by "John R. Copeland" <jcopelan@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
Mar 11, 2008 at 08:48 PM
"Bill Watson" <Mauledriver@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message =
news:47d708f8$0$6489$4c368faf@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> John R. Copeland wrote:
>=20
>> The most fun was my time in Cessna 180s and 195s with crosswind gear.
>> We could land them in astounding crab angles and still roll along =
centerline.
>>=20
> One of my earliest air****t watching memories was of a large =
taildragger=20
> (Beaver perhaps or a 195) taxiing out from AGC's ramp with what looked =
> like broken landing gear. I remember him disappearing into the fog =
and=20
> listening to him take off.
>=20
> Many years later I realized I had seen some of that weird looking=20
> crosswind gear rolling a large 'dragger around the ramp, and then=20
> witnessed something close to a zero vis, zero ceiling takeoff. Whew!
>=20
> The only mitigating factor was that the wind was probably zero too.
>=20
> Big Fun.
Crosswind gear can be "kicked out" while taxiing,
by using a short burst of power against a fully deflected rudder.
The big round engines of 195s and Beavers block taxiing visibility,
so the crosswind gear gave a huge benefit to those airplanes.
Without crosswind gear they usually are taxied in a series of S-turns.
