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Linda,
Syd described it well. I’d add
this: when you are using his procedure to test your glide rates, level
off at the intended glide speed and get stable at that speed before you pull
power.
There’s discussion in the Coupe FAQ
on the Ercoupe Owners Club website. You will probably find the whole FAQ
informative but for this discussion, I’d urge you to scroll down to the
sections:
There
aren’t any flaps?
How do I
make my approach then?
Low
airspeed, high sink-rate approaches
http://ercoupe.org/ercoupers_faq.htm
Note that this low-speed, high sink rate
is not special to Ercoupes. Pretty much all thick, wide wing aircraft
share the same characteristics – “Short Wing Pipers” do it
even better. I well remember riding with a friend in his Piper Colt one a
day with a fairly good wind. He flew the downwind at 1,000’ then
turned base at 1,000’ then turned final at 1,000’ and stayed level.
I asked him if he was going around.
He smiled and said no. Halfway down final, he pulled the power to idle
and kept his airspeed low and we went DOWN! He had to ADD power to make
the runway.
The thinner, higher aspect ratio aircraft
like the Cessnas and the newer Pipers glide better at lower airspeeds.
But the thick wing planes still glide pretty well – they just do it at
higher airspeeds, like 70, 75, 80 or so. Test your own plane to find out
what is the best glide speed.
Also be aware that old airspeed indicators
sometimes lie, claiming higher speeds than you’re actually flying.
This gives a warm, fuzzy feeling about how fast your old plane flies until you
realize you have headwinds, compared to your flight plan, on the out and back
legs of every flight. Here’s a way to check your airspeed indicator
pretty easily:
http://www.csgnetwork.com/tasgpscalc.html
I’d also recommend you read (review)
Stick and Rudder,
the chapter on “The Approach,” and especially the section in it
called “The Glide Line.” Also the chapter “The Working
Speeds of an Airplane” is particularly valuable. Heck, ALL of Stick and Rudder is
valuable.
You’ve asked a good question.
Feel free to ask lots more.
http://edburkhead.com
ed -at-
edburkhead???.com (change
-at- to @ and remove "???")
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