----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----Hi Dave; We just had our Ercoupe Owners Convention in Daytona Beach, ended yesterday. And if you had been at the banquet, you would have seen Coupers in all shapes and sizes. The best answer to your question is "it depends."
All airplanes are fun to fly, in my opinion. Coupes are more fun than most, because you can fly them with the top down. If you enjoy flying with the windows open, I would suggest obtaining a Coupe with the original straight windshield. That configuration seems to create less wind turbulence in the cockpit with the windows wide open. However, once you get used to flying with the top down, I suspect that it does not make a great deal of difference.
I would not recommend that you trade your wife in on a new model. If she enjoys flying and has given the OK to purchase an aircraft, it sounds to me like she is definitely a "keeper."
Any of the Coupes can be modified to suit your purposes. I would not recommend a 1941 model (no electrical system and only 65 horsepower), and if you are looking at a 75 horse power model, I would recommend planning to convert it to an 85. Since you live in the lowlands of Florida, you most likely will not need the extra climb capability of the O200 power, so either the 85 or the 90 will suffice.
The useful load of the Coupe varies with the model and installed equipment. The 415-C and CD models have a 1260 LB gross weight, and their useful load is normally only 400 to 450 pounds. the 415-D, E, G or Forney F-1 has a 1400 LB gross weight, and their useful load will vary from around 450 to over 500 pounds. All the models after the F-1 have a 1450 pound gross weight, but their useful load is still in the 450 to 500 pound area due to additional upholstery and equipment that was standard.
The Coupe flies like any other airplane, however, the controls are generally lighter to the touch, both in pitch and roll, than most. The design feature of not being able to spin, and of steering it on the ground, with the wheel instead of the rudder pedals, and the fact that it had a nose wheel instead of a tail wheel created considerable controversy when the Ercoupe was introduced. When flown properly, its rate of climb will compare with a Cessna 150, as will its cruise speed (ROC around 500 fpm and cruise of about 105 - 110 mph.)
It is relatively easy to add shoulder harness, if they are not already installed, for a few hundred dollars. And for the type of flying you mentioned, VFR, it is a fun airplane. I would not recommend it if you are considering IFR training, flying.
I strongly recommend that you have any airplane you consider purchasing thoroughly inspected PRIOR to purchase, by a disinterested 3rd party who knows what they are looking at when they do the inspection.
Lynn Nelsen Frostproof FL 863 635 7916
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