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In a message dated 7/13/2006 8:03:58 AM Central Standard Time,
n103md@yahoo.com writes:
The
functional purpose of the nose strut is :
1) to hold the wheel in the right
place relative to the airframe,
2) to absorb some energy on less graceful
landings, and
3) allow the nose to rise gently on takeoff so the pilot has
a moment to
find the right elevator position.
A
rubber hose clamped to the strut can allow the strut to serve #1 well,
#2
adequately, and #3 not so well. In my view, that is sufficient to allow
a
safe flight by someone who knows how to fly a Lancair in the first place.
Consider that many airplanes are flying with little or no shock absorption
in the nose gear. It's probably better than the rock-hard mooney
donuts
that used to be on the mains of my LNC2.
If I were facing
considerable inconvenience versus flying with a
deflated nose strut plus
radiator hose and hose clamps, I would clamp
on the hose, and give the
nose a few tugs up and down to insure
proper takeoff attitude and prop
clearance. If it passed those tests,
I would fly it home. The greatest
risk would be ridicule on the LML :-)
George Braly (privately) and I (on the lml) had this exact discussion with
Shannon Knoeplfin 2 years ago. He thought that he was someone "who knew how to
fly a Lancair in the first place" and decided "the considerable inconvenience"
was too much to bear so he departed Oshkosh. He died less than 30 minutes later
attempting an engine out landing into Madison.
The moral of the story is, if you are terribly inconvenienced by mechanical
malfunctions aircraft are prone to and cannot stand the thought of waiting
on the ground for them to be properly repaired then you should not be a
pilot.
Regards,
Jeff
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