Thinking out loud

Here' the specs on the Yankee:

http://www.planeandpilotmag.com/cont...antrainer.html

As you can see, with two 210-pounders in there, 24 gallons of fuel,
and some crap in the back, you were close to 100 pounds over gross.
This impacted your takeoff and landing runs.

The reason he approached at 80 (mph I assume because that's what the
airspeed indicator that came with the plane was calibrated in) is
because at any slower speed the plane will mush and you will not be
able to achieve a positive rate of climb. If you do not have room to
dive and acquire more airspeed you will impact the ground at some
considerable combination of forward and downward velocity. The wing
was modified on the AA1B to reduce this tendency.

That was with the stock 108-hp Lycoming. I don't know what that
situation is like with one of the STC'd larger-engine upgrades.

The handlling isn't twitchy; it's what an airplane is supposed to feel
like. It's a wonderful plane, fast and delightful to fly. I loved
them when I could rent them.

But based on the loading, unless this guy had a bigger engine than the
stock engine, I'd assume he can't be trusted to have maintained the
plane properly.

Your idea's ok, but lose this bozo.

Don