----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Nice article Greg, now I know while I smile so much when I think about my coupe. Bob Saville Greg Bullough wrote: > ----[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 __________________________________________________ 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>>
