They look like fun low cost airplanes that might be a good cross country weekend planes. Any opinions on here about them? What is operating costs like?


Here is a video of a guy flying one to the Bahamas.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/24vImdIKzXM[/youtube]

They are fine but there is whole gaggle of them around here operated by cranky old guys with poor radio (and runway directional) skills.

Should be right up my alley in a few years.

An IA friend of mine made a tail dragger out of one many years ago. I think he still has it around somewhere. I never did fly it, couldn't fit in the dang thing best I remember. Also of note, no rudder pedals I think the ailerons were tied to the rudder or something.

Flying an Ercoupe to the Bahamas is the very, very, very last thing on my to-do list

Robert

A little safer but a whole lot slower- I think this Ercoupe to the Bahamas would be the very, very, very last thing on your to-do list

It would be kind of cool to fly over the ocean with the window down.

Wow……that would be something. Seems like it would be borderline impossible without rudder pedals. Please try to get some more information on this airplane and report back. I quick check with "the google" shows a couple of taildraggers and possibly a retractable prototype version that was never certified. Who knew?

Robert

A tail dragger with no rudder pedals? That ought to be a rodeo.

You can slip an Ercoupe without rudder pedals

[youtube]http://youtu.be/8INaLE7yQ2s[/youtube]
(long video, slip at the beginning)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCO_Ercoupe

Lacking rudder pedals, the Ercoupe was flown using only the control wheel. A two-control system linked the rudder and aileron systems, which controlled yaw and roll, with the steerable nosewheel. The control wheel controlled the pitch and the steering of the aircraft, both on the ground and in the air, simplifying control and coordinated turning and eliminating the need for rudder pedals. A completely new category of pilot's license was created by the CAA for Ercoupe pilots who had never used a rudder pedal.

There is a kit to add rudder pedals to have direct control over the rudders:

http://www.univair.com/ercoupe/parts/sk ... der-pedal/

Mike C.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ERCO_Ercoupe

Lacking rudder pedals, the Ercoupe was flown using only the control wheel. A two-control system linked the rudder and aileron systems, which controlled yaw and roll, with the steerable nosewheel. The control wheel controlled the pitch and the steering of the aircraft, both on the ground and in the air, simplifying control and coordinated turning and eliminating the need for rudder pedals. A completely new category of pilot's license was created by the CAA for Ercoupe pilots who had never used a rudder pedal.

There is a kit to add rudder pedals to have direct control over the rudders:

http://www.univair.com/ercoupe/parts/sk ... der-pedal/

Mike C.

I had a 1946 D with the C-90. It was a delight to fly, especially with the windows pulled down. No mixture control and no rudder pedals - just a single brake pedal on the floor. It would not stall, but it would mush down at 800 FPM or so. Landing it sideways in a x-wind was hard to let happen at first, but became natural after some time.

Very fun little airplane!

Owned? No. Flown? Yes; ~10 hours, ~40 years ago.

It is a nice VFR flivver. An Ercoupe on floats? Um, no. Thank you.

The rudder pedal-less ones are an acquired taste. Narrow cabin. I remember legroom being cramped; not Luscombe 8A cramped, but not exactly comfortable for someone with a 35" inseam.

There is a STC for a sliding canopy. I am NOT keen about the (fuel) header tank mounted on the firewall.

A nearby airport has an Ercoupe fly-in every year. The 4-place, retractable Ercoupe prototype/project is on the field. The factory never finished it. The current owner is working to complete the project.

A tailwheel Ercoue? Cool!

Two Ercoupes were bolted together and flew as an airshow act:

http://www.proairshow.com/Thrasher%20Br ... ge%203.htm

My wife Kathy has owned an Ercoupe for the past fifteen years or so. I taught her to fly in it. We flew it to Oskosh this year for the Ercoupe 75th Anniversary and that was the airplane's second trip to OSH. They are nice airplanes, reasonably comfortable if you aren't too large (I'm 6'2" and fit OK). Ours doesn't have rudder pedals and that is the preferred configuration in my book. The ones modified with rudder pedals are not true three-axis airplanes as the rudders aren't big enough to handle cross winds of any magnitude and the yoke remains connected to the nose wheel. Get a good checkout from a CFI who has Ercoupe experience and likes the airplane. There is a lot of three-axis stuff you have to unlearn. That said, they are sweet flying airplanes and the "t-top" canopy is a hoot.

Ours has a C-85 and cruises at 90 KTAS on 5.5 gph. There is an active owners club. Univair holds the type certificate and makes new parts for the airplane so maintenance is easier than many older aircraft. They are simple aircraft, on the order of a cub or champ with an electrical system.

I owned one for five years. It was a 415 C/D, no rudder pedals, and the 85 HP Continental up front. It made a nice, very cheap 2-place weekend tourer(so long as you and your SO can pack into one softsided bag). A 'Coupe always brings a smile wherever it lands. Take off, climb and cruise speeds were all very close to one another, though. With two on board it was something like 80, 80 and 95 miles per hour, burning anout 3.5 per. There are some fine points to what to look for, and some center section corrosion concerns. But it is a very easy to fly, easy to maintain airplane with a lot of parts support. Crosswind technique takes some careful retraining. If I were on the hunt I would be looking for a 100HP conversion, no rudder pedals, modern brakes, original panel, nice P&I and the bare minimum of avionics ( radio, tx, audio panel and docked GPS).
Cruise open cockpit with your elbow on the sill, and make turns by sticking your hand out. What's not to like?
Robin