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Jim, My high altitude takeoff experience is limited to one major trip from Iowa through the high desert following I-80 to Minden, Nevada, then to the ocean in Oregon, to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, through the mountains to Kalispell then following Highway 2 by Glacier Park, near the Canadian border, and back to Iowa. This took place in late June into early July. My Coupe was a 415-D being flown solo with luggage. Since I counted then as 1.47 FAA standard pilots and had baggage, my gross weight was about 1330 lb. My Coupe had a C-85 and an extreme climb prop, pitched to 7146. 7146 is about the legal limit under the type certificate, giving 2225 rpm static rpm. That climb prop limited my cruise to almost exactly 100 mph at 2400 rpm. Overall, I'd say that Coupes climb fairly poorly. They only have a C-75 or C-85 engine, mostly, but they usually get pretty good cruise speed out of that small engine because they have a fairly sleek airframe. My 7146 climb prop climbed better than most Coupes but not better than the Alons with which I occasionally flew. When I got to the high altitude, high desert areas, I made my last morning takeoff at or before 10:30 a.m. Once I did another leg taking off about 4:00-5:00 p.m. Those 10:30 takeoffs were a mistake because the thermals were ferocious and I stopped at the next airport just to stop getting bounced. But even at the 6200' airports, I never took more than 40% of the available runway to get off the ground and usually I was off faster than that. (I leaned the engine at full power before takeoff at the highest airports.) I was always able to climb to 12,500' except one flight in the late afternoon when I topped out at 11,500 in moderate turbulence (density altitude 14,500'). It took a while to get up there, though. I think you could fly safely in a 415-C or CD (Sport eligible models) in your area as long as you stay within their legal gross weight limits of 1260 lb. But I'd recommend you have a climb prop, either a 7148 or 7146. (Note that a 7148 will give you cruise @2400 rpm of about 104 mph.) It seems like a good idea to have an O-200 engine. Yes, it uses more fuel but you are up in leaning altitudes most of the time. I think that if you are flying the same altitude and airspeed as a C-75 or C-85 aircraft and have leaned properly, you shouldn't burn any more fuel. If you search and are patient, you might find a 415-C or CD with an O-200. Or, you could find a plane with a run out engine and install your own O-200. I think I've heard that the standard STC for the O-200 requires the D conversion so you'd have to submit and get your own form 337 approval for an O-200 installation on a C or CD. That's a fuss and not all FAA wienies are brave enough to sign off on such a change. It'll help if you can cite two or more C or CD models successfully flying with an O-200 as a reference. With an O-200, you'll be happy in that area, I bet. With a C or CD at 1260 lb. with a climb prop, you'll do just fine, I think. Let us know, please, what you get. Good luck. Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com ed -at- edburkhead???.com (change -at- to @ and remove "???") ============================================================================== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
