Short-coupled/long coupled?
Most frightening taildragger I've ever flown was a Taylorcraft of about 1990 vintage? No flaps and very twitchy.
Poteroo,
You might have thought the same about the Auster J5G that we used for the BFR.
It inherited some of the wonderful traits of the Taylorcraft from where it descended .
They shared the 180 series directional twitchiness particularly with aft loads.
I'm not sure that the short coupling has a lot to do with it, because the Maules were traditionally short coupled and yet relatively benign in their handling compared to th likes of the 180 series.
Same with the Citabrias and Airknockers.