Kevin, I am 6ft 2 and can easily fit in our Coupe. Due to the weight, I lost 25 lbs, and am now down to 230 with another 30 to go. So now I have an extra hour of fuel I can carry in place of 25 lbs of fat that doesn't need to fly with me.
Yoke comes full back and I agree that as it also has rudder pedals the foot problem is a concern. But it is doable. Recently I took a short cross country and my GPS speeds were slower than I thought and there was no wind. I realized looking at the ball, which was out of center, that my one foot was pressing / resting on the rudder pedal and I was flying sideways. My wife, who is also a pilot, noticed it first, and now I have an extra set of eyes staring at the ball to be sure it is in the center. Oh Well. My only future concern, as I am in good health at 74 and just reverted to a Sport Pilot after 58 years of flying most everything, is when the body gets too old to move , how I can get in and out of the Coupe. My wife, who is younger than I but has movement issues, must now use a small step stool to get on to the wing. I then out the stool in the baggage comp and away we go. Another issue and it may be just our Coupe is the brake. I have the Clevelands and as the floor pedal is not available,I cannot go above 1500 RPM for a mag check or it really starts creeping on me. Even at 1500 RPM I must be careful as it may creep. I have a friend that owns a Coupe without pedals and he just got his Private License in his Coupe, no pedals, and no restrictions. I think it depends on the Examiner but not sure. Good Luck in your flying. It is GREAT. Jim N3439H, 415C, KFDK ----- Original Message ----- From: Ed Burkhead To: 'Kevin O'Donnell' ; [email protected] Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:26 PM Subject: RE: [ercoupe-flyin] Up Close with a Coupe > I am in the process of getting my Sport Pilot License. As I start > considering the types of aircraft I would like to own, an Ercoupe is > high on the list. Kevin, I can guarantee that you CAN fit in your own Coupe. You might need to modify the thickness of the seat cushions if the ones in the plane you buy were installed by some shrimp-guy (or gal) who wanted thick cushions to see out. I mostly flew my Coupe with me in the 240-270 range. There's enough belly room for the yoke to come full back. (Note that my seat cushions were original and not so thick.) Fred Weick, the designer, was either 6' 2" or 6' 4" (can't remember which). He was tall. For long term comfort, you'll probably prefer to have a two-control Coupe since those darn rudder pedals cramp your leg space somewhat. Even at only 5' 11.5" I was knee-cramped just enough I sometimes thought of ripping the pedals out. (My Coupe came with them.) The pedals are certainly NOT needed. In strong crosswinds, you do the same as in gentle crosswinds - you land in a crab, nose high, letting the mains touch first. The well designed plane does the rest. Personally, in my Coupe, I was comfortable landing in direct crosswinds up to 30 mph. Note that in crosswind components greater than about 15 mph, I stopped using the rudder for wing-low and leveled the wings to land in a crab like any self respecting Coupe. If you get your license before buying your Coupe, I'd suggest shopping for a two-control Coupe. If you need to take most of your lessons in the Coupe to save money, I'd urge you to do the last few hours in another plane with pedals so you get the license without the Coupes-only restriction. One concern we gross weight challenged pilots have with Coupes is, well, gross weight. If you are flying as a Sport Pilot (or will need to in the near future), then a 415-C or 415-CD are legal and can be flown up to 1320 lb. with an STC. Too many Coupes have an empty weight of near 900 lb. so, if you want to take a passenger AND stay legal on gross weight then you'll be making short flights with restricted fuel. Even with a D or later model (1400 lb. gw), we gross weight challenged Coupe owners have to travel light when taking a passenger. Of course, you need to be flying as a Rec Pilot or Private Pilot to fly the D and higher model Coupes. Be sure you read the articles, especially the FAQ, on the Ercoupe Owners Club website, http://ercoupe.org and also check out my Coupe web page. Hope you join us. We've got a pretty friendly and supportive community. Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/index.htm East Peoria, Illinois ed -at- edbur???khead.??com (remove the ? marks and change -at- to @)
