----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]----
Most Wise, O Aviator. Most Wise. Percy -----Original Message----- From: Dr. R. B. [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, May 19, 2005 10:46 PM To: Larry Snyder; [email protected] Subject: Re: [COUPERS-FLYIN] Check ride on the (somewhat distant) horizon... ----[Please read http://ercoupers.com/disclaimer.htm before following any advice in this forum.]---- My humble thoughts: Take your check in the spam can. For some reason known but to God and possibly Chuck Yeager, the general aviation community feels that pedals on the floor means a higher degree of competence needed. Well, they're partially right: you need more skill to compensate for shoddy designs that adds needless and in many cases dangerous equipment such as rudder pedals to an otherwise simple and safe conveyance in order to compensate for the designer's inability to understand basic precepts of aeronautical engineering theory. Oh well. I suggest you Bite The Bullet, Swallow The Annoyance, and Render Unto Caesar. If you check out in a can, at least your Private ticket won't be endorsed for [gasp!] "rudderless" operation, and you can laugh up your sleeve at those idiots who don't understand that rudders are only necessary to compensate for a badly-designed aircraft, when you soar away in America's sole safe aircraft, the Ercoupe [used to be a couple others like the Traveler, but they went by the wayside more's the pity]. The Plus Side: 1. you won't have to explain "no pedals" to some 30-year-old Tom Cruise Lookalike with Certifications out the yingyang, who never heard of an Ercoupe, teaches spin recovery by rudder, and thinks a Cessna Citation is the ne plus ultra of civil aviation. 2. You won't have to scramble trying to fix your AI [which, to avoid being late for Happy Hour, probably ought to be functional at least during crosswind approaches] 3. You can avoid weight-and-balance embarassments. The Ercoupe is too old to have an Approved Flight Manual, and weight an balance tables can be hard to come by. The FAA Solution: weigh your aircraft, disassemble it, weigh each moveable component, compute the weight and balance, and have all of it signed off by an A&I Cost To The Owner: a shitload. Advantage To The Owner: nothing. The Kindlyolddoctorbeeman Solution: 1, Pull the tail cone to discover whether the previous owner has forgotten to remove any of his or her pet cinder blocks; 2, Calculate the weights and moments of the extra instruments, levers, and various drink-dispensers added to the instrument panel before you got the ship. 3, Compare this to what came standard out of the factory [consult an old Macy's ad to determine the OEM configuration of the panel]; 4, pull your own Weight and Balance, log it, and use it without comment. 99 times out of a hundred it'll be accepted without question. Cost To The Owner: nothing. Advantage To The Owner: learing much about his ship and how she's rigged, and getting those damned cinder blocks out of the battery spaces. Unlike most ordinary men and women of any age or stripe, you as an aviator have the world before you. What is the difference between you and Charles Lindbergh, you and Bob Hoover, you and Jimmy Doolittle? NOTHING! Godspeed and good luck! Dr. R. Beeman > > I have now completed my dual cross countries, all night requirements, have > about 5 hours solo, and am planning two solo cross countries that should > meet all requirements within the next two weeks. At that point, I need > only three hours of hood time and I've completed my training. Then I start > planning for the check ride. > > I've been planning to take the check ride in a Cessna 150, since taking it > in the Ercoupe means limitations on my license. What are the general > thoughts of this group? > > Here are my thoughts about taking my check ride in the Ercoupe: > > Cons: > > 1. Restriction on rudder pedals. > 2. I don't have a current compass deviation card (at least, I don't think > so - I'm going to root through the plane tonight and find ALL > documentation) > 3. Lack of weight/balance and cruise performance charts (again, am I > missing something? Are they in the POH? Are they available for a 415C with > a C75?) > 4. My AI is currently inoperative > > Pros: > > 1. I know the plane! > 2. I can fly the plane! > 3. I won't have to rent a C150 - I'm figuring about 5 hours of practice in > it. > > I'm open to any and all advice! > > Thanks, > > Larry - N99340 > > ========================================================================== == == > 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/ ========================================================================== ==== To leave this forum go to: http://ercoupers.com/lists.htm Search the archives on http://escribe.com/aviation/coupers/
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