Ground: Taxi in confined ramp/parking areas is enhanced. Full rudder deflections to initiate a turn are seldom required. The link is very sensitive (touchy) and taxiway operations require very little input to maintain center line. With that in mind, you must maintain outside awareness at all times. Inside cockpit distractions should be avoided or you might not like where the aircraft is headed when you look outside again. Gust lock feature when tied-down outside is better than chain steering as there is no rudder swing to wear the control horn eyelets. This is a very nice feature. Castor break-away causes the link to bang against rudder fairing bottom on my RV-8. Not a problem as you can see in the photos where the chains have scratched the rudder fairing already.

In flight: No perceptable increase in speed detected. When flying formation flights, my wingman noticed that the chains always "danced" a bit during cruise. The link eliminates this dance which reduces wear on the rudder horn. The link has to be less draggy... Right? I can't confirm any speed increase with the link. Sorry. I "think" it is faster, therefore it "is" faster.

Landing: This is where the link can have potentially negative qualities. A good landing can quickly turn to worms when the tailwheel meets the runway if the rudder is not perfectly centered! Routine crosswind landings (wheelies) can quickly get out of hand as the tail is lowered while holding rudder correction for the wind! The sensitivity of the link at taxi speed now becomes lightning fast at landing/roll out speeds. I have experienced some pretty exciting swerves under these situations just as the tailwhell contacts the runway with rudder deflection! The last straw was when I encountered a crosswind gust during rollout with my taiwheel on the ground and the stick full back in my lap. When I countered the gust the gust with rudder, my tailwheel skidded leaving a 30' rubber skid mark on the asphalt!. That enough of this crap. Chains (with a little sag) are more forgiving under these conditions. They allow rudder defection and the tail-wheel to center with contact with the runway. Landings on grass runways with the link will allow poor rudder footwork but landing on paved surfaces will not.

Conclusion: It ain't worth it! We all like to experiment with things, that's why we fly experimental airplanes. Having experimented with the link, I would not recommend changing over from the chains that are a proven standard with Van's kit. Since all the Rocket jockies endorse and fly the link, I doubt if any RVers will take this advice. Users of this link know the potential hazards of the link but won't admit it to themselves or others. Don't left macho BS cloud your own good judgement. Be smart and stick to standards kit chains. Be careful as always....Bob Hargrave