Fergus Kyle wrote:
>
> Paul:
> the advantage of the
> monowheel is its size - it is a tundra tire. That means when the engine
> quits (not 'if') you can put down on more land area than if you carry 3
> teeny-weenies for wheels. They will dig in and over you go.
I prefer "if" vs. "when" if, Ferg. Statistics from the National
Transportation Safety Board, and its UK counterpart, show that the
4-stroke Rotax engines are highly reliable. Conversely, they show
that the monowheel requires proficiency training in type and need to
maintain same. So I don't think the trigear is to be faulted for this
reason, since statistically one will prang a monowheel on an airport
surface much more often than in an off-airport landing in either
type. Or any analogous type, like the Kitfox, per NTSB stats.
> There MUST BE a speed difference since the one tire and 1-1/2kg
> retraction gear is not equal to the weight of three extended teeny-weenies.
Yes, but for this there's a formula to comp the difference. A 30#
weight increase (below gross of course) is about half a knot in cruise
velocity.
Best,
Fred F.
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