At 10:18 PM 5/30/99 -0700, I wrote, without thinking too much: > >It's not as good on a rough field as a C-150 or C-152, because you >can't get the nose up in the air to take the weight off >the mains.
I should have said "it's HARDER to get the nose up in the air to take the weight off the mains." I can do it, but not at the beginning of the takeoff roll like I can in the Cessna. It's nice to get the nose up to keep from sucking up rocks and dirt (or "Cinders", as Cessna calls them. I'm not sure what they mean. Do they expect people to take off through campfires?). I would liken the Ercoupe as a quirky, fun airplane that is neat to own and fly, but not as refined, and slightly not as useful, as a Cessna 150. Therefore I wouldn't recommend it as a first trainer, unless you like it because it's different. It's sort of like owning an Austin Healey or an MG, it's neat to have but you might want a Toyota instead if you aren't in it for the fun of owning something different.
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