lcseale53

Lou shows up pretty regularly on a couple of message board forums. We've chatted a time or two. Leon

On take-off just rotate at the correct speed and follow the planned climb profile - adjust pitch as necessary.The C150 and the earlier C172s (and that may have been a function of model number as well) had 40 degrees of flap travel. This caused trouble with inattentive pilots, and the airplanes were very difficult to manage in a cross-wind with full flap extension. The cure was to limit flap travel to 30 degrees on later models.Full 40 degree flap extension on my C206 requires cruise power setting on final to maintain the glide slope. I only use the full 40 if clearing an obstacle into a short field. With power off in that configuration the descent angle is obscene. This is a great short-coming with the Carenado C206 flight model. It's a beautiful model but the behavior is pretty unrealistic from a 'numbers' standpoint.Leon

Absolutely true story. I was working the line fueling airplanes way back in my college days. The student turned downwind and gradually faded away from the airport. After a few minutes and no radio contact, her instructor launched with a spotter. About an hour into this thing she called the office (no cells back in the day) and gave her location - a small, essentially unused airport. Her instructor and the spotter met her to retrieve the airplane. She would not fly back - even with someone else so a car was sent to pick her up. I do recall she resumed flying - once she settled down sometime later. Leon

A very, very astute student of FS, and an instructor keeping you and the aircraft well inside your respective envelopes ... can ... produce a successful outcome. However, the opportunities for disaster - even in a C150/152 - are limitless. Considerations include:Departure stalls - caused by - you-name-it - over-rotating, airspeed mismanagement, turning cross-wind, simple distractions, etc.Losing sight of the runway - I actually observed a student get lost on downwind, on her first solo, and land 40 miles away.Approach stalls - increasing flaps from 30 to 40 degrees on an older C150 will bring your airspeed from 70 indicated to about 40 in a couple of seconds if you don't lower the nose significantly and quickly. Finding yourself behind the power curve - not enough available power with flaps extended to overcome your sink rate - usually associated with an angle-of-attack situation. Without some altitude to trade for energy, you will ride that one to the ground. Overshooting final and increasing your bank angle may well result in a stall-spin event that rarely has a happy ending. Confusing the pitch/power relationship on final will have you porpoising all over the sky, possibly terminating with blown tires and a buckled firewall.These are all things that happen to seasoned pilots (watch the arrivals at Oshkosh or Sun n' Fun some time and you'll see this and much, much more. The point is - given the right circumstances and the right assistance, the exceptional FS pilot will be successful. But its a very long shot that even that individual would pilot the airplane to a successful conclusion alone. Not saying it can't be done - just statistically a bad bet. There's a reason for the 20 hours minimum of dual instruction and 20 hours of solo flight (and usually much more) required prior to a PPL check ride.That being said though, I believe the FS pilot has an unquestionable head-start. And as Michael indicated, the right attitude and frame-of-mind will put you another leg-up on the uninitiated when you begin formal training.Regards,Leon

Bob,Frustrating isn't it?Leon

With respect to the Sport Pilot approach, having lost your medical - you would need to regain it. Depending on your particular disqualification though, you may re-qualify under a special issuance - and you only need to do this once. Most disqualifying conditions are subject to re-approval by following the correct procedures and providing prescribed documentation. From that point on, you only need to maintain a valid driver's license as evidence of your fitness to operate a motor vehicle, and of course take the appropriate biennial flight review. You need not return for any FAA medical examination as long as you remain in the light sport arena. You probably already know all of this, but I though I'd offer some encouragement just the same. Good Luck.Leon

You are welcome Geof. And thanks for the compliment. That photo was taken at Sun n' Fun, and I believe that was the year I picked up the award. We've been fortunate enough to have been the subject of a few feature articles, and the old bird is also the holder of four first and one second place finishes in the Sun n' Fun Sun 60 air race - Class 1A (haven't done that in a while though). That means I out pedaled an 85 hp Taylorcraft several times but couldn't keep up with an 85 hp Swift (I have my suspicions the Swift was a ringer with at least 86 hp).Anyway, thanks for your contributions to the forum. I, and I'm sure everyone else, enjoy all the informative input, and particularly the photos from your travels.Thanks again,Leon

