----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Hi Leslie,
In my approximately 1500 hours of Coupe flying I've never experienced
the "nose pitch-down." Who
knows where writers get their information? I think they make it up as
they
go along.
Syd Cohen
N161LH 3B9 wrote:
> ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following
any
advice in this forum.]----
>
> Fellow 'Coupers,
>
> There's a column in the June '01 issue of Flying by Richard L. Collins
in
> which he states the following:
>
> "The Ercoupe was both stall and spin proof, but the airplane didn't
enjoy
a
> good safety record. In fact, it had the worst safety record of any of
the
> two-seaters of the day. Part of this was likely because pilots would
fly
it
> too slowly, unafraid because the airplane wouldn't stall and it wouldn't
> spin. It would, however, pitch nose down when flying into a decreasing
> headwind, and if that happened low to the ground, it would hit nose down
> with disastrous results."
>
> This kind of crap really gets my goat. See, I'm a 'Couper who's married
to
> a journalist, so the combination of slandering my aircraft with plain
old
> bad journalism just makes me nuts.
>
> First of all, he doesn't say WHICH two-seaters he's comparing it to, so
it's
> pretty much impossible to know if the statement regarding safety is
accurate
> or not. It's just his ill-informed opinion stated as fact. Also, it's
my
> understanding that the 'Coupe is no better or worse than any older light
> plane with a tank in the fuselage -- land it hard, rupture the tank, and
we
> all know the rest of the story.
>
> Also, I have not seen the nose pitch down in my 200 hours in a 'Coupe.
I've
> seen the sink rate get higher than I like when I haven't managed power
> properly, but the nose didn't just drop as the column suggests. To me,
it's
> more a case of when she's done flying, she's just done, and if you let
it
> get behind the power curve, you don't have a huge amount of horsepower
to
> get the fat out of the fire.
>
> So, before I fire off my angry letter to Flying, I'd like to get my
facts
> right. What's your take on the nose pitching down thing? Does anybody
have
> some hard numbers on safety stats? Should we draft a letter as a club
with
> lots of names attached to it?
>
> Excuse my language, folks, but I just don't think we should let the
ignorant
> bastard talk 'Coupes down.
>
> Leslie Holbrook
> Alon A2 N161LH
> Chester, CT 06412
> _________________________________________________________________
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