Sonex and Rotax

[gtae07]

Hi
I run an aerovee in my tail dragger sonex for a few years now and have to ask have any of the people installing toe brakes have ever trie :) d out the standard brakes that are supplied with them I will admit in advance that the drums leave a lot to be desired in the fact that if you dont get the drums that have been machined they can shake the living clappers out of you.But they work sufficiently well enough to pick the tail wheel back up on landing if you haul on them too hard and they will hold you at full throttle on run up , as for having differential brakes there just seems to be no need on either the nose wheel or the tail dragger as the rudder has a really good authority well under stall speed and once the tail wheel is on or the nose wheel is down these things will turn on the proverbial dime.
I am not trying to tell people what to do just letting you know from one that has been there and trying to help people make a well informed decision on facts.
Regards Bish

My reasoning for installing toe brakes:

1. Safety - Every airplane I've ever flown before has toe brakes. That's what I'm used to. I'm also likely to sometimes fly at least one of those other airplanes even after my Sonex is flying. I don't want to be mixing myself up--these kinds of learned reactions are hard to break, and you default to your main training in urgent situations. If I'm still hunting for a clutch four months after selling my manual-transmission car, I know I'd be looking for toe brakes that weren't there. It also keeps me from having to take my hands off the throttle and stick to use the brakes.

2. Ground maneuvering - The airport I will be flying from, and the one that will be my most frequent destination, have very tight taxiways and little turning room in some places. I will not shut down, get out, and pick up the tail on every single flight. I'll use differential brakes and an RV-style steerable swivel tailwheel (again, something I'm already used to) and be able to pivot around a mainwheel.

[bishoff7]

Fair call then
Regards Bish

[fairjam]

AMEN.