Ok I am back - I got about 1.1 hour with 6 landings and it was tons of fun - until the right gear cracked
– nothing got damaged except the crack in the gear struct.
It was a pretty regular 10-12 knots or so direct crosswind landing on a grass field with the proper right wheel first etc so I was wondering what the hell .. I mean I got a bit of a sink right just before the touchdown and we bounced a bit on that right wheel but nothing I would even normally remember.
I was told there was ongoing issue with the left gear - it kept cracking an developing new stress cracks , they kept fixing it and finally got tired of it and manufactured a new , larger diameter tube gear structs which were supposed to be put in next week on both sides.
Looks like the right one had a similar issue going on and it cracked just like the left one in the exact same spot - all in all they just gonna put the new gear support as they planned within a few days so I will just resume next weekend.
I felt pretty bad about it and perhaps 12 knots direct crosswind was not the best idea for my first landings in a taildragger but again, the landing wasn’t that hard at all , had much worse during my initial training.
As far as the plane - it is sooo different. First of all even in the air it feels completely different. Unlike in my Sting which has extremely crisp controls, the controls in the Zlin are very laggy , the plane is a lot more draggy and the whole experience feels a bit like flying a barn door.
Timing required to get various maneuvers right is very different - I mean , it takes a few tries or so and you get the hang of it but it is definitely different , I wouldn't say better or worse , just different.
Stalls are different as well - Sting is like a puppy compared to this plane, it just kind of just wallows back and forth and it is very hard to get it to break – Zlin breaks quite a bit harder and power on stalls feel like you are flying vertical before it breaks.
Of course, the biggest difference is with the amount of rudder you need, especially on the ground or in slow flight - I keep getting surprised by it, especially after power changes, so that will take a few more hours and in any case, I need 10 hours ( insurance requirements) to solo in it so that's not a big deal.
Anyway, will resume next weekend
PS. Sling Pilot
I was told I could get the endorsement in about 5-6 hours ( $130 per hour ) but if I want to solo in it ( which I want ), I will need 10 hours due to insurance requirements.
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