Clip wing flying qualities

[SpecialT]

Tom said:

Sid Nelson flew airshows here in the midwest in a Cole conversion Clip Wing T-Craft 20 to 25 years ago. He signature was an inverted ribbon cut on take off. I have been told the reason he did it on take off is because after flying his routine he was to tired to do it at the end. They said the Cole airplane was like flying a 450 Stearman, and the Swick was like a Buker.

[SpecialT]

Re: Clip wing flying qualities

Tom I felt like your comment deserved it's own thread. Maybe I can get a chance to fly a Stearman or Buker, that would be nice! First I need to fly a "real" Taylorcraft with a full length wing for a comparison. That's on my list of things to do.

The G's make you tired for sure. Think "Trampoline." The clip wing does have heavier flight control inputs, relative to other planes I have flown. I have owned two experimentals, the last being a Mustang II, which had really light stick and rudder inputs. Almost to the point that it felt like it would flutter and you had to be delicate. The Tcart takes much more stick force and length of movement. And the rudder is much more stiff (Oversize). It doesn't do anything scary. "Stable" is a good word. When I first flew the plane after the Mustang it almost felt "dead." No lighter than air feeling. It didn't feel like I could do a proper flare on landing unless I was carrying a lot of speed, it just kept sinking. But I think that is what makes it a good acro plane. It's deliberate, it stops flying when you want it to (snap rolls.) In a stall you can walk it down with the rudder, whereas my Mustang would flip over on it's back without provocation.