On Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 6:56:56 PM UTC+3, Dan Marotta wrote:
On 7/17/2017 6:36 PM, Michael Opitz wrote:
We had a G109B in our club as a 5 year lease-back during the
Reagan tax credit era. I liked it a lot, but found it incredible that an
aircraft like this (which was a lot more complicated than a C-150)
would only require a glider license to fly it...
I hear ya, Brother! I don't think I'd trust any C-150 or C-140 (tail
dragger) pilot to fly a Stemme with simply a glider license. Still, as I
get older and don't want to fly power planes any more, it's good that I
don't need a physical to fly the Stemme. I'll know when it's time to
quit or my wife will let me know...

I'm not sure what's complex about the 109. Certainly for a C-150 pilot it's a tail dragger with long wings, much like any other glider. For a glider pilot it's not a lot different to a 103 with side by side seating and an engine.

The need to switch between fine and coarse pitch, and the Mickey Mouse way it's done (pull something like a tow release, and hope and pray it changes to the mode you want, based on engine RPM) is a bit strange for both C-150 and glider pilots. Getting it wrong would be bad, especially on takeoff. The takeoff performance is anaemic enough at the best of times.

For some reason, I found the 109 more claustrophobic than other aircraft I've been in, and especially the way you have to twist around above and behind your head to operate the canopy latch.