Dan,
Thank you for the time you spent on the response, but I'm certain this is the best you'll get in return. I for one consider his inaccuracies anything but minor. In fact they show a lack of understanding regarding basic aerodynamics and ground handling of tricycle gear aircraft. IMHO, Roy ________________________________ From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 9:31 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ercoupe-tech] Ercoupe Wars, news from the front !! Importance: Low Dan: In response to your request for input, I read this current post as well as opinions given in the two links you provided. It's clear that Paul Berge has a bias against the Ercoupe but I would classify his inaccuracies as minor. It's also clear that you have a bias toward the Ercoupe and I would suggest that the defensive tone of your response did little to alter any opinion. Your follow up is repetitive. The Ercoupe is not as bad as Paul reports nor as good as we believe. It's just an airplane. Whenever I hear myself or others speak of the Ercoupe as some sort of shrine to the airplane gods, I think back to my first Ercoupe adventure: My son and I flew to the College Park Convention and as part of that, we toured the factory where most of our airplanes were made. While waiting in line, I struck up a conversation with the woman next to me who turned out to be Fred Weicks daughter. I'm sorry that I can't remember her name but she was real tall and real nice. The line was long so we talked a whole bunch and when the conversation turned to her flight training, I asked if she learned to fly in an Ercoupe. She gave me a funny look and said oh no, my father insisted that I learn to fly in something with rudder pedals! I love Ercoupes, and I think Fred Weick was a brilliant engineer, but I'm not sure that he shared the same reverence for the Ercoupe that we do. To my mind, the folks that fly these things are more important than the airplane and that's the key to ambassadorship. The best way to change opinions about this misunderstood aircraft is simply by being good citizen-pilots. There are so many examples: All the folks that give eagle flights, Syd leading flights into Oshkosh and Sun & Fun, Lynn Nelson flying his grandson around the country and taking the time to write a crazy good log of the adventure, Linda flying into LAX. This is where the battle is won. In terms of good press, the most wonderful thing about the Ercoupe is how it has allowed folks to fly that can't use their legs so well or don't have legs. That video telling the story of how an Ercoupe was modified to allow Kim Blackseth to fly is awesome. Kim is a C-6 quadriplegic and for motivation, I keep a picture in my shop of Kim being lowered into that airplane by his friends using some fabricated sling. Our cause is better served by scaling back our sensitivity to criticism. Brent suggests that we have lost our sense of humor and he may be on to something. Mine is not completely gone though. Although those two PETA vignettes that appear on the Hanger Flying Theater site were fundamentally mean spirited, I was able to see the humor and I did in fact laugh. (yikes) I hope that I have not hurt your feelings Dan. It's not my intent and you can take comfort in the fact that no one on this list will share this view and I suspect a summons from the Ercoupe tribunal is forthcoming where I will be found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake. My apologies for such a long post. Cheers, Bill -----Original Message----- From: Dan Hall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 1:49 am Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Ercoupe Wars, news from the front !! Hey ya'll....I'm considering responding to the comments on Paul Berge blog, and Brent's comments in particular. IF you've read Brent's comments and Jason's rebuttal on the blog, I'd appreciate your thoughts on this draft reply below. Here's the link to the Blog site; http://bergeflyingtheater.blogspot.com/ <http://bergeflyingtheater.blogspot.com/> Here's the link to the comments (read Bent & Jason's comments - I'm mainly replying to those); https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=9129460132495073333&postID=2168 211543851538132 <https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=9129460132495073333&postID=216 8211543851538132> Dan Hall N3968H &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Jason, thank you for your support and comments. I agree strongly with your posts regarding the Ercoupe. Contrary to Brent's insinuations, my letter not claim that the Ercoupe was best or that it should have won; and that was not the reason I wrote the letter. However Jason's comments hit the nail on the head. Ercoupe owner are collectively extremely tired of 60+ years of often snide & belittling comments about the Ercoupe, often based on ignorance (and / or pride & arrogance). With that thought firmly in mind, I'd like to re-fresh Bent's memory with the following "objective" quotes taken directly from Mr. Berge's article; "Amazingly it will straighten itself out....the way a dead cow straightens out when dropped off a moving truck." "The Ercoupe, top, is an acquired taste savored by owners who can do without rudder pedals. Crosswind landings are faith-based flying." "The flight experience is best described as quirky, especially in cross winds, it has no rudder pedals." "If you have lazy feet, the 75 HP Ercoupe 415C may be for you..." "These legacy LSA's are not terribly comfortable, and if you can't fly coordinated and learn to use your feet they'll be neither pleasant nor kind, especially on the runway." (Ercoupes are pleasant & kind) "(....doing 95 MPH)" (try 100-108) "One broke up in flight due to center section corrosion." (Nope) "Ercoupe 415C is LSA eligible..." (and the 415CD??) "We can't say we're crazy about this plane...." (Ah, honesty!) "Last pick is the Ercoupe. They aren't cheap and, in our view, lack the charm of the tail draggers which except for the cub, are all bargain for beginner or lingering pilots." Here Mr. Berge comes out and most clearly his own obvious personal subjective bias FOR tail draggers and their "charm", and against the tricycle gear Ercoupe. Let's see; 4 rag & tube tail-draggers, one all metal tricycle gear model, and the only tricycle gear model comes in dead last in the comparison with the commentary noted above. Brent, do you honestly NOT see a pattern here??? Paul Berge clearly prefers rag & tube tail draggers, and I don't begrudge him that - all of the planes tested are fun little birds to fly. However I and MANY Ercoupe owners certainly DO take GREAT exception to the comments he chose to use to describe the Ercoupe in the Aviation Consumer. Those comments carry a strong personal bias and have no place in a national publication like AC. WHERE were the genuinely objective comments about the Ercoupes obvious advantages, such as; * Tri-cycle gear for stable landing & ground handling. * Superior cross wind landing capabilities. * Effective / good brakes * Stall resistant and spin proof. * Responsive full span ailerons. * Electrical system. * Excellent visibility. This is a great safety feature for avoiding mid-air collisions! * Windows down "open cockpit" flying experience! * Higher speed cruise than other LSAs with the same engine * Mostly metal or all metal construction. * Very simple systems: no fuel tank switching and no flaps. Do you still wonder why I and may other Ercoupe owners lost our collective sense of humor after (re) reading the quotes from the article??? While I have tail wheel experience and my next airplane may be an RV-4, for the record; I take far dimmer view of (tail wheel) snobs than Mr. Berge takes of Ercoupes. If & when the time comes for my next airplane I'm quite sure that I'll miss my 60 year old classic Ercoupe, and frankly would never give up the Coupe if I could afford to keep two planes. I just hope I don't regret the day the keys to my lovely classic Coupe are handed over to it's next 'care taker' (as virtually all former Ercoupe owners have lamented to me over the years). The Ercoupe is a unique and special gem of a classic flying machine. The Ercoupe deserves just as much respect as the rag & tube tail draggers (more IMHO), and that sir, is the point !!!!! Dan Hall Ercoupe 415CD N3968H ________________________________ More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail <http://o.aolcdn.com/cdn.webmail.aol.com/mailtour/aol/en-us/text.htm?nci d=aolcmp00050000000003> !
