John wrote: > Also, it has rudder pedals, which I really didn't want. Is it much of a > task to remove them or should I just ignore them? I understand from a > number of sources that they are by and large ineffective.
John, Let me discuss the effectiveness issue in detail for lurkers. The rudder pedals have some effectiveness. I can land with the plane axis in line with the runway, wing low, up to a 15 mph direct crosswind. I can adjust my rate of descent a fair amount with a good slip, even in the Coupe. In the air, for good flying practice, you would push the pedals when making big aileron movements to prevent adverse yaw. For cruise, you can leave your feet on the floor just like on virtually all other planes. On climb out, I use the pedals to keep the plane flying straight. In all situations, since the actual rudder surface is small, it takes a pretty large amount of pedal displacement to get the ball centered. It takes very little strength. For the same reason, the automatic centering from the wind over the rudders isn't strong and you may have to push the pedals some to center them well. With pedals, you can control the plane with your feet while you use both hands to deal with maps or whatever. I like that. Though I don't ever fly other planes, I suppose I won't have any trouble transitioning back since my Coupe has the pedals and I've kept in practice by pushing them. With any pedal kit, you have less leg room. This bothers me on cross country flights. I've thought about having them taken out, but I get some positive value (using slips to adjust my final approach) so I haven't gotten serious about removing them. The Coupes are certified as spin-proof both with and without the rudder pedals. I've tried cross controlled stalls at very high (about 100 rpm less than full throttle) power settings. It was a roller coaster ride, but the plane didn't enter a spin and I could bring the wings level with by just adding more aileron while the rudder was still full left (the worst condition). There are TWO TYPES of rudder pedal kits. For discussion, I'll call them the ERCO kit and the Alon kit. The differences only affect ground handling. With the Alon kit, the pedals control the rudders and the nose wheel only. The wheel/yoke only controls the ailerons. You steer on the ground with the pedals. With the ERCO kit, the pedals control the rudders only. The wheel/yoke controls the ailerons and the nose wheel. With the Alon kit, after touch down, you can turn the ailerons into the wind and totally eliminate any up-wind wing rise. (Not a significant problem on Coupes with the tail at or near 75 inches high.) I've landed in a 30 mph direct crosswind on a 20 foot wide asphalt runway back when my tail was drooping a lot and had no wing lift because I turned the ailerons into the wind. You can also get some aero-braking during the roll out by doing this. With the ERCO kit, once you are on the ground, you steer with your hands on the yoke. You've practiced this for 10,000 hours in your car, more than 3,600,000 steering wheel control movements. In an emergency, turning the wheel with your hands is your practiced and very well learned (not instinctive) response. (Fred Weick observed this behavior and designed the ERCO kit his way for this reason.) Since the plane steers like a car with the ERCO kit, you have much better control when rolling on the ground. People feel so confident about it, the factory issued a memorandum advising people to taxi more slowly to avoid getting unnecessary fender benders around the airport. I'm also happy with the way Coupes fly, land, take-off and taxi without pedals. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. Ercoupe N3802H, 415-D
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