My Champ vids

rottydaddy

rottydaddy

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beaky
Been "Champing" at the bit to edit and post this little bit of footage I have from my last flight in SoCal after getting my tailwheel endorsement... hope you guys like it.

Part 1, KSDM-L08: I was hoping to land at Jacumba on the way, but couldn't find it (although I got real close). Cut my downwind a little short at Borrego, but it became a good opportunity to do some slipping, and there's more than enough runway there for a Champ, anyway.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Dk6QOJ0efQ



Part 2, L08-KSDM: some interesting wind heading west out of Borrego Valley... the Miramar Airshow was in its second day, and we spotted a KC-130 refueling some thirsty choppers well outside the show airspace as I headed south somewhere NE of Ramona.

There was a banner-tower crossing the runway at Brown when I was cleared to land, and I guess I got a little fixated on that because Tower asked me to land long so a Tiger holding short midfield could depart right after I touched down, but I wound up ready to flare before the desired point. :redface:
I tried to drag it a bit, but it was getting ridiculous so I just put it down and was easily able to stop in time to hold on the runway for the Tiger to depart ahead of me.
Probably could have landed before the numbers and got off on the first intersection; not sure why he wanted me to land long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_5xCAtmr7s
 
Yes, indeedy, it is tough not to smile when you either: (1) see video of flying in a Champ or similar craft, or (2) hear Django Reinhart.

Both at the same time? Gravy!
 
Glad you guys liked it.
I was in a horrific mood this evening, but decided to watch it again and sure enough, it made me smile. :D
That sure is some fun flying... :D
 
rottydaddy said:
Been "Champing" at the bit to edit and post this little bit of footage I have from my last flight in SoCal after getting my tailwheel endorsement... hope you guys like it.
Click to expand...
Wow! I LOVED it! Sean, the sights looking out looked a LOT like what I see looking outside the Citabria. The only difference was the sound of the engine. Loved that music! Can I post your video links on the Citabria forum? Those guys will really enjoy it.
 
rottydaddy said:
Glad you guys liked it.
I was in a horrific mood this evening, but decided to watch it again and sure enough, it made me smile. :D
That sure is some fun flying... :D
Click to expand...

I can see why it made you smile. That's a pretty cool video!
 
Diana said:
Wow! I LOVED it! Sean, the sights looking out looked a LOT like what I see looking outside the Citabria. The only difference was the sound of the engine. Loved that music! Can I post your video links on the Citabria forum? Those guys will really enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Sure... go ahead.

I'll bet the engine sounds different... LOL!!
Took me a while to get used to it after so many hours behind 300-series Lycomings ("Is that all it's got? wait- what does the tach say...? Really?").
One thing you don't really notice in the video is the "clacking" sound- the valves, I guess... first time I took the headset off to "see what she really sounds like" I put 'em back on right away... :eek:
But that's normal, I guess- that old A65 is still ticking away very nicely, with very solid temp and pressure readings. And it sips avgas like a little old lady...:D
 
Great Videos! Always have loved the Champ.
 
I can't get the first vid to load, but the second one was sweet
 
Thanks for posting these videos. My first 7 hours were in a Champ. My instructor would slap me on the head with his cap some times. If I had landed that far down the runway, I would probably have suffered permanent brain damage. Wait a minute.... maybe I DID suffer brain damage.... well, that explains a lot.:D
 
Was that the rental Champ at SDM. A friend Bob Johnson sent me some pictures of the engine torn down with a piston half stuck in the cylinder and the con rod looking like a pretzel.
Paul
N2426E
N1431A
 
pmanton said:
Was that the rental Champ at SDM. A friend Bob Johnson sent me some pictures of the engine torn down with a piston half stuck in the cylinder and the con rod looking like a pretzel.
Paul
N2426E
N1431A
Click to expand...
It was the very same (70E) and Bob was my tailwheel endorsement instructor- a nice guy and a very good instructor and stick'n'rudder man.
As for the damaged engine- it wasn't me, honest! Only thing I ever broke on it was a brake cable. :D
 
rottydaddy said:
It was the very same (70E) and Bob was my tailwheel endorsement instructor- a nice guy and a very good instructor and stick'n'rudder man.
As for the damaged engine- it wasn't me, honest! Only thing I ever broke on it was a brake cable. :D
Click to expand...
I flew that Champ with Bob about 5 years ago. One of the few remaining true bargains in aviation.
 
Bob is a genuine good guy. I met him when I was a member of EAA 14 before we moved to an airpark. When I finish my Champ project I'll have to fly over to Brown Field and get some refresher before I test fly it.

Paul
N1431A
N2426E
 
pmanton said:
Bob is a genuine good guy. I met him when I was a member of EAA 14 before we moved to an airpark. When I finish my Champ project I'll have to fly over to Brown Field and get some refresher before I test fly it.

Paul
N1431A
N2426E
Click to expand...

It's great to hear from other pilots who know Mr. Johnson. :yes:
Be sure to pay attention when he's flying the Champ; I learned a lot paying him to fly it, LOL.
He's pretty good with one of those, and probably the calmest instructor I've ever flown with.
It helps, I guess, that he went straight from the SNJ to combat carrier ops in the Grumman S-2 way back when... pretty hard to scare Bob. I did my best, to no avail. :D
 
Dead Stick said:
I flew that Champ with Bob about 5 years ago. One of the few remaining true bargains in aviation.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it was pure good luck that I was working in SD for two months, had evenings and weekends free, was getting a per diem and a rental car... and here was a Champ you could rent solo(!!) for $55/hr wet (at that time)!!
Bob was not so cheap, but worth every penny.
Ten hours required to satisfy the insurance for solo flight, but that's about how long the typical taildragger signoff takes.
All told, it cost about a grand to get the endorsement, with time left over to do some really cheap flying alone and with a co-worker (who shot the video).

I don't know if I'd have paid for airfare, hotel, etc to go way out there for that, but AFAIK there's only two 2-seat taildraggers available for solo rental anywhere in the USA, and that 7AC is one of them.
 
First time I rode in a Champ, my brother says "Watch this"...


Then he takes the stick and stirs it around in a big circle (hitting the stops). Not much happened.
 
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