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At 05:42 PM 12/4/02 -0600, jag wrote: >As I've read through the archives, I've come across similar references to >how fast the ercoupe sinks when it gets slow. But being that the only planes >I've piloted are the C150, C172 and Challenger Ultralights, my comprehension >of how fast that is is limited. If I were to compare the 172's to the >Challenger, the Challenger sinks much quicker on landing but is still very >controllable during the sink. The Cessnas are kites in comparison to other planes, as far as not sinking when getting slow. Ultralights seem to fall like bricks...I've only flown Quicksilvers, but GEEZ you have to put the nose down in a power-off glide! Much more than in an Ercoupe. >I've flown a few times now in an Ercoupe and have never felt the feeling of >"falling out of the sky"... You just haven't slowed down enough in a power-off glide. Or, you aren't attuned to recognize severe sink when you encounter it (a lot of Cessna pilots have never seen it). >I'm sure the pilots flying them kept their speed up. We almost always do :-) >The question comes when you have a power loss. Even more speed than when you have the power on. >My understanding is to >keep the speed up to minimize the sink rate without power which ultimately >gives you a lot less time to pick, manuvere and prepare for an emergency >landing. No, not too bad really. When you start running out of time real quick is when you slow down to 70 or so to 'stretch' the glide. It ends up being pretty short. If you keep it up around 85 or so, it's reasonable. One of those times when you have to do what you *know* is right versus what you're tempted to do. If I kill the power abeam the numbers on a reasonably close down-wind, I can make a constant-radius turn and still have plenty of 'fudge' factor to make a nice landing, by holding from 85-90 MPH until I have it made. >If what I've written above is somewhat accurate, how does this high sink >rate compare to other planes such as the Mooney, Bonanza, Piper Warriers and >Cherokees? Do they all fly emergency power offs with the same degree of >risk? It's all relative. Mooneys seem to want more speed all around, Bonanzas a bit less, but still plenty. Warriors are pretty floaty with their tapered wings. Hershey-bar Cherokees will sink pretty alarmingly if you get slow (as will their predecessors, the short-wing Pipers). Indeed, a PA28-140 isn't bad rehearsal for Couping, except that the pitch forces are too heavy in the PA28. Greg >I'm new to the Ercoupe. In fact I'm in the process of buying an Ercoupe. I >am sold on the qualities of the coupe, I understand the need to manage the >airspeed at all times of normal maneuvers and am ok with that, I'm just a >little nervous about the amount of time that will be available to manage a >power out situation once I've set my glide to be at 80mph+. > >I guess coming from a Challenger where you fly "low and slow", I will need >to fly "faster and higher" to give myself more time if/when that time comes. >Comments would be appreciated. > >Thanks, >Jeff > > >========================================================================= ===== >To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm
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