Muscle biplane

The dance of the tail dragger is a priority, swinging one way and then the next during taxing to ensure the path is clear. Pre-take off checks are normal but it is important to hold that stick back when exercising the propeller governor because the tail has a tendency to lift during the pitch changes due to the swirling effect from the big three blade MT prop.

The take off is swift and one should not be anxious to raise the tail too quickly but having said that Samson soon lets you know she is ready to go because within moments the tail comes up with a little help and behold the visibility is extraordinary. Samson tracks down the centre line with minimal rudder application. There was no tendency for Samson to swing. No sooner we got the tail up that we were airborne at around 75 knots and soon climbing out at around 90 knots. Not too dramatic being my first flight in Samson. I just wanted to become acquainted and climb to 4000ft AGL for some introductory moments.

The stalling characteristics were the same as any Pitts. There is no sudden breakaway it merely mushes downwards and aileron input left and right has no sudden tendency to drop a wing.
The entry into upright spins left and right were uneventful as was the recovery after three turns, just half a rotation to recover BUT it lost a lot of height as one would expect of a large aircraft.

The ailerons are extremely light and the roll rate is mind boggling and would take some getting used to. The rudder is sensitive but the elevators are heavy as one would expect of an aircraft of this size.

Aerobatics are a dream but do not expect to see Edge 540 or performance Pitts manoeuvres. It is a big Muscle Bi-plane with plenty of grunt, noise and personality. It will be a great drawcard for any air show just flying a flowing sequence of aerobatics. Don’t get me wrong Samson is capable of brilliant gyroscopic manoeuvres but not the ballerina style of the slim agile monoplanes.

I used the side slipping approach on final which gave me a clear view of the runway almost to touch down when I relaxed the rudder input as I rolled wings level and still had forward visibility as I felt for the runway in a slight tail down ‘wheelie’ then gentle raised the tail as the mains touched. Samson tracked straight down the runway with little rudder corrections despite a slight cross wind from the forward right quarter. I kept the tail up with a touch of throttle until I neared the taxiway. The tail must be eased down because if you lower it too soon you could introduce an isolation bounce, tail to nose etc.

In summing up I feel Samson is going to be an exciting new player in the air show circuit. Plenty of noise, smoke and a being so large it will not be a ‘Bee in a Bottle’ if you know what I mean.

Congratulations Pip Borman on your latest.