1946 ERCO Ercoupe 415-C

[tr45]

Like the paint on the N99932... cool set Glenn!

[MdMax]

Great shots and very nice plane !

I love the X-Plane version of this bird by XPFR, with awesome flight dynamics:
http://www.flightsim.com/vbfs/showth...ins-to-Mimizan
http://xplane10.wordpress.com/2011/0...vable-ercoupe/
http://www.libertysim.net/forum/view...p?f=24&t=36891

Happy flying !

[FlyingKiwi]

Great shots Glenn, there are still a couple of Ercoupes floating around in NZ, including one which was with my aero club in the '40s and is still flying, although with a private owner elsewhere in the country these days.

[GermanPilot]

Mh.. this plane looks good, but the tail doesn't fits to it (that's what I think)
However, awesome screenies, Glenn!

[KCD]

In 1961, when I had completed about eight hours of flight training, but had not yet soloed, I bought (for $2,000.00) a 1941 Ercoupe 415-C. She was N99462, and she still flies today. I finally soloed that aircraft about two hours later and had many fine hours in her. I personally flew her from Key West to Martha's Vineyard in varying stages with nothing more than her 1941 instrument panel, which means we flew the iron beam low and slow, the whole way.

There were those who said the Ercoupe was not an airplane because of the coordinated aileron/rudder control, but I never felt that. When it came time to take my flight test for my private, I had better than 200 hours in the Ercoupe, but climbed into a traditional, three-control airplane and passed without incident. They also claimed the Ercoupe couldn't fly in a cross wind, but I'd argue that point.

As for changing the airplane in FS9, I don't think you have any problem as long as you do not profit from your efforts. I downloaded that aircraft and played with it for a few months. Because of the poor flight characteristics, I soon dumped it and use another with my own paint job and the panel from "462". Towards the end of my ownership (about six years) I did put a small crystal controlled 5 channel VHF radio in her, but otherwise, I flew without a radio to uncontrolled fields up and down the Atlantic coast. Times and things were a whole lot different then, way less restrictions and far fewer regulations. While I would truly enjoy sitting once again in the left seat of "462" for a turn around the patch, I doubt that I would very much enjoy the restrictions today's pilots have to accept. That's the nice thing about FS9 and flying in the bush... no restrictions.

I hope you continue to enjoy your Ercoupe. Maybe someday, when I figure out how to do it, I’ll post a few shots of N99462 as she looked when I owned her.

KCD

[rsoro01]

Interesting aircraft and great shots.


Rich

[adamb]

Fantastic shots of the Ercoupe that i myself haven't seen to much of Glenn, cool little machine.

Adam

[FlyingKiwi]

KCD - I've often wondered how you could land an Ercoupe in a crosswind. Was there a technique or was it just a case of putting it down sideways and accepting a bit of a side load on the undercarriage?

[KCD]

The first couple of times you try it, it is really quite frightening. On the approach, it seems like it is going to result in a controlled crash, but the little beast has a mind of its own. When you touch down, you are literally at an angle to the runway. When the wheels touch (at least this is what I was taught, and it worked like a charm), simply let go of the controls. The Ercoupe does the rest itself and straightens itself on the runway. In all the crosswinds I landed in, the Ercoupe never failed. I learned in Marathon Florida. Back then, the runway was paved and a mile long and wide, but unlighted. If you were going to fly in and out of there, you had better be able to handle a crosswind; the Ercoupe could and did.

As a point of interest, I learned how to fly at night at that airport with no runway lights and no landing lights on the airplane. If anybody is interested in how, I'll be happy to relate. Most would say I was crazy and maybe I was, but times were different then, you could do ever so much more. Flying was fun then!

KCD

[pchmck]

Very nice !!