----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Hartmut
wrote:
> However - back to the calculations. If a Coupe stalls at 40 with
1175 lb
> and at 48 with 1260, one could estimate that it would stall at 45
miles
> (39kts) when being 1236 - still to high . So, to fit the
Sport Pilot
> requirement, a Coupe would have to have a max gross weight of 1200
lb.
> Not too bad if the Coupes would weight 600 lbs empty, but mine is
> 920 lbs empty - end of game.
Hartmut, it’s NOT the end of the game. Think about ways you could lighten your
plane.
My Coupe
was 895. It had these things that
could be removed to lighten the plane:
old, heavy
artificial horizon
old, heavy
DG
old, heavy
turn and bank
rate of
climb
old, heavy
upholstery
firewall
and sidewall upholstery
heavy
carpet
heavy
battery (replace with a lighter one)
dual
landing lights
rotating
beacon
I could
have lowered the empty weight by 30 lb., maybe much more. I wouldn’t have to fill the tanks with
all 24 gallons of fuel – I could save 50 lb. easily that way.
Dave Johnson
once made a project of making his plane as light as possible. I don’t know what he got it down to but
I bet it was a lot lighter than it started.
I will be
surprised if there aren’t a lot of Coupes which could get down low enough to
fly solo (and maybe even duel with non-fat people) within 1232 lb. I think the stall speed will be the
stopper though we’re not too far from that since Sport only requires a stall
speed at or below 39 knots (45 mph).
Ed Burkhead
http://edburkhead.com/
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (remove the QQQ)
============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
