Sport Pilot Talk

saintlfd · Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 47 Location: ARGYLE, TEXAS

I want to get back to my SP training after several months' hiatus. I am considering switching to an Aeronca Champ (old school, high-wing taildragger); all my prior training was in a Sport Cruiser (modern, low-wing tricycle).

I will interview the new CFI later this week and will get an intro flight in the Champ. What surprises should I look for? I have read about flying a taildragger and have seen references to common errors made by transitioning students but I don't know what those are.

Any advice or suggestions? Thanks!

drseti · Joined: 28 Nov 2009 Posts: 1390 Location: Lock Haven PA

Dave, the Champ is a delight to fly, and an excellent, honest trainer that will make you a competent pilot. I started in one (50 years ago), and have always had a soft spot for them. You need to check the list of Sport Pilot Eligible certified aircraft on the EAA website -- not all Champs qualify. I know the classic 7AC (circa 1946) does; not sure about the 7BCM.

I prefer the Champ over the Cub because the wing fuel tank moves the CG back, so you solo it from the front seat (with the Cub, fuel tank is on the firewall, so you have to solo from the back to keep the CG in the envelope -- which leaves you with no forward visibility whatever).

The trickiest part of flying Champs and Cubs is the heel brakes -- much harder to operate than the toe brakes on other planes. With any conventional landing gear, you have to be serious about footwork, and remember that the landing is not complete until the plane is in its chocks and tied down.

Biggest mistake one can make in a taildragger is to heave a sigh of relief as soon as the plane touches down, and relax your grip on the stick. Touchdown is when the real work begins, and you have to keep full back stick to keep the tailwheel firmly planted (all the while maintaining precise directional control with the rudders, until you're stopped). Aelirons into the wind while taxiing will help counter the weathervaning tendency.

These birds are very economical to operate, and relatively easy to maintain. Unfortunately, since they're a certified airplane, a Sport Pilot owner/operator cannot perform preventive maintenance (you need to be a Private pilot or above to do that). And, if you plan to own one, be prepared for a shock when you see the insurance bill -- for low-time pilots, it costs twice as much to insure a conventional landing gear as it does for a tricycle gear aircraft.

Make sure your flight instructor is really dedicated to taildraggers -- many will avoid them. There are some fine flight schools out there that specialize in these machines -- see if you can find one. I know it's a long way from Texas, but if you ever happen to be in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the best places in the world for taildragger training is at Reid Hillview Airport in San Jose -- AeroDynamic Aviation (formerly Amelia Reid Aviation) even has a fine old 7AC Champ on the flight line.

Taildragger flying is basic flying at its best. Go for it, if you possibly can!

saintlfd · Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 47 Location: ARGYLE, TEXAS

Heel brakes, hmm. That will be a new experience for me.

Thanks, Paul!

bryancobb · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 12:07 pm Post subject: Tierra w/heel brakes

This was my trainer for tail-draggers. It had heel brakes! Talk about a H A N D F U L L on the ground!!! Whew!

saintlfd · Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 47 Location: ARGYLE, TEXAS

Bryan, what IS that thing? Remember, I am relatively new to aviation.

bryancobb · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 4:20 pm Post subject: Hey Dave

In the early 80's, the ultralight industry was just cranking up. This was a fairly early entry into that realm. It was called a Terratorn Tierra II. It was suppose to carry 2 people but didn't do a very good job of it so the normal thing guys did was to remove 1 seat and make it a single seater.

It was a PIGGG. It had an air cooled Rotax 503 with only single ignition. It's VNE was 55 MPH. Stall speed was 54 MPH. Vx was 54.5 MPH. HaHa!

Best cruise speed was 55.75 MPH at 5800 RPM. It weighed about 800# LOL

I made an electric trim for it out of a 12V Black and Decker drill & threaded rod. The trim indicator was a long stick of R/C Model flight control tube called Ny-Rod.

I put about 100 hours on it. So by road miles, that's about 65 miles!
On one LONG cross country, I took an EXTRA filled 5 gallon plastic container of premixed gas and sat it on top of the installed tank.
IN FLIGHT AT 3000FT, I TRIMMED THE PLANE OUT, UNBUCKLED, TURNED AROUND, GOT ON MY KNEES IN THE SEAT, AND RE-FUELED IN FLIGHT!
Stoooopid!

saintlfd · Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 47 Location: ARGYLE, TEXAS

Bryan, you make bush pilots seem downright cautious!

bryancobb · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:12 pm Post subject: Ha

saintlfd wrote: Bryan, you make bush pilots seem downright cautious!

LOL :lol:

Somehow...knock-on-wood...I have never scratched an aircraft in 27 years as a licensed pilot! But I've done some dumb stuff. (not recently)

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1184658343334

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1183714119729

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1183826602541

saintlfd · Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 47 Location: ARGYLE, TEXAS

I have relatives in Blairsville. I feel a need to warn them of small helicopters in the area!

bryancobb · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:24 pm Post subject: Gooch!

One of my partners in crime lives in Blairsville.
Lynn Gooch has an RV-6 he built and his Brantly B-2 at the airport there.
His son Joel Gooch is a LongBow Apache instructor in the SC Army Guard and is in Afghanistan.

bryancobb · Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 6:25 pm Post subject: Back

Back to the thread topic. A champ is a superb trainer unless you are fat and your instructor is fat.

saintlfd · Joined: 17 Jul 2009 Posts: 47 Location: ARGYLE, TEXAS

I tip the scales at 200 lbs. The CFI better be a lightweight, I guess.

drseti · Joined: 28 Nov 2009 Posts: 1390 Location: Lock Haven PA

Dave, I just checked the EAA list at http://www.sportpilot.org/learn/lsa/standard_certificate_aircraft.html. Yes, the 7BCM is Sport Pilot eligible, as long as it hasn't been modified by STC or Field Approval to take it out of the original specs.

drseti · Joined: 28 Nov 2009 Posts: 1390 Location: Lock Haven PA

saintlfd wrote: I tip the scales at 200 lbs.

My old Champ was 1220 max gross, and just over 800 empty weight. That left about 400# useful load. With you and a 170# instructor (which is about my weight), you'll be able to carry 5 gallons of fuel. That's enough for a very short lesson, with very low reserves. If you can find a 140# instructor, you can double your fuel...

Of course, when I trained in the Champ, half a century ago, I only weighed 115, so overloading the plane was not much of an issue.

flyboy2007 · Joined: 27 Jan 2008 Posts: 79 Location: wisconsin

Bryan that is a cool little chopper. what kind was it. I am and have been really interested in getting something like that and getting my rotorcraft license.