Nosewheel Nutcracker Cable

Add one more "Con" to this snubber cable list. And an apologetically long-winded response...

If the MLG (Main Landing Gear) suspension (rubber donuts, etc) have collapsed/shortened over the years, the MLG tires will touch the runway later than they should because they are not properly/adequately 'extended'. When that happens, the nose gear will touch sooner than it should; often, before the MLG. Bad! For the landing, and for maintenance. So, sometimes the snubber is added to shorten the nose gear and effectively delay the nose tire premature runway contact. In this case, the snubber is a veritable band aid (at best). What should be done in this case is to either add spacers or replace worn/sagging MLG suspension (donuts, etc). That will raise the tail so the top of the rudders are at the proper height specified in the service manual and service memorandums. With the tail height corrected by these MLG adjustments, even with a minimal flare this will engage the MLG tires onto the runway sooner than the fully extended nose gear - as it should be. Which negates the need for the snubber in this situation.

A footnote is that the dual fork nose gear also raises the front, consequently appreciably lowering the tail. If a dual fork addition is not accompanied by properly raising the MLG (and tail), then that alone sometimes causes mechanics to (mistakenly) feel that a snubber is the fix. Footnote 2 is an addendum to Larry's comment that one of several reasons for the long nose gear strut is to get the nose wheel/tire out of the prop wash, reducing drag. But that long strut IS in the prop wash. Fred found in his Langley wind tunnel experiments that a round cylinder (like the strut) produced surprisingly high aerodynamic drag. That's why he added that faring that folds in behind nose strut after take off. Believe I got this from his awesome book, "From the Ground Up". Corrections welcomed.

So these comments hopefully explain why it's so important that the tail be within the specified height. And this REALLY improves landings significantly. This was all part of the original design objectives and intentions.

I believe the Coupe has a 27 mph crosswind component - one of the higher figures in GA aircraft. We've landed (successfully) in much higher crosswinds than that (and gusty, too). And with over 2500 hrs in ours, and well over 4000 hours total on our 'family' Coupe since Granddaddy got it in '46, no damage to firewall or MLG or nose gear. And that includes some pretty gnarly landings/'impacts' by me (sigh). But in crosswinds, if you hit the nose wheel first because the MLG is improperly tucked up too much, things can get unnecessarily ugly. And expensive. Or worse. So the entire landing gear system, if properly maintained and adjusted, is a real tribute to Fred's design genius.

Want to shout out a big THANK YOU to Larry Snyder for his incredible role at the helm of the Coupe Capers for all these years!!! You should get a standing ovation when we hopefully roast you at the Oshkosh banquet (if not before at Wausau)!

There was one on my Coupe when purchased, but I removed it when rebuilding the nose strut (before I ever flew the aircraft) on the theory that getting the nosewheel down out of the propwash is a tiny bit more efficient.

My A&P was okay either way, but I've never felt that I needed to try putting it back on. It's in my spares file so... who knows? Maybe I'll get curious someday.

I believe it is only legal on the Mooney

In Univair's 2016 catalog , the snubber cable is shown.
This puzzles me since in essense it is an illegal part.

Do not install it. See my post.