Thanks Geof,That's a big bay, but not big enough when you have to start digging for charts - funny.The link (if it works) should produce a photo I found taken by the 120 group a few years ago. My Dad bought the plane from his F94C RO while stationed at Moody AFB in 1956. That would put me at 3 years old (math hurts).http://www.cessna120-140.org/Photo_Album/L...C120_N76458.htmThe 206 is a wonderful truck and a very comfortable airplane for travel - you just can't be in a hurry. We've had it since 1976, and just kept it when my Dad got out of the aerial photography business.Leon

Boy that brings back a bone chilling quake. I have a family heirloom Cessna 120 in addition to the 206, and a few years ago I majored the engine (with the appropriate IA input of course). With a whopping 4 hours on the engine I let an acquaintance talk me into flying him back to St. Pete from Lakeland (evening naturally). By the time I dropped him off at the FBO and accumulated enough clearances to taxi

Jeremy,I own a 1967 206 with a 300 hp Continental IO520, but I have nowhere near the fuel burn as you. At 8,000 feet I'll true out around 150 mph burning about 11 gph. Some years ago we used the plane for mapping photography and at 12,000-14,000' we saw typically 9-10 gph. You are absolutely correct about the utility of the 206. Mine has an empty weight of 1,900 pounds which leaves 1,700 pounds for payload, and with 84 gallons of fuel on board I can still load 1,200 pounds in the cabin. We have a private grass strip a few hours from Lakeland, and one of the approaches is over an 80 foot tree-line at the edge of the runway. At 95 degrees and a density altitude of probably 3-4,000' I'm over the trees, on the ground and stopped in 1500 ft. Take-off roll with full fuel, baggage and two on board is about 450'. It's an older plane but its rock solid and will haul just about anything you can shut the doors on - and stay within the weight and balance envelope.All that said, though - on those rare occasions when blessed with a substantial tailwind (50 knots or so), a real appreciation for those 185 knot speeds develops rather quickly. Good luck with your decision.Leon

There are two - and only two - forces competing here, which are very simply thrust (rapidly spinning propeller in this case) and drag (wheel bearing and surface contact friction). We assume lift exceeds weight because it is, after all, an airplane.If the thrust generated by the prop overcomes the aforementioned friction, the airplane accelerates to flying speed.If the wheel bearing friction is greater than the generated thrust, the airplane is either stationary or moves backward with the conveyor/treadmill. Those are the only two considerations (obviously discounting gale force winds, etc.) period.Given reasonable maintenance we can expect a wheel bearing to function continuously at speeds in excess of - say - 100 knots, so a conveyor moving at that same 100 knots would not stop the airplane from accelerating to flying speed...but it might speed up luggage handling at some of the airports I've been through. Leon

Standing in our office parking lot watching the tragedy unfold. A co-worker was taking pictures and continued through most of the sequence. Your gut knows what's happening but your heart is arguing in desperation. Leon

Had the elevator freeze going into the flare on landing. A very forceful pull resulted in something tearing beneath the panel and a flare just in time. Turned out a section of old ventilation hose moved and bound a portion of the yolk shaft assembly, and the hard pull ripped the CAT (not SCAT) hose apart. Installed a new hose everywhere I found an old one.Another exciting event involved two engine failures and two restarts less than a minute apart on the way home from a nearby paint shop. Some debris had gotten in the fuel cap vent on one tank while repainting the airplane and eventually stopped the fuel flow. After the second failure and a fuel tank switch everything was fine. I did, however install fuel caps with a better vent system. One other attention-getter was blowing a muffler apart in the air - very noisy.The less exciting failures include magnetos and plugs, and if you fly the same plane long enough you will experience these more than once.The most exciting event, though, was the sudden appearance of more than a dozen wasps in the cabin right after take-off - that was a sight/flight/fight to behold. I was not stung a single time but a ferocious fight ensued - my only weapon was my cap, and a good one it was. Turns out a large nest was built during the two week period between flights in the wing root vent completely out of sight. Leon

Curious that the Lycoming publication advises against ever using auto fuels in an aircraft engine while telling one how to keep their faltering engine running on avgas.I've been running 87 - 89 grade auto fuel in my continental C85 for twenty years - with the proper STC of course. Cleaning the plugs now occurs on an annual basis rather than monthly. A little Marvel Mystery oil keeps the top lubed in the absence of lead...but the STC does require a tank of avgas every 60 hours.I also have a continental IO520 (no STC available for injected engines) running strictly on avgas. I keep a spare set of plugs that I rotate out every couple of months for cleaning. Generally easing the mixture out a little during run-up will clear the plugs.Regards,Leon

Here's one for ya, Our community's own Jan Visser (MAAM-Sim) played bass guitar as a member of the great