Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Flying High

[flamkey]

----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----

I hope I didn't send the wrong message.  FPM dropped as I went up, not RPM.  I didn't check rpm as carefully, but I didn't notice any major change as I went up.  I think the drop was due to density altitude, not engine RPM.

Thanks for relating the experience.  I have been wondering about that, since the bird is advertised for a 13K ft ceiling.  Flying back from Colorado, I took off at 6500 ft and climbed to 9.5K just to get a more comfortable margin under me (3K AGL).  It took forever, and a lot of careful nursing.  It is a good thing that the ground level continued to get lower underneath me as I came on East.  I may have been more dumb than I realized at the time. 

 

However my RPMs did not fall particularly.  You say yours did?  How much?

 

We could not do pattern work at that airport altitude (6.5K).  It took too long to get up to pattern height.  I believe I will keep my bird east of Kansas City or there abouts from now on.  I just don’t think she is in condition for that high altitude stuff, anymore.

 

Dave Winters

2797H

 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, December 07, 2005 2:35 PM
To: flyin
Subject: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Flying High

 

 
----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
 
 

Well, the sun was bright the temperature was cold and the cockpit was warm.  I decided it was time to go to the top.  I am working on my sport pilot certificate and decided to take the old girl up to 10,000 feet.  I have an hour for lunch, and after all, she climbs at over 500 feet per min and 10,000 ft should only take about 20 min.  Guess again sport pilots.  At take off, we climb like a rocket at 900 fpm and all goes well, slows to 500 at 3,000 and by 7,000 we are at 200 and maybe 150 at 9,000.  Second miscalculation, how long does it take to get down from 10,000 ft. without loosing both your hearing and stomach.  It turns out 1,000 fpm was the best I wanted to try and I kept worrying about my carb heat with such low rpm's.  I almost chickened out at 9,000 but I did that in my ultralight trike and have regretted it ever since  not going all the way to 10,000 (problem with the trike was the cold not the climb rate).  Even in the fall it gets mighty cold at that altitude and back then, I wasn't dressed for winter flight, including no gloves (and no cabin).  I feel more comfortable taking the plane up there but I don't think I will try to fly over any 9,000 foot high mountains.  I love this plane.

 

Bankmaster

==============================================================================
To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/

==============================================================================
To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/