Tomahawks are like marmite and you either love them or hate them but here are some reasons why we think the Tomahawk is a great aircraft:
-
Proper T-instrument arrangement and well organised panel: A proper aircraft instrument panel with all your six main instruments arranged together neatly and properly in a standard T-pattern as in most aircraft. So apart from looking great and tidy in the cockpit, the cross-checking of instruments is exactly the same as in your flying textbooks and when you need to check your rate of descent after your attitude indicator you don’t have to start looking all over your panel to find it!
-
Responsive and fun to fly: It is small and lighter than four seaters, so it doesn't have the stability of a heavier, high wing aircraft but that’s exactly why it is fun and ‘hands-on’ to fly all the time. You also need to be nimble with your feet and pick up any wing drop with rudder if you manage to stall it heavily. And yes, it has been called many names over the years, but for a Tomahawk fan it is always a ‘Thrillahawk’ instead!
-
Roomy cockpit and very comfortable even for two big pilots: not like other ‘popular’ two- seaters where you have to rub shoulders all the time.
-
Excellent all around canopy visibility: Low wing but 360 degrees visibility and clear views in all directions.
-
Looking great even after all these years, especially with that sleek looking tail!: OK, the tailplane and elevator are not in the propeller slipstream, so you do not have a lot of elevator authority at slow speeds and you need to work hard and fly by your numbers, especially at landing and flaring. However, the propeller slipstream is turbulent and the high T-tail provides better and smoother general handling characteristics in addition to improving the looks of the aircraft with that sleek tail arrangement!
