----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Vern, I also believe that Ercoupe owners are custodians caring for aircraft that will often be around after their current owners have lost their (our) medicals. I'm 46 and I appreciate the effort that those before me put into maintaining, caring for, and restoring my Ercoupe N3968H. I'm doing everything I can to ensure that 68H is flying 40 years from now when I'm grounded so that someone else has the opportunity to enjoy the same Ercoupe & flying experiences that we have been fortunate to enjoy. Sometimes the FAA regs are over the top and don't necessarily guaranty a sound airplane however; for the most part they do help. I've seen significant corners cut on a number coupes and it saddens me when that happens. I will spend whatever it takes to keep my plane safe and airworthy, or if I can't I'll sell it to someone who can and find another way to fly (LSA, ultralight, glider). I'll be the first to admit that even an Ercoupe isn't 'cheap' and it can be difficult and take time to find and correct 50 years of paperwork errors. The experimental / custom built aircraft have the freedom to do many things with their planes we do not. How about those Navaid autopilots and modern electronics? Sure would be nice to install some of those in a Coupe (legally), wouldn't they? Ah, temptations! Let's all do our best to care for our Ercoupes and keep them 'legal', so that years from now we can watch someone else enjoy them ! Thanks to all those over the years who cared enough about our planes that we can enjoy them 60 years later. Keep'em (Ercoupes) flying right! Dan Hall N3968H ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 5:33 AM Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Paperwork > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any > advice in this forum.]---- > > > > > > > Hi Al, > > Sorry but I see us as just the current custodian of our fine Coupes. > > I am pleased to see the you are making progress on your A&P certificate, I > did mine in my late fifties just so that I could do the work on my > aircraft > and to know what to do and when to get help. It is the right way to go for > many who love aircraft and are longer on experience than money. > > If it helps I found the King video courses to be great to pass the > knowledge tests, went through the material twice and got 100/98/97 on the > tests. For the oral and practical I used the ASA review guide which has > all > the questions they can ask and acceptable answers to use. I also found > that > you pass or fail the practical on the first task or two and the rest is > just the process of punching the required areas. The first task was hard > and I was able to deal with it just fine after not missing any of the > first > two sessions of oral questions we quickly went to the simplest task > permitted for the rest of the areas. It is a very good thing to do and it > does make you feel better when you work on your plane as you know that > even > if a Fed comes up and starts to ask questions you have nothing to worry > about. > > Good luck and get on with it as soon as you can. > > Best regards, > Vern > > > > > ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any > advice in this forum.]---- > > > Vern; > You had to bring up the age thing, huh? I was feeling pretty good this > morning! ;-) > > In my experience with Ercoupes, I've found a few sad things about proper > maintenance. 1. Many of us don't know what is right and what is wrong, 2. > many can't really afford to have it done by a certified mechanic or shop > and > 3. we feel that someone else couldn't do it any better than we could > ourselves. When I bought my first coupe, all of those applied. In my > very > large local Coupe group, most of those applied. I remember wrestling with > a > decision whether or not to buy an oil pressure gauge at $20 or $30! Guess > which won out! Now, even though I'll spend $10 on return shipping if I > don't like the looks of things, 2 and 3 still apply to me. I'm going > through replacing a few cylinders on my big airplane now, and if I had to > farm the job out, I'd be up to about $6K and counting. I'm lucky enough > to > have advanced my skills to a point where minimal supervision is required. > (I've been given a letters of experience and am just trying to find some > time to take the A&P tests.) Lots of folks getting into this hobby would > sure like to find a flying airplane at $6K and so would I, but if found I > would be afraid to take it up! > > You're tail cone job is unfortunately a common one. Bondo, rather than > spend $50 for a serviceable part is the norm. Tough thing is when the > aircraft finds someone who is conscientious, that repair needs to be done > over at double the cost. As you're repairing, why not document your > procedures so that all of us may benefit from your technical and decision > making skills. Thanks > > Al > > > > > > ========================================================================== ==== > To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm > Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/ > > > > ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
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