----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Back when I was a kid, growing up in the back seat of a Piper Comanche (the hot-stuff airplane of 1968) Ercoupe pilots flew the cheap-ass pieces of junk of the GA fleet. Now, when we tell people what we fly, they look at us like we used to look at the Gypsy-Moth pilots back then. I mean, I've been chased into the airport by drivers who saw me in the pattern. Guys arrive all breathless... ..."that's an Ercoupe, isn't it?" How'd this happen? How did I wind up flying an airplane that commands the same sort of novelty that those old biplanes did at Santa Paula, when they used to say, 'hey, kids, go ahead but watch out for props!' Of course, back then, they Gypsy-Moth was only 30-odd years old. Now, our Ercoupes are 55 years old. And they are as far removed from the current crop of GA planes as the Gypsy Moths were from our old birds. Like the Gypsy Moth, our pedal-less wonders are different, so much different that they require some real skills to make them do what we want. At the same time, in the air, we have quick handling which teaches us, once and for all, that it is 'pressure, not movement' that controls an airplane. They're simple. And a bit feeble. You can't power your way out of trouble. In spite of the 'no-spin-no-stall' qualities, they're no 172. They're a piece of aviation history. Most guys (and gals) flying have never felt the wind in their hair. They've never seen the ground sans-plexiglas. They've never noticed that, even at 1000 feet AGL, you can see the blades of grass. Nor have they ever felt a 100-miles-per-hour wind on their hand, stuck out of the cockpit. So think about that, next time your twin-tailed wonder leaves the ground. And think about it next time a Cessna-driver appears next to your (full-span) left aileron, wondering what that thing is really like. Take him (or her) for a ride, and show him (or her) what a real airplane feels like. But make damned sure that you crank him (or her) over into that 60-degree turn around the local silo and show him (or her) that you don't need 500 pounds of back-pressure to accomplish the task. (Nor do you need it in a Bonanza, but the 172-driver is a few lifetimes away from such comfort.) Then watch that 172-driver grin, like a Buick owner that has just been given a turn at the wheel of an MG Midget. The 415C was 43 years from the Wright Brothers. But it is 55 years from now. Never forget: what you're doing is not that much different than showing up at the local super-market in a Model A Ford. It carries with it a certain responsibility, doesn't it? Greg __________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
