I have heard the "scare coupe" term used numerous times. I remind myself that they are just envious and smile.
Honestly I believe the term originated because of the crosswind landing technique. I once had an older pilot come around the hangar and said he had never ridden in an Ercoupe so I took him around the patch for a couple of touch and go's. He got real nervous on the first landing as I lined up for a cross wind touchdown while in a crab. He said that he never knew it would land that way. After a couple more T&G's he became a believer. During a Wings weekend a few years ago I also scared a very young CFI. He had never been in a coupe before and tried to take the controls away from me on a crosswind landing. I guess I should have briefed him on Ercoupes before the flight. We went around again and I told him to just watch and leave the landing to me. It was a squeaker, but he was braced for a crash. Andy _____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tommy Terry Sent: Thursday, April 30, 2009 10:03 PM To: [email protected]; 'ercoupe Ercoupe Flying' Subject: RE: [ercoupe-flyin] scare-coupe Really now! I'm in the hangar working on my beloved Ercoupe with the local, well-seasoned mechanic, when in walks an old friend of his and she says, "Hi Russ, I see you're working on a scare coupe"! She really was a nice lady so I didn't say something like, "this is MY Ercoupe and it's the safest thing you'll ever fly, so back off!" That's what I really wanted to say. But the question remains, where did that come from? Has anybody else ever heard that? Darick
