MEMBERS’ FORUM
ABOUT
TAIL;FIRST TYPES
THE “TAIL;FIRST TYPES” ARTICLE in the
November EAA Sport Aviation was very
interesting but requires a couple clarifications. 1.;;e aircraft pictured on page 56 is
not a Quickie. It is a Dragonfly. 2.;;e
comment “…It resulted in demanding
ground handling characteristics. A taller
vertical fin and a conventional rudder service made the Quickie easier to fly and
taxi….” is somewhat misleading given the
history of this design. Mr. Willford is correct that the prototype underwent a
number of changes in this area resulting in
a “standard” vertical fin/rudder. However,
since the release of the plans, a myth has
been propagated that the vertical fin/rudder is undersized, leading to the Quickie/
Q2/Q200 having poor ground handling.
Some of the early aircraft were a handful
on the ground, but many years ago EAA
member David Gall turned all of us in the
Quickie Builders Association on to the
problem of main gear alignment. With
properly aligned main gear, all ground-
handling problems/challenges have been
completely eliminated. Sadly, I continue to
hear about how dangerous these airplanes
are at nearly every fly-in I attend. I am
hopeful that this will be read by the many
members who are still propagating this
Quickie/Q2/Q200 ground-handling myth;
the design is no more challenging than any
other taildragger.
_
Jon Finley, EAA 394580
Los Lunas, New Mexico
ENJOYED THE “TAIL;FIRST TYPES” article by Neal Willford
[November 2009]; it brought back some great memories. I’ll
never forget the first time I saw the VariEze at Mojave
Airport in 1974 or 1975. I flew out with a student in his
Aeronca Champ for a cross-country from Whiteman Field
near Burbank. We entered the Mojave pattern on downwind
and saw this strange-looking aircraft just lining up to take
o;. While we were on downwind, it took o; and quickly
completed a pattern outside ours. We followed it on base
and final. Once it landed, it taxied to the pad in front of
Burt Rutan’s hangar, so we followed. We met Dick Rutan,
who was doing some of the first test flying, and Burt talked
about this new airplane he was developing. I remember
there were two VariViggens parked outside the hangar, and
they were working on a twin-boomed aircraft inside. We
spent a lot of time with them before walking down the line
to talk with other designer/builders developing types like
the Quickie and Q2. It was an exciting time to visit Mojave
in the early ‘70s. You could just walk around and visit the
builders and see the progress on new designs. I made the
trip often with students from Van Nuys and Whiteman just
to see what was going on.
_
Dave Dodson, EAA 614065
Elkhart, Indiana
THE PHOTOGRAPH ON PAGE ;; of the
November issue is actually a Dragonfly
MK-I, not a Quickie. ;e cheeks on the
engine cowl, nearly flat canard, shape of the
fuselage, and size of the rudder are key
indicators that this is a Dragonfly.
_
Je;rey A. Le Tempt, EAA 694308
Enterprise, Alabama
Letters intended for publication should be addressed to EAA/Letter to the Editor, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI, 54903, or e-mailed to
Editorial@eaa.org. Please include your EAA
number, city, and state. All letters are subject to editing. Unpublished letters will not be returned.
