To
Dick but mostly to new Coupe pilots,
Learning
about Coupes from magazine articles can be valuable but
beware.
Actually,
that was how I learned to fly Coupes since I couldnt find an instructor or
pilot who knew diddly-squat (including the
seller).
The
articles were a pretty good tutorial on Coupe flying. The only problem was the list of
working speeds of the airplane I gleaned from the articles. They said the approach speed should be
70 and that worked adequately on my first three landings with some power for
approach path control.
My
fourth landing, the next day, was in an open field, plowed and covered with a
foot of dense, early February snow.
I used the glide speed of 70 and, with no engine (that being the cause
of the landing in the field), had a very steep approach. When I pulled back to flare, the plane
just leaned back a little and went WHUMP! as it hit the ground. It was a very short ground roll but no
damage was done.
It
turns out the airspeed indicator on that plane was WAY off indicating 65 when
I was doing a true airspeed of 50 mph.
My 70 mph glide speed was about 54 true and we all know how nicely
Coupes glide at 55 mph!
The
moral of the story for new pilots is, enjoy the articles, learn everything you
can from every source then GO FLY THE PLANE AND TEST WHAT YOUVE READ TO FIND
THE TRUTH! Learn, then
VERIFY!
Ed
Burkhead
http://edburkhead.com/
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----Original
Message-----
From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2003 4:32
PM
To:
[email protected]
Subject:
[COUPERS-FLYIN] Past issues of airplane magazines
Dear
Ercoupers:
I would like to
purchase any old magazines having articles on the Ercoupe. I learned to fly in
1971 and remember reading a article in "Private Pilot" about an owners
Ercoupe. This motivated to buy my first Ercoupe. I woud like to buy magazines
such as "Private Pilot",Plane and Pilot",Flying,etc.
Thank You for your
response.
Sincerely Yours,
Dick
Morris
Dallas,Texas
