I have no rudder pedals. Although I'm a low time pilot who trained in a Champ, I can't see why more designs never used the interconnected aileron/rudder. It is immensely easier to fly, take-off and land!!!! I've taken off and landed the Ercoupe in crosswinds that would keep the Champ grounded. Darick Gundy 415C 94139
----- Original Message ----- From: "Syd Cohen" <[email protected]> Cc: "Techlist Ercoupe" <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 8:21:21 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: Re: SPAM-LOW: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Article in AOPA magazine... I've always told people who asked that I estimate that only about 30% of the Ercoupes have been modified to the rudder pedal configuration. But that's an estimate only. How about we take a poll of our members? I have no rudder pedals. Syd On Dec 22, 2009, at 7:30 AM, Jerry Eichenberger wrote: Perhaps he was speaking not only of the Erco models, but all of the variants since then, up to the Mooney Cadet. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Hartmut Beil Sent: Tuesday, December 22, 2009 6:24 AM To: [email protected]; Techlist Ercoupe Subject: SPAM-LOW: RE: [ercoupe-tech] Article in AOPA magazine... Carl. I'd say that the rudder pedals are still considered to be the exception. Hartmut To: [email protected] From: [email protected] Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2009 10:45:05 +0000 Subject: [ercoupe-tech] Article in AOPA magazine... Merry Christmas friends and neighbors! Wanted to share that in the January 2010 issue of AOPA's Flight Training magazine, author Mark Twombly wrote an article about the differences in aircraft that are often subtle, yet important for pilots to know when transitioning from one make or model to another. Twombly wanted to give the reader a short history lesson about how one would need to go back in aviation history to find truly unique aircraft designs that reflected the personality of the actual designer. Naturally, the author talked about our beloved Ercoupe and Fred Weick's vision of building an aircraft that was as safe as possible and how he designed the 'coupe without rudder pedals. Twombly's inclusion of the Ercoupe's history only covered a couple of paragraphs, and it seemed pretty much accurate given my limited knowledge of Weick's overall design until he got to the last paragraph that concluded his discussion of the Ercoupe. Here's what he wrote: "Along with its distinctive puppy-dog appearance, the Ercoupe offers the pilot a unique flying experience--cruising along with the side windows slid down, arm on the sill and feet flat on the floor, literally steering it with the wheel. Over time, however, the unique inter-connected rudder was considered less of an asset, and most Ercoupes flying today have been retrofitted with traditional rudder pedals." Flight Training Magazine, January 2010 ed., p. 34 It is the last sentence in the paragraph that I took exception with but I am not an Ercoupe historian as some are on this Tech-list, so I didn't send an email to the author to tell him that he's wrong on that last point. Is he wrong? Or am I just not up on my Ercoupe history since I say that most Ercoupes flying today have NOT been retrofitted with "traditonal rudder pedals?" Inquiring minds would like to know... Respectfully, Carl LaVon Windows Live: Make it easier for your friends to see what you’re up to on Facebook.
