----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Both of the handicapped pilots flying my Coupe get in the same way. They
sit on the wing walk and schooch there way up to the top. Then they lift
themselves so they are sitting on the "window sill. Then they drop their
bottoms into the seat. Then they pull their legs in. Not particularly
graceful but it works.
I'm 48 now. I became interested in flying as a teenager. My dad, now 83,
always told us stories about his days as a radio operator on a PBY
Catalina
flying in the North Atlantic and throughout South America. One
particularly
interesting story was about the day his PBY crashed. They were on final
approach to a hard surface runway that extended into the ocean. The PBY
touched down early, in the water and submerged into a several feet of
water,
just above the escape hatch. The captain got the crew together, gave them
all numbers and told them they would exit the plane in the order of the
numbers. They then shoved a few shoulders against the hatch and let the
water in. When the cabin was full of water, they were able to completely
open the hatch and swim out. They all made it. My did lost a few teeth.
I
think that story piqued my interest in flying. At 19 I got my private.
In
my twenties I got my instrument, commercial and CFII. I've owned lots of
planes. The best part of this story is this...at age 70, my did got his
private. We fly together regularly.
Glen Davis
Click! LLC
9 East Palisade Avenue
Englewood NJ 07631
201 568 2828
551 358 2600 cell
|-----|
_________(*)_________
o o o
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Mike Dean" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 2:43 PM
Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] disabled pilots and CBS News
> ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following
any
> advice in this forum.]----
>
>
> Mike::
> I flew quite a bit with Jack Compere, and Jack had less leg strength
than
> you have apparently, However the wheels did disconnect from his
wheelchair
> and it was feather light, and jack could sit down on the wing walk
> disassemble and store his wheelchair behind the seat of his coupe, then
he
> would push himself backward up the wingwalk to the side of the cockpit
and
> pull himself backward up to the coaming edge of the cockpit and kinda
> tumble in. The cockpit is almost four feet wide and it allowed Jack to
> maneuver around inside. When he had help to hand him his wheelchair
parts
> he could step up with the help of his "Sticks" (canes) and walk the wing
> in a normal fashion, and step into the cockpit.
>
> Jack and I and Charlie Eck flew back to California from the Kalispell
> Montana Nationals in 1995, and we had a ball. Jack did a superhuman
job,
> probably similar to yourself to make sure he was not a burden on
anybody,
> and I admired him tremendously for that. He would fly his Ercoupe to
> selected places to see if handicapped people could get into an Ercoupe
by
> themselves, I would accompany him from time to time to see if an Alon
> presented an easier configuration for access.
>
> The biggest danger is a person that is paralyzed, and they could cut or
> bruise themselves quite badly getting into the cockpit and they wouldn't
> feel it, and fly themselves into a serious situation. Jack always
warned
> about that.
>
> Jack's Post-Polio began returning about 10 years before he passed away,
> and he began having real trouble getting around, he also had a heart
> bypass, and tested and maintained his pilots license. He was one hell
of
> an inspiration.
>
> Wayne Woollard
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Mike Dean" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <[email protected]>
> Sent: Thursday, March 17, 2005 7:04 AM
> Subject: RE: [COUPERS-FLYIN] disabled pilots and CBS News
>
>
> ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following
any
> advice in this forum.]----
>
>
> High wings, other than later model Cardinals, have their problems also.
> Generally the seats are mush higher than a wheelchair, so the lift in
> can be difficult. Then there is the problem of the wing struts being in
> the way.
>
> Also, on the C150 & C172's that I trained in, there isn't much room
> between the seat and the front door jam, even with the seat all the way
> back, to swing your feet/legs through.
>
> In my opinion the easiest planes to get in & out of would be the
> Piper's, Mooney's & those types. Where you can slide up the wing, then
> slide into the seat. Though even they are not always a "breeze". The
> Cardinal is nice because it has a very wide door and no strut.
>
> The other problem with most planes is the ability to get a wheelchair
> into it. My chair collapses (the seat goes up and the wheels/sides come
> in, so it's only about 6" wide) and it still will not fit through the
> door of a C150, and it's a bear to get into C172. (Especially if 4 are
> going up and you need to get it behind the seat.) The Arrow is a little
> better, but still no piece of cake.
>
> It would help a bunch if the wheels came off easily. My next chair will
> fold even more compactly.
>
> Mike
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kevin Gassert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> I have seen a Skyfarer on the market several times in the last year by a
> guy
> in Texas. It was on EBay a couple times and in Trade-A-Plane. This seems
> like a great plane for someone handicapped. I would think that the high
> wing
> would make it easer to get in and out of.
>
> Kevin
>
>
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