Originally Posted by
Brenner
Hey Dave,
Overall, does the Contra help, or hurt, with the reverse knife edge top hat?
It's true that a Contra Drive will scrub of speed quickly if you let it, and speed is a good way to get knife edge authority in a downline knife edge corner, however, it should also give you more control of the downline speed going into the corner, preventing you from entering too fast.
On balance, it is a positive or a negative?
Brenner ...
Brenner,
For sure the Contra is a positive.
I'm not sure the Contra helps the KE Top Hat anymore than any other maneuver, per se. For me, when the Contra is in a well matched and trimmed airframe, there is an advantage on every maneuver - broad speed range, easy to control the speed, and the plane rolls, stalls, and snaps equally right or left, and does not need any offsets (thrust, rudder trim, etc) to compensate for torque and spiral airflow. That said, the most important thing is to have a well trimmed airframe that is well matched to its powerplant. The Allure does very well with a variety of powerplants with minimal setup changes. Based on pictures I've seen from the 2015 WC, a number of planes were "updated" with a Contra, and a number of them sprouted ventral fins - presumably, the planes were not designed with a Contra in mind, but when modified to better suit the Contra, a performance advantage was achieved (if it wasn't, logic follows they would go back to a single prop). The Allure flies well with a Contra because it designed with the Contra in mind.