Streuth! Talk about totally ignoring the question......
ORIGINAL: servostress
Hi All! I just got a Goldberg tiger 60 arf that I want to build as a taildragger. Being that this is my first low wing plane, I have been told to fly it as a trike first and then convert it to a taildragger later. I have also been told that the taildragger conversion is also suitable as a first low wing trainer. Which way should I go?
I've just got one of these too, but it's not my first low winger... having gone from a trainer to a Brightstar (low wing trainer trike) I'd recommend just plonking on the included trike gear. A search here will tell you that a lot of people build as a trike and then convert later.
I was thinking of building as a tail dragger using my Funtana LG, but I might rebuild the Funtana so that's that idea up the spout. The components specified by CG for the main and tail gear don't seem to be available so I'm not sure exactly what gear to use right now...
Taildragger behaviour can vary greatly from plane to plane, the only way to find out if this plane handles well as a traildragger is to get the opinion of someone who has flown this particular plane in that configuration.
I still think your best bet is to build it as a trike and conver later. That way you can always go back to trike if you have problems and you'll be flying a plane you're already familiar with...