Dave Matthews wrote: > >> The mechanic where I am taking lessons suggested that I drop the ercoupe off of my list of potential planes to buy. He said that it tends to use a lot of runway with two people in it. I don't know what engine he was using as a frame of reference. How much runway do you use up with say 450 pounds of humans on board and a reasonable fuel load? How are ercoupes on grass? I would assume that they do fairly well due to the age of the design and what the normal runways were back then. Is the ercoupe a go d choice to build time in for a new pilot? <<
------------- I learned to fly and flew for years with my Coupe on a grass runway that was 2,400 feet by the book. In reality, the ends were so sloped and rough it was 2,000 in reality (maybe less). There were no obstructions. With an 85 hp engine and a climb prop, I considered the intersection with the other runway as my go/no-go decision point. Normally, I'd be off the ground by that point. With exactly full gross (1400 lb.), I'd better be getting light at the intersection and off the ground in 100-200 feet past the intersection. If you expect to do a lot of flying of short grass fields with 450 lb. of people, I'd make these suggestions: 1. Consider getting a plane with an O-200 engine or a run-out engine that you would replace with an O-200. 2. With a C-75, convert it to be a C-85. With a C-85, get a climb prop such as the McCauley 1A90 or 1B90 with pitch of 7148. My prop is pitched to be 7146. This is marginally legal. My run-up rpm is right at the max limit. I like the take-off and climb performance since my own weight runs from 240 to 260 and I'm always pushing 1,400 lb.. gross. 3. Pick a light Coupe. Fabric wings. Consider one with just basic instruments. A hand-held GPS for navigation, a light weight radio and minimal instruments can save a lot of weight. Some old upholstery can be very heavy compared to new replacement. 4. Though the later models allowed 1450 lb. gross, they tended to weight more. A basic 415-D (convert a 415-C if you need to) might come in much lighter in weight, giving you more useful load. My Coupe has 505 lb. useful load. Full fuel is 24 gallons at 144 lb.. I am always willing to take a 2,000 foot grass runway if there are no impinging trees or other obstacles. All together, I like my Coupe for little grass airports. -- Ed Burkhead Peoria, Ill. N3802H
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