On Feb 19, 6:58 pm, Bob Martin wrote:

So _that's_ why the flight school always flipped out when we did that...

You got it. Cessna has a service bulletin on the subject.
Pushing the stab down places high forces on the front part of the
stab, while in the air the loads are 40% back; the aft spar's
construction reflects the greater load it carries. The front spar is
really light and flexes through the big lightening hole in the center,
and cracks in four places. Very expensive. A little dangerous, too.


Now I fly a plane where the tail is _always_ down. Of course, that makes landing slightly
more challenging...

Airplanes are supposed to be built that way. Just compare the
taildragger and trike versions of the Maule (or even the Helio
Courier). What pilot would ever say that the trike looks right? (What
*real* pilot?:-))

Dan