Jim, Some good information is in the other posts.
You asked, "Anyone have thoughts about how to make sure one's engine doesn't quit?" Upon some cogitation, here are some thoughts for you, expanded to all flight operations. 1. We don't know how many Coupes are flying. Twenty years ago there were about 3500 in the FAA registry. Considering how pitifully the FAA maintained the registry, we can only make wild guesses of the number flying. However, over the last five or so years, many hangar queens and derelicts have been resuscitated to fly again for Sport Pilots. I don't, therefore, know if the number of flying planes is 1,500 or 3,500. Let's pick a medium number for some figuring: 2200. (A WAG) 2. So, 39 accidents in a fleet of 2200 would be 1.8% of the fleet. Considering that's over a five year period, it would be 0.35% chance of an individual plane having a crash in a given year. If you fly the statistically average plane for 20 years, then your statistically average chance of a crash is 7% and that's a bad number. I think it's abnormally high for our fleet, perhaps skewed by recent statistics. Perhaps the number of formerly idle Coupes pulled out of hangars and put in service with inadequate inspection and maintenance accounts for the unusual number of "engine failure" accidents you cited. __________________________________________ Me, I never want to be part of the statistical average. I learned the folly and then made absolutely sure I never would or could, ever again, fly into a cloud. For day VFR, I never tested the limits ever again. For night VFR, my rule was I wouldn't fly at night if there was a cloud in my state. So, you should, right from the beginning, never push on to "see if you can get through." I went up and PRACTICED flying and landing techniques on the theory that I wanted to be better skilled than the day I took my check ride. I wanted to MASTER flying my plane. (Besides, it's a fun thing to do while up flying - way better than making long straight-line holes in the air.) Some takeoff and landing accidents I see reported are things that, I think, will never happen to me because I have procedures and skills to prevent just those things. You should get some dual instruction on the Coupe's few quirks before flying your own plane. The Ercoupe Owners Club has a list of Coupe knowledgeable CFIs and mechanics in the member's only section - referred by other owners. (i.e. steep descents at low airspeeds, crosswind landing technique) For annual inspections and other maintenance, when I spoke with the mechanic, my words were: "Do everything needed for safety. Safety first." When there was any money left over then we when do something about improvements or cosmetics. Being non-rich, that meant I flew a Coupe with faded paint and original upholstery but I had confidence in the aircraft's safety. Have a reputable mechanic doing your mechanical work. Get a skilled Ercoupe mechanic to do an annual inspection early in your ownership - preferably the first inspection - to look for the things other mechanics might not have spotted. Ercoupes are not exotic aircraft but there are some things an experienced Coupe mechanic will know to check for that a lazy mechanic won't find. You should PAY ATTENTION to your engine, systems and everything about your aircraft. You should not exceed the design intentions of the aircraft. It was designed for fun flying and transportation - NOT AEROBATICS. Never, never, never do aerobatics in an Ercoupe (Bob Hoover excepted - maybe)! The aileron flutter accident Syd mentioned may have been caused by failure to follow the published checks and procedures in the Service Manual. But, even then, it might not have happened without (here's speculation:) the pilot doing a high speed low pass (a buzz job). (I well remember our misery when our airport A&P crashed the airport's C-172 because he did a high speed low pass and sudden pull-up with an overloaded aircraft. Just don't do that stupid stuff!) Overall, betting my and my family's safety, I'd rather take them up in a Coupe than in any other similar aircraft. JMHO Ed Ed Burkhead http://edburkhead.com/Ercoupe/index.htm ed -at- edbur???khead.XXX change -at- to @, remove ??? and change XXX to com
