I had mine converted about 3 years ago - best move ever (other than the VP prop
of course...). It just looks so nice.
I had tailwheel experience and a good check out, but I was never happy balancing
on that monowheel. As my instructor said, its not a matter of IF you will
groundloop
it, just WHEN. It might be 40 hours or 400... The defining moment came
when it was parked out overnight and I had a phone call from the airfield to
come back as 'something had happened' - it turned out that a wing leg had
collapsed
while parked! Who wants an aircraft that can't even stay upright while
standing still!
With a pair of Duncans lightweight leg fairings, there was no loss of
performance.
By fitting a set of wheel pants, I probably only gained 3-4 knots but it
looks way better. (I used the trigear mains, which looked huge out of the box
but when fitted look in proportion. I have had many complementary comments about
how right it looks as a taildragger).
And of course ground handling is as easy as any other taildragger. I have
handled
15knot crosswinds with no issues (on grass) and the limit is me rather than
the aircraft. I self-limit to 12knots crosswind if out of practice for a while.
Ian.
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