The plain truth is that flying quite a bit over gross is not that big a deal. The airframe will handle 250 lbs over gross weight with no problem. The issues are will it climb, and do you feel you will have a need to make a turn or is there a chance you might find some turbulent air. Remember the gross weight is not the issue it is the ultimate capability of the spars and the rest of the airframe to support X amount of weight without failure. This is why each aircraft is designed for, tested and certified to + or - G loads. The airframe doesn't know the difference between an additional 500 lb stuffed inside the cabin (as long as you are within CG) or making a 2 G turn at gross weight. This is also the reason for the slowing down in really rough air. No you are not a test pilot if you load up over gross (assuming once again you are within CG), the ultimate load testing was already done long ago. What you are doing is making assumptions that you will not encounter rough air or need to make an evasive maneuver and increase the G load to the failure point. All you are doing is decreasing your safety margin. To me the biggest issue is a decrease in climb performance which is not great anyway. The surprising thing is that at 150 over gross one coupe I am familiar with showed little difference than when just at gross. The second problem is staying within CG, the coupe has a very narrow envelope. This will get you in trouble faster than almost anything. Like was said before, it's all a matter of common sense and is a more complicated issue than just a matter of "useful load". By the way, remember these things are getting a little long in the tooth and probably won't tolerate the same ultimate loads as when new. Keep em flying
Dave 41 Charlie Dave's Ercoupe Page http://www.flash.net/~dmprosvc/dave
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