ORIGINAL: PilotFighter
Fred Wieks, (or is it Weiks), designer of the Ercoupe in 1937, the first production tricycle gear airplane, did an extensive study on this subject when he worked for the NACA. It makes for some good reading.
So you don't consider aircraft like the Zeppelin Straaken IV bomber of 1917 "production"? They built 18 & bombed London with them. It had tricycle landing gear. Curtiss had tricycle landing gear (and proper ailerons) on the June Bug of 1908 and Model D of 1910 and produced a whole bunch for American and European customers.
Anyway, after flying tail draggers for years and going back to my Contender 60 tricycle I had a heck of a time with landings in our grassy field. Once you get used to them tail-draggers are much easier to work with on a grassy or dirt field.
British Army Aeroplane No. 1 of 1908
Caproni CA.1 of 1914
Horten Ho I-Ho VIII of 1934 (retractable trike gear in a civilian aeroplane, glider & powered flying wing)
All trikes