DISCLAIMER: I wrote this during one of my grad student all night marathons, so if it sounds a bit strange, please chalk it up to sleep deprivation. Thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hiya again, I remember the first time I saw John's plane last summer, right after I discovered coupes. I thought it was so tiny. As neat as I thought it was, I couldn't imagine being comfortable in such a small space. My perception was all wrong. I was surprised at how roomy it feels once I actually sat down in the seat. Plenty of room for my legs and feet without those pesky pedals. I did think I was just going to be a passenger and of course I headed for the right seat. After seeing my taxiing troubles a couple of weeks ago, I hardly thought he would take a chance on me. But he said I should try taxiing the coupe to see how easy it is. No kidding. No problem staying centered on the yellow line with this baby. After three lessons in the Cessna, I was barely starting to get used to the rudder pedals. I was feeling for them at first in the coupe, but it's easy to do without them. I know this is going to mess with my head when I go back to my lessons in the Cessna, but I am not complaining, believe me. So as we were heading for the runway, I asked John if he was going to take off and he told me that, no, I was. He kept telling me that Ercoupes are easy to fly and that he would not let me get into trouble. I've only done it twice before and that was in the 172 but everything went well. It does feel different but I can't as yet articulate how. I was very tense at first. I guess I was afraid of doing something to hurt his beautiful coupe. I did relax after while. So how was it for me, not just being in the coupe, but actually flying it? Let me see, how do I put this? It's hard for me to imagine being much happier. Some of the time I was just laughing, chortling, more accurately. John must have wondered if he had taken a mad woman with him. But on the other hand, maybe all you coupe owners are accustomed to spontaneous expressions of glee from your passengers and those folks who you unselfishly give a turn at the controls. It's such a different experience than the Cessna. With the low wings and the clear canopy, I can see so much more. We had the canopy partly open. John said that it was a bit cold to have it all the way open for the whole flight. However, he did have me open my side all the way for a short time so I could experience what it was like. So marvelous. I have a sports car fanatic friend and he's always saying that coupes are the Sprites of the air. Sometimes I had the perception that I was in a neat little convertible sports car, but in the air. At times I felt like I, myself, was flying, without the aid of a machine. More than a few people have told me that flying a coupe gave them the sensation that the wings were extentions of their arms. Now I know what they are talking about. I can reach out and touch a wing. For some reason, that is strangely comforting to me. It reminds me ever so much of patting a horse on the shoulder while riding. John encouraged me to fly around where I wanted to and go take a look at what I wanted to look at. It's quite different from my lessons which is a fairly well laid out plan, which is approrpriate for lessons. It is quite different to be told, "go where you want to". I was kinda at a loss at first but I figured it out. There is so much to look at in our beautiful region. John is so considerate of everyone in the air and on the ground. He told me to not go directly over the bird santuary areas because he didn't want to disturb the bird watchers. He had me go up bit when we were going over folks' houses. He said that when one has a plane that looks like his, there is no chance of getting it mixed up with someone else's and he doesn't want folks on the ground being unhappy with him. I don't know how long we were up. I think it was longer than my lessons so it must have been 1hr, 15-30 minutes. I would have been happy to fly for hours except that I was starting to feel guilty about the fuel cost. He landed as I don't know how to do that yet but I always pay close attention and I am learning. John got it across to me how important it is to keep the speed up while landing a coupe. I understand why and hopefully I will be able to do it well when I get to that point down the road. As you have all, no doubt gathered, I love airplanes and flying. However, after one flight I learned that my affection for coupes goes even beyond that. For goodness sakes, I know they're not organic creatures, that they can't respond like a favorite horse or dog, but sometimes it sure seems that way. Richard Bach describes what I'm talking about so well in his essay, "Steel, Aluminum, Nuts, and Bolts", from his book, "A Gift of Wings". If so esteemed a writer as Bach is willing to admit such thoughts, and commit them to a published work for all the world to see, then maybe such notions are not so crazy. After we landed and had the plane tied down and secure, without even thinking about it, I found myself spontaneously laying my head against the nose and then patting and petting the wings and the fuselage. I started to get embarrassed by my odd behavior but John said that the plane liked it. What a gracious and generous man. I am so grateful to him. What a gift. When I was leaving he said, "Well if my plane is stolen, I'll know the first place to look!" <g> Indeed. Georgia PS Now I know the whole reason why you folks are so devoted to these special little airplanes. They could win, hands down, just on their looks, but they are so much more than that. I have to have one someday. __________________________________________________________________________ ______ To unsubscribe from this list please send mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
<<attachment: winmail.dat>>
