National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

What a great subject. With about 100 hrs tailwheel time which ended about 10 years ago I thought flying my new Chief would be a snap. After all I also have about 1700 hrs of time in those a/c with the tailwheel on the front. Wow, was I wrong. No mishap yet but on my third solo landing, the Lang t/w decided to lock up when turning to back- taxi. it was jammed. Back in the hanger we found many broken pieces and I now have a Maule t/w. I know a little of t/w maint., having been involved since about May of 1943 as A/E and later A/P. I want to echo most of the comments made here that have as a base, be patient. Give that little gem respect, be gentle, and remember your rudder pedals are not ballast, as on some a/c!

Bruce,

We have at least one gent on the forum who ferry's airplanes around the country and could give you instruction all the way home from Nevada if it worked out. Tony Markl is his name and not sure if he is available but if he is, it would be a very good way to learn the airplane.

As well we have several members in your area and it would be nice to get together with them and do a bit of "hangar flying" so to speak and that would help as well.

Joe

problem is you will need an hour in the air and 9 hours on the ground and pattern doing take offs and landings. you will get plenty of them on the way, though. if you want a crash course, figuratively speaking, fly it first from the rear seat, letting the instructor take off and land from the seat. Like the first leg. Keep the bottom of the wing parallel with the horizon for level pitch. Think of your buttocks as 2 sides, which it is. Left and right. When you feel the pressure (weight) on the left cheek, press left pedal till the weight is centered on both. When you feel pressure on the right cheek, press right pedal until the weight is centered. Thus, seat of the pants flying. Works for straight and level and in turns. Most new t-dragger pilots tend to put a little more pressure on on or the other pedals, there by flying in a slip or skid, instead of straight and level.

Howdy Bruce,

This is some great advice from a bunch of great guys! All I can add is this.... If you find yourself getting flustered while working in the pattern; take a break and just Go Fly! A person can only handle so much intense consentration, and after that if becomes white noise and no fun. So take a break from pattern work; drop down to 500ft, find a lake or river and go cruise around.

Blue Sky's!

nkh

Softlanding

I'm a rookie myself having only 320 flying hours in a Champ and now my Chief. The only difference is that I didn't get a chance to let my feet go to sleep flying other airplane. All but 14 of my hours have been in Aeronca's.

I'm in Ponca City, Oklahoma (KPNC) if you make it this far south on your cross country home stop by, we could hanger, feed and house you.

Lots of Aeronca lovers here in Ponca City.

Chris

Bruce,
I'm in the SF Bay area. If I can be of help let me know.
Paul

Jody Wittmeyer wrote:Think of your buttocks as 2 sides, which it is. Left and right. When you feel the pressure (weight) on the left cheek, press left pedal till the weight is centered on both. When you feel pressure on the right cheek, press right pedal until the weight is centered. Thus, seat of the pants flying.

Jody: That brings back some funny memories for me. I used the same explanation to my tailwheel students and in the beginning my presentation wasn't as great as it was later on. Well, when I told my female students that they will feel pressure in their butt (actually I meant ON their butt) they looked at me like I was some kind of pervert. I finally convinced them I was just trying to teach them to fly a TW airplane and not slip and skid all over.

Kind of hard to do any of that in a champ (With everyone in the correct seats)

Bruce,
Have you got your Aeronca home yet. You should be a pro when you get there.
Paul

Paul,

Thanks for asking. I've just stepped back from the ledge...I had the plane up for sale for a week. I have now flown about 6 hours in it, and things have been tough. I'm going to give it another try, then I'll probably have someone ferry it back to Chicago. I can then "relax" and fly in familiar skies. Maybe that will help.

Hang with it Bruce! Give it another shot so you can....

Take kids flying...




Go flying with Friends...



Arrive in style at the NAA Fly-In....




Go for a dip...




Or simply enjoy the evening....





nkh

Well...this is a work in progress. I finally landed this thing unassisted last week. Three-pointer. Almost cartwheeled the thing the next time around. But - At least I have one landing filed in the memory banks.

I will be visting the plane once again in about a week - and then I need to have it ferried over the mountains to a flat place where I can't hit anything. I hope to be soloed by then.

BTW - The plane is missing the heater cable and attachment to the heater inlet on the firewall. The A/P in Nevada has reattached the heater assembly, but no one seems to know how to hook up the heater cable to the flapper, and then to the instrument panel. Anyone have any part numbers or ideas? Univair had no answers.

Bruce,

Please, please, please find someone who knows Aeronca's to help you get the plane ready for the flight home, and ferry/fly it back for you. And not just someone who is a descent tailwheel pilot, but someone who knows Aeronca's. The question about the heater cable is something that a good Champ or Aeronca guy can help you with.

This is not a journey for a new taildragger pilot, especially in March. I just flew my commercial jet from NYC to Phoenix and the weather enroute under us (and over the Rockies) was not good.

Joe

Also if you use that heater make sure you have a carbon monoxide detector in the airplane.

Doug

The guy that will do the ferrying is a very capable pilot and I trust him. He's a veteran ATP rated pilot that does tailwheel and other instruction. He owns an Avid and a Cessna 170 taildragger. He's also the poor slob trying to train me! He did the last annual, installed the carb and air filter, and did some other maintenance on the plane. Now, I'm not a mechanic, but things look and feel right to me. Given that the airplane is in Pahrump, NV, there aren't any other local choices.

If someone in that part of the USA is interested in giving the plane a once-over, I'd consider that. As for the heater cable, there's no evidence that it ever had one (since the rebuild in 1992). The plane has been in Arizona and Nevada since then, so there wasn't a need for the heater. Now, since I'm bringing it to Siberia, it needs heat. Our problem is that we can't find any live examples of how this cable and heater valve should be connected. I have the maintenance drawings, but the parts are not clearly marked, and the diagrams don't really show the details of how this cable assembly should be connected. I'm open to advice and ideas!