|
Sid, the issue of the mechanism used to steer a tailwheel during taxi (brakes or rudder) is in my opinion not an influencing factor in the decision making process.
A low speed tax event is a far lower risk than a groundloop during landing.
I have several thousand hours of tailwheel time in all shapes and sizes and having operated with both the lockable and unlockable variety I can attest to the safety enhancement that the locking version provides.
With respect to the scenario you describe of a brake failure, let's examine the risks. First, steerable tailwheel or not you have a stopping problem. Second, in all your flying how many brake failures have you had? Third, with only a few exceptions aircraft are built with a separate master cylinder for each wheel assembly, so the likelihood of a complete brake failure is low. Fourth, how often do we run into crosswinds on landing - almost all the time. Lastly, a single brake failure with a locking tailwheel offers improved directional control - it wants to stay straight to start with.
When you look at the whole package, for WWI replica aircraft, the lockable tailwheel offers the best safety enhancement value overall.
The final decision is a personal one and I respect that 10 pilots in a room will give you 20 opinions. My comments are only offered from the perspective of my knowledge and experience, based on 34 years flying, 18,000+ hours, lots of tailwheel time and 20+ years flying many WWI replicas. But it is still just one mans opinion. As the wiley old Chief Pilot said; "opnions are like a**holes, everyone has one".
|