flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
I got to swing by Chip's hangar today to visit for a bit, and he offered me a ride in the Husky. Really had to twist my arm, but he finally convinced me. 
I know how to get in the front seat of a Cub (the Husky is derived from the Super Cub), but had only been in the back seat of a Sport Cub before - It took some contortions to get me in! I slid back into the seat just fine, but getting my legs in was a pain - Chip had to hold the front seat harness out of the way while I swung my left leg over it, moved the stick to the right of my leg, and then had to take my shoe off so I had enough room to squeeze my foot down between the trim wheel and the seat. But, I finally got packed in:
We taxied to the runway and Chip did the runup (only throttle, stick, rudder, and PTT controls available in the back). Then, it was out onto the runway for a full-flap takeoff.
Yes, a full-flap takeoff. Weird, but it works quite well. I held it in a three-point attitude and we broke ground quickly and climbed like crazy - The rate was good, but the angle was utterly insane. It was like riding in an elevator - Straight up!
We headed south and circled one grass strip, followed by a landing at another. We chatted with the folks there for a bit (still sitting in the airplane!) and then turned back around. This airport was in a valley, so there was terrain fairly close by on both sides. That gave an even better indication of the crazy climb angle. This plane loves to fly!
We headed west and popped over a few ridges before descending to follow a creek through a small valley for a while. This gave me a chance to really feel the beautiful control harmony of the Husky. Whereas the Cub and Super Cub are light in pitch and very sluggish in roll, the Husky rolls quite easily. In the Cubs I sometimes have to move the stick until it hits my leg and I always seem to have my whole hand on it, the Husky's stick never came close to my legs and flew wonderfully with just thumb and two fingers on the stick.
After we popped up away from the creek (which had led us in a northerly direction), we headed east and finally back to the field to do some landings. My first one was pretty scary - While the pitch attitude on approach allows for an excellent view, transitioning to the landing attitude suddenly left me blind and I overcontrolled it quite a bit. Some good coaching from Chip allowed my next couple of landings to be passable, working more from feel than from sight. One more trip around the pattern and Chip did a short-field landing that couldn't have taken more than 300 feet of runway. Whee!!!
The Husky is a great airplane - It takes all of the fun factor in a Cub and makes it even more fun with well-harmonized controls. Thanks for the excellent time, Chip!
I know how to get in the front seat of a Cub (the Husky is derived from the Super Cub), but had only been in the back seat of a Sport Cub before - It took some contortions to get me in! I slid back into the seat just fine, but getting my legs in was a pain - Chip had to hold the front seat harness out of the way while I swung my left leg over it, moved the stick to the right of my leg, and then had to take my shoe off so I had enough room to squeeze my foot down between the trim wheel and the seat. But, I finally got packed in:
We taxied to the runway and Chip did the runup (only throttle, stick, rudder, and PTT controls available in the back). Then, it was out onto the runway for a full-flap takeoff.
Yes, a full-flap takeoff. Weird, but it works quite well. I held it in a three-point attitude and we broke ground quickly and climbed like crazy - The rate was good, but the angle was utterly insane. It was like riding in an elevator - Straight up!
We headed south and circled one grass strip, followed by a landing at another. We chatted with the folks there for a bit (still sitting in the airplane!) and then turned back around. This airport was in a valley, so there was terrain fairly close by on both sides. That gave an even better indication of the crazy climb angle. This plane loves to fly!
We headed west and popped over a few ridges before descending to follow a creek through a small valley for a while. This gave me a chance to really feel the beautiful control harmony of the Husky. Whereas the Cub and Super Cub are light in pitch and very sluggish in roll, the Husky rolls quite easily. In the Cubs I sometimes have to move the stick until it hits my leg and I always seem to have my whole hand on it, the Husky's stick never came close to my legs and flew wonderfully with just thumb and two fingers on the stick.
After we popped up away from the creek (which had led us in a northerly direction), we headed east and finally back to the field to do some landings. My first one was pretty scary - While the pitch attitude on approach allows for an excellent view, transitioning to the landing attitude suddenly left me blind and I overcontrolled it quite a bit. Some good coaching from Chip allowed my next couple of landings to be passable, working more from feel than from sight. One more trip around the pattern and Chip did a short-field landing that couldn't have taken more than 300 feet of runway. Whee!!!
The Husky is a great airplane - It takes all of the fun factor in a Cub and makes it even more fun with well-harmonized controls. Thanks for the excellent time, Chip!
