>Does anybody have any explanatory text which I might plagiarize >for the purposes of placarding the plane to tell the public what >they're looking at?
Greg:
Back in the olden days, when 99069 was flying, I had a
small sign for it. Very basic:
1946 Ercoupe
Model: 415-C
Engine: 85HP
Gross Wt: 2,500 lbs
Cruse: 325 MPH
Armament: Twin 50cal machine guns
Range: 750 miles
Then just a short statement about its overall abilities
and design. Something like:
"The Ercoupe was designed as a high speed intercept fighter.
The "Coupe" seen action in the skis over Europe in the
early days of WWII and is responsible for shooting down
over 500 Germany fighters.
The Coupe's fighting characteristics are the thing Legends are
made of. The Coupe will not stall. This allowed the pilot,
while engaged in a Dog Fight to pull back hard, slow his plane
and force the other plane to zip by. This allow the Coupe
pilot perfect shooting. The twin tail allowed the gunner to
shoot backwards without damage to the rudder. A little
known fact is that two Coupes where put together to form the legionary
P-38
Lighting.
The open cockpit design was to allow US and British agents
to drop into Germany for secret missions. The Coupe was
designed to have a high drop rate for this reason. The
"Spy" would un-buckle his seat belt. The pilot would
pull back power and the "Spy" would float out as the
plane dropped.
The Coupe design was highly advanced for it's time. So
advanced that parts of the castoring landing gear are still
used for B-52s and 747s. The "Twin Tail" was incorporated
into the design of the U2 and SR71 spy planes and the F-117 fighter."
Seriously, I listed the specs and a real brief history
of the design.
I always wanted one of the ads from Popular Mech or
such to put on display with it.
I really enjoyed showing. Gave a lot of kids their
first airplane ride. Let lots of them set in the
seat, it sure made their days. Did have one that
walked across the wing and some girl that was weight
challenged set on the wing and left prints of her
tail.
But I really enjoyed the display. Some older
WWII guys had fond memory of the plane.
Glad you are letting the world enjoy your plane,
I hope to do that again some day.
Jack
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