With the O-200 415D at full 1400 lb gross, on warm day (75 F) sea level, I take off in <800 feet and climb at 800-900 fpm. (I haven't measured it exactly, but I have taken off on a long displaced threshold of 800 feet and gotten off of the ground before the displaced threshold.) I haven't taken it to high altitudes yet, just high density factors, and not ever had a problem. I can certainly land it in less then 800 feet. I'm completely comfortable in a 2000 foot strip, which is all I care to do in a 172 too. That said, I have been in a full load C75 415C at 30F in the midwest, and it climbed 350 FPM. so your mileage may vary based on engine, prop, and condition of the engine.
It flies just fine out of grass strips, Fred Weick, the designer, flew it out of a grass strip behind his house for years. I think the Ercoupe is a great plane to build time in because it is simple and inexpensive to own and fly. Because you don't have flaps and you have limited elevator, you become well acquainted with using pitch for airspeed, power for altitude, which are really really good things to be intimate with in any airplane. There is no question in my mind that the hours I have flown in the Ercoupe have made me a better pilot across the board. Just my $.02 -Tom p.s. 450 lbs of human is a lot. The useable is around 520, so with 450 lbs, you at best can use less then half tanks to be under gross. I have done it and it flies fine, but just FYI. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Dave Matthews Sent: Saturday, May 29, 1999 4:16 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: takeoff distances 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 good hoice to build time in for a new pilot? Dave HotBot - Search smarter. http://www.hotbot.com
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