreams believed that I would be sharing these adventures with my daughter, much less that she would be pushing me further.
During the hunt she asked me, “When I have kids, do you think that you will still be hunting sheep? Will you be able to teach them to hunt and bring them on a hunt like this?”
I got caught up in the math and it wasn’t until I reflected on that moment days later that I realized that she had given me the greatest compliment that I could ever receive.
Jason
"You're not hard-core, unless you live hard-core."
_______________________
Hunting in Africa is an adventure. The number of variables involved preclude the possibility of a perfect hunt. Some problems will arise. How you decide to handle them will determine how much you enjoy your hunt.
Just tell yourself, "it's all part of the adventure." Remember, if Robert Ruark had gotten upset every time problems with Harry
Selby's flat bed truck delayed the safari, Horn of the Hunter would have read like an indictment of Selby. But Ruark rolled with the punches, poured some gin, and enjoyed the adventure.
-Jason Brown
17 December 2023, 22:12
MississippianProp clearance is a huge benefit along with the ruggedness as compared to Tri gear. Ease of maintenance, I.e. comparing spring gear or bungee setup of some tail draggers to an oleo strut of Tri gear. There may be a weight savings as well when comparing the 2 configurations on the same airframe.
Double Rifle Shooters Society
25 December 2023, 08:26
Grizzly Adams1With a tricycle you can see where you're taxiing . None of that zig zagging.
When the horse has been eliminated, human life may be extended an average of five or more years.
James R. Doolitle
I think they've been misunderstood. Timothy Tredwell
26 December 2023, 22:18
Mississippianquote:
Originally posted by Grizzly Adams1:
With a tricycle you can see where you're taxiing . None of that zig zagging.
That’s only the case when piloting from the back seat, which is rare.
Double Rifle Shooters Society