Hi Paul,
I have been flying for many years in many types of planes but
never
found the "right plane" that felt like part of me and just HAD to be the
plane I owned. In 1986 a friend had an Ercoupe for sale so I went for a
ride with him. When we landed after about a 30 minute flight I wrote
him a check for it.
At first I sort of thought that when I'd saved up a little cash
I'd
convert it to have rudder pedals as I love to "slip" a plane in on final
approach for landing. Well, here it is 12 years later and I wouldn't put
rudder pedals in it now if they were free. Every time I fly it I love
it a little bit more. When the cross winds are a little to violent for
the rest of the planes on the field I can still go flying in my
"perfectly stock", unmodified, 1946 Ercoupe 415-C.
If you can, locate the excellent little paperback book entitled
"THE
ERCOUPE" by Stanley G. Thomas, ISBN 0-8306-7016-5 and published by TAB
AERO books. It sells for $12.95. There is a chapter in it about the
"Wheelchair Pilots Assn". You didn't say if you were in a wheelchair or
like a good friend of mine who is also "post polio", he still walks but
with great difficulty and a cane. He jokes about it if someone offers
to take his arm down a step or something and says I'm just old not dead.
I have taken him for a ride in my coupe and the only problem he has is
getting up on the wing and then stepping over the window sill to get
inside. Once in and settled down he could fly it as good as anyone IF
he was a pilot and knew how to fly. I've let him take the controls and
told him what to do and he has no problem at all. (Except for getting in
and out). The brake pedal is in the center of the floorboard and can be
reached from either side. My friend has one leg that is better than the
other. If you are the same, the coupe can be flown from either the left
or right seat and that way you can put the good leg in the center and do
just fine on the brake pedal. It has hydraulic brakes like a car that
operate both main gear wheels equally and you meerly "steer" it like a
car (the nose gear is steerable) If you don't have a good leg I'm sure
there is a way to install a hand brake as there are lots of people who
have flown Ercoupes who have no legs at all. There used to be a guy in
a wheelchair here in Oregon somewhere who owned an Ercoupe and he had a
"door" cut into the side so he could get in easier once he was up on the
wing. I never did meet him or see his coupe but I've heard about him
from too many different people for the story to be untrue. (I think!)
I wish you all the luck in the world Paul and I'd like to hear how
you
make out in your adventure.
I've been "teased" lots of times for my "Baby" plane that I
"drive"
instead of "fly". I just take it with a smile and try to feel a bit
sorry for them and their obviously limited knowledge of this fine little
airplane. (Most of them "Rent" so what do they know about ownership?
Most of them have never flown anything except the type plane they
learned in such as a Cessna 150 for example. I'm not putting down the
C-150, I have a lot of hours in them while I was renting. I also have
quite a lot of time in different models of the new generation Pipers
with the "low Wing" and I like them better than the High winged Cessna
but they are way out of my price range.) Then the wind comes up from
the wrong direction and I smile at them again and say something like,
"Aren't you flying today"? as I walk to my plane and go for a ride. I
don't mean to say that I am a show-off, that's when people get hurt, I
just mean to say that I am very comfortable in my coupe in a pretty
strong crosswind. After all, they can land a B-52 sideways and so can I,
so what do the "Highwingers" know? :-)
I'll let you go now Paul, good luck and keep me posted.Bob Saville N3396H Eugene, Or
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