Thread: Ercoupe
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Old March 10th 08, 08:32 PM posted to rec.aviation.piloting
Dudley Henriques[_2_]
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Default Ercoupe

xyzzy wrote:
On Mar 9, 8:23 pm, Dudley Henriques wrote:
Dan wrote:
On Mar 9, 7:20 pm, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
Dan wrote in news:42b5622c-9f2a-4376-814a-
:
On Mar 9, 7:07 pm, Bertie the Bunyip wrote:
It's part of the STC to remove it when it's converted to a Pacer, but
it
hadn't been done for some reason.
Bertie
Thought so.
I just wonder who came up with that Tri Pacer gear...
=
Who came up with it? Probably Pug Piper. It was just to meet the demand
for more milk stools in the fifties. A number of airplanes were modified
by the factories to trike configuration. the C 170 the 180 and 140, for
instance and the particularly unfortunate WACO N.
Bertie
Bertie
Yikes.. that was a selling point? It looks like it's about to tip over
if the Line boy sneezes...

I've flown the Ercoupe. Not much to it really. It was fun running the
side windows down and flying along with my arm out on the edge of the
cockpit sort of like in a car.
The landings were a bit different if you had any crosswind at all, but
easily doable in the crab. Take off was the same. As soon as you broke
ground, it weather vaned into the wind with aileron. Sort of a "spooky"
little airplane but it flew quite well and was quite fast for its day.

The one I flew didn't have the later rudder capability. Never flew the Alon.

--
Dudley Henriques


I flew one once and one thing I remember is that taking off in a left
crosswind took some getting used to. Had to bank it farther right
than most people will be comfortable with that low, to keep it
straight. Because you couldn't correct for the weathervaning + left
turning tendency with the rudder. Yes, I know the left turning
tendency was supposedly designed out of it. Not. At takeoff power
it's still there. Of coruse the one I was flying was a 75 hp model
that had been modified with the c-90, so that might have something to
do with it


Never had these problems. I'm sure you meant a left bank into a left
crosswind and not a right. :-))
The wethervaning was natural in the Ercoupe and left alone, the airplane
would usually make the crosswind correction by itself :-))

I never noticed any noticeable left turning tendencies in the Coupe.
PFactor was no issue as the basic attitude of the propeller was fairly
level with the relative wind on takeoff. Not enough vertical surface
back there for much spiraling slipstream effect. Of course there's
always a bit of gyroscopic precess as you rotate in pitch, but nothing
of note really in the Coupe. Torque correction is in roll anyway, and
you had ample aileron on the airplane.

It was different all right, but no big deal at all on these issues.

--
Dudley Henriques