On 4 Feb 2006 21:02:30 -0800, xyzzy wrote:

This statement has my head spinning. This the opposite of what I have
read in every review of these planes. Or maybe these types aren't as
similar as I thought. Does the Sundowner have the hard rubber shock
mounts (instead of oleos) in the trailing link gear that the Sport and
Musketeer have, which are reputed to reflect bounce energy right back
and magnify any bounces, instead of cushion them like trailing link
gear is supposed to do?

The landing reputation of the Sundowner is the porpoising tendencies. It
is extremely forward CG and you basically need a lot of weight in the back
to reduce the porposing tendency. I have 50 pounds in the cargo area when
I fly by myself with full tanks to keep it in the CG envelope. If I take a
passenger, I throw in another 25 pounds (or passenger luggage) in the
luggage compartment to keep the W&B in the CG envelope. The W&B envelope
is very, very narrow.

The mains have the donuts which act wonderfully as shock absorbers.

I would be interested to know if this is not the case, because the two
doors and roomy cabin make it otherwise look very attractive (the lack
of a driver's door was my biggest complaint when I flew Warriors, which
are otherwise great planes IMO), but I know my limitations and know I
can't regularly fly a plane that requires perfect or near-perfect
landing technique every time.

My experiences (4 years and counting) is that if you keep your airspeed on
final by the POH book (68 knot final with full flaps) and bleed the speed
off over the numbers, you will grease the landing. Come in hot, you will
skip like a rock, and because of the forward CG, if you don't maintain back
pressure, your nose will come down first, thus the first step to a
porpoised landing. Come in slow, and you drop like a rock. So, compared
to Cessnas that I have flown, you do have to pay closer attention to your
speed on final. I like the trim wheel placement between the seats, and for
every landing, you can set the trim exactly the same spot every time so
that you know the plane is trimmed the same way every time.

FOR ME, compared to a Cessna, between the trailing link gear and ground
effect, the Sundowner is a lot easier on my landing ego. I have not flown
any other type of plane.

I have made three trips from MS to OH in the past year and because of the
cabin room, it really was a comfortable ride for me.

Allen