rottydaddy
En-Route
I managed to make a little side trip yesterday while in Chicago- went out to C77 to meet some folks I know from the Cessna 120/140 forums for the first time (Ken and Lorraine Morris, co-presidents of the Int'l Cesna 120/140 Assoc.).
They very graciously welcomed me into their fantabulous house/hangar by the runway, where they do airplane interiors to order and work on their own interesting projects, including a Culver Cadet restoration which is coming along nicely.
They have a C-140 that's in pieces at the moment while they restore it... a good opportunity for me to get a quick tute on how to examine such a plane once I get serious about buying one.
The wx was superb and there was some daylight left, so Lorraine got me into their other 140, an A model, which was on skis, and I got to try my hand at snow ops. Very different, and very fun, even though the snow was kinda old and "rotten". Must be heavenly on virgin powder, but I wasn't disappointed, once I got a feel for it.
This particular plane has no tail ski, so the elevator and throttle have to be worked diligently to keep it "on the step", especially in sticky snow where it tends to lose momentum very quickly if you let it slow down too much while taxiing or "rolling" (sliding?) out after landing. Of course, you must also not let the ski tips dig in... and there are no brakes, even when the dolly wheels are put on for taxiing back to the hangar. I'd say the techniques used on skis or on the dollies are good practice for any kind of ground ops... you have to pay attention and think ahead quite a bit.
But 180s on the snow are just pure fun... especially when you swing it around to take off... yippee!!
I did reasonably well in the air and on the ground; even made one good landing out of four interesting attempts; and I feel even more certain now, after bombing around the local area a bit, that a 140 would be a good first airplane for me. And "Charley" is an excellent example of how nice a 140 can be with some loving effort put into the finish and interior. That O-200 is plenty strong, too- I was impressed. that model engine sure seems different bolted to a 140 instead of a 150, even though it's almost the same airplane.
Later I helped L. pull the skis off and put the wheels back on, with Ken (the family AP/IA) doing the final torquing on the shim bolts. That was a lot of fun... I never get to tinker with the planes I rent.
Anyway, I now owe these nice folks a huge favor for their generosity and hospitality... they're not exactly in need of anything, but I'll think of something.
The Morrises have a nice website featuring their projects... if any of you need some interior work done, you must take a look.
http://www.taildraggeraviation.com/
They very graciously welcomed me into their fantabulous house/hangar by the runway, where they do airplane interiors to order and work on their own interesting projects, including a Culver Cadet restoration which is coming along nicely.
They have a C-140 that's in pieces at the moment while they restore it... a good opportunity for me to get a quick tute on how to examine such a plane once I get serious about buying one.
The wx was superb and there was some daylight left, so Lorraine got me into their other 140, an A model, which was on skis, and I got to try my hand at snow ops. Very different, and very fun, even though the snow was kinda old and "rotten". Must be heavenly on virgin powder, but I wasn't disappointed, once I got a feel for it.
This particular plane has no tail ski, so the elevator and throttle have to be worked diligently to keep it "on the step", especially in sticky snow where it tends to lose momentum very quickly if you let it slow down too much while taxiing or "rolling" (sliding?) out after landing. Of course, you must also not let the ski tips dig in... and there are no brakes, even when the dolly wheels are put on for taxiing back to the hangar. I'd say the techniques used on skis or on the dollies are good practice for any kind of ground ops... you have to pay attention and think ahead quite a bit.
But 180s on the snow are just pure fun... especially when you swing it around to take off... yippee!!
I did reasonably well in the air and on the ground; even made one good landing out of four interesting attempts; and I feel even more certain now, after bombing around the local area a bit, that a 140 would be a good first airplane for me. And "Charley" is an excellent example of how nice a 140 can be with some loving effort put into the finish and interior. That O-200 is plenty strong, too- I was impressed. that model engine sure seems different bolted to a 140 instead of a 150, even though it's almost the same airplane.
Later I helped L. pull the skis off and put the wheels back on, with Ken (the family AP/IA) doing the final torquing on the shim bolts. That was a lot of fun... I never get to tinker with the planes I rent.
Anyway, I now owe these nice folks a huge favor for their generosity and hospitality... they're not exactly in need of anything, but I'll think of something.
The Morrises have a nice website featuring their projects... if any of you need some interior work done, you must take a look.
http://www.taildraggeraviation.com/
