----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
This is not only happening to Ercoupes... I broke the upper door latch on my Cherokee. This is a piece of nylon with a cam that works the latch. I called around looking for a new one. First off you can not even buy the part that broke, you have to buy the whole latch. and it is $1500 and a 2 month wait.... a used one from a wreck is $250.00 and it is 30 years old and used.... I see this as a bigger problem... I used to go to Paine Field and see HUNDREDS of aircraft, last time I was there I saw 8... Sadly, this is going on every where. It is all about doing the least amount of effort for the most amount of dollars. Tie down was $6 per month back then, and now it is $80.00 they make the same amount with a lot less effort. Just thinking out loud Ron Burke ----- Original Message ----- From: "Warren Hampton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "coupers" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 6:38 PM Subject: RE: [COUPERS] New parts > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- > > Vern, Univair sold out of spar caps a few years back. What they now have > is > new stock. And the price jumped about 80 / 90 % with that new stock. Their > cost shows how fast they want to recover their costs. From about $350 to > $1545. In 1986 they were about 96 bucks. Oh, to have that time machine. > Warren > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vern Hendershott [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > Sent: Monday, April 16, 2001 11:54 AM > To: coupers > Subject: [COUPERS] New parts > > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any > advice in this forum.]---- > > Gene, > > I think we would all like to see every Coupe updated with new parts where > needed. Many can not afford them and some of us find it a empty promise. > > If I understand it correctly the spar caps that are available as "New" are > in fact "New Old Stock" probably from 1946 production potentially made in > the batch that has had the bad heat treat. We do not accomplish much by > making the change. From what I have seen the spar caps come in good and > bad. If you jut happen to be lucky and have good ones you are good for > many > more years and if you have bad it may be hard to tell with out X-rays of > eddy current inspections. Most people with a Coupe do not have access to > these methods of testing. It may only be a short time before the FAA > inflicts the tests on us and many more Coupes will fall to neglect because > they will be grounded and then left to go to seed. We have seen to much of > this already. A killer AD would do just that to many more. Yes the ones > that have bad spar caps should be removed from service and I fear that the > metal clad wings are the place that this problem is hiding. If it is it > will be found and it will be a sad day for many. > > Yes Cleveland brakes are much better and they are affordable. Many should > be moving to them. > > I do not share your love affair with the 30 gal. fuel tanks. The current > fuel system works very well and it is very simple. If the engine driven > pump fails you have almost an hour to work out the problem (find a place > to > land). With the 30 gal. system if you loose the Electric pump you are a > glider and we have all heard how much fun that is in an Ercoupe. I do > agree > that the tanks need to be well maintained and many need to be opened > cleaned and reassembled with proper procedures to make them safe and fuel > tight tanks. The Piper Cherokee had the same problem with the same fix. > > The larger engines with greater hp leave a lot to be desired. The 0-200 is > heavier and has a poor propeller which does little for the improvement of > performance. The Franklin is vapor ware, it does not exist and I do not > hear of anyone who is working on it. The 85 hp Cont. with 0-200 pistons, > rods and crank may well be a better engine. With new cylinders and a good > case it is a fine engine that will make over 90 hp in fact and uses a much > better matched propeller. The rest of the engine accessories can be new if > you want them to be it is just money. Slick makes fine new production mags > and a Marvel carb that has been properly overhauled is as good as new. > > It is all in the care level that is put into maintenance. All to many > people just do not budget correctly to have the proper level of > maintenance > care provided for their aircraft (some just do not have the money and I > have been there) and some just do not know what is needed. It is hard to > find a shop that is interested in doing good work on Coupes and harder > still to find an owner who wants to pay for first class maintenance > service. > > I think we as a community need to focus on ways to deal with the real > problem of educating our community on what is vital in the way of > maintenance to assure that the aircraft are flown safely. If we do not do > this the FAA will give it a try and none of us will like their version of > FUN. > > It has been clear form the recent discussion on what caused a members > crash > (on airport total of a Coupe). It was generally agreed that the problem > was > pilot related but there were many ideas as to what he should or should not > have done. I was not there and do not want to Monday morning quarterback > the man, but it is clear that the Ercoupe most of us love need a > particular > kind o flying technique to operate it safely. I would think that one of > the > very best things the EOC and this group could do is to get some of the > people who do have the best experience with the Coupe and after good sound > debate publish some solid recommendations on how best to fly a Coupe. Yes > there are some fun issues like calibration of airspeed indicators so that > the numbers would make sense. Some still fly way over even the 1400 pound > limit because they enjoy the lie in the log book about the weight of their > aircraft. A good start would be to weigh each and every Coupe and correct > balance problems as well. This could be done at group regional flyins as a > day project. All you need is a decent set of scales and a hangar to do it > in. It does not take very long to do it right. > > I would like to see many more aircraft converted to split elevators. This > is also a cheap fix if done as a group project. It is all in the working > together and focus on the important issues. > > Have a very good day and I hope you all get to go flying this week. > > Best regards, > Vern > > N94892 415G > > > > __________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from this list please send > mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > __________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > __________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiLm.aVzvvT Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [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 ==^================================================================
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