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Hi everyone,
Today I spent the day with our local taildragger go-to guy, John Peter Chmiel from Wausau Downtown Airport. He's helping me transition into my new (to me) 1946 Cessna 140 rag wing. I must say, this airplane performs better than I could have possibly imagined. C-85 and half tanks and two sizable guys get up in the air with no problem at all. Of course, nothing happens quickly in this airplane, but we were off in a few hundred feet without issue.
This session was mainly getting familiar with the plane: how it flies, how it turns (especially with the ridiculous amount of rudder it has available compared to the C-172), the sounds and smells, how it stalls. It really is a teddy bear of an airplane. It barely has an electrical system -- only enough to run the lights and turn the starter. It's a NORDO rig, but only because it was taken out during the restoration and never replaced. I hope to put a permanent radio in it in the not-too-distant future since my handheld is good for little other than listening in this rig, and making sure I stay away from others while I'm doing maneuvers near the airport.
Three point landings were pretty much cake when doing them into the wind. Crosswinds were a light challenge, but nothing that can't be solved with practice. Tree placement on the airport property and the direction of the winds today made for some interesting air currents during landing. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!
If all goes well, one more day of training before I'm set free. I won't feel bad if I need more practice with John, but at least the insurance requirements will have been met. Then I can start cranking out the hours and becoming more insurable when the Bearhawk is ready to fly one of these days.
Good times!
Today I spent the day with our local taildragger go-to guy, John Peter Chmiel from Wausau Downtown Airport. He's helping me transition into my new (to me) 1946 Cessna 140 rag wing. I must say, this airplane performs better than I could have possibly imagined. C-85 and half tanks and two sizable guys get up in the air with no problem at all. Of course, nothing happens quickly in this airplane, but we were off in a few hundred feet without issue.
This session was mainly getting familiar with the plane: how it flies, how it turns (especially with the ridiculous amount of rudder it has available compared to the C-172), the sounds and smells, how it stalls. It really is a teddy bear of an airplane. It barely has an electrical system -- only enough to run the lights and turn the starter. It's a NORDO rig, but only because it was taken out during the restoration and never replaced. I hope to put a permanent radio in it in the not-too-distant future since my handheld is good for little other than listening in this rig, and making sure I stay away from others while I'm doing maneuvers near the airport.
Three point landings were pretty much cake when doing them into the wind. Crosswinds were a light challenge, but nothing that can't be solved with practice. Tree placement on the airport property and the direction of the winds today made for some interesting air currents during landing. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking with it!
If all goes well, one more day of training before I'm set free. I won't feel bad if I need more practice with John, but at least the insurance requirements will have been met. Then I can start cranking out the hours and becoming more insurable when the Bearhawk is ready to fly one of these days.
Good times!
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