Marty, Interesting potential.... The coupe has a gross of 1260 lbs, like the later 75 hp/85 hp coupes.....so wwith 65 hp at high altitudes it may be a litttle weak, but - hEY - DON'T TRY TO LOAD IT UP WITH LOTS OF RADIOS, MAP CASES, CHART CASES, ETC, and it will fly nicely.....
Originally, it would have had a right wing tank, and a cowl tank - no left wing tank...... Also had large main tires and Hayes brakes...expandable brakes... It would be interesting to have a low s/n coupe, especially if it had been maintained as properly and still original.. So, on a hot day, full gross, you have to be careful--- you do in a J-3 also.... Later mods included stiffining the rear spar, and change in brakes to Goodyear, different main and nose wheels, etc.... but all that is just progress. One of the original 112 coupes would make a nice piece of history - to have.. S/N 1 is in the Smithsonian - Silver Hill Facility.... Get manuals, etc from Univair...... Fred Weick talked about running the Cont. 65 at higher RPMs and getting excellent performance... In fact the 75 is just a 65 at higher RPM, and the 85 is a 65 at higher RPM..... Keep the extra weight out of the airplane, and it will fly nicely, I feel sure.... Read the old magazine articles, and they will be amazing to you - how advances the Ercoupe was over the other airplanes available at that time ----- and still is! Keep us informed.... The main concern would be corrosion of wing main spar, and center section...etc....again, true for all older airplanes..... Fly Safe, Have Fun Harry Francis S/N 853 N93530 Blacksburg, Va.
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