talk me out of a luscombe 8a

Try one on first if you haven't already. I did and found pilots were not 6'2" 195# in those days. Would have had to cut a hole for my head.
 
Stewartb said:
I have friends who fly no-electrics every day in and out of remote places that have no tie-downs. Not a problem. A very good friend started his flying career with an 8A and did what I described and never had a problem. Guys with no experience around hand propping dream up all sorts of horror stories. Guys without starters just go flying.
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No one has a problem until they do. It usually happens when one floods the engine, either cold or hot, and opens the throttle, then turns the prop thru cold a few times to clear it, then forgets to bring the throttle back to idle, makes it hot and big trouble occurs. It happens to pilots well versed in these type airplanes,often those with high time in them. Let me reiterate, when I started flying there were many people who would give you a prop. Today almost no one will as they do not know how to. It's a stupid arguement. It's also true that often someone try's starting it on asphalt with no chocks and no place to tie the tail down. Asking for big trouble. Bye bye. ( I weigh 195, 6 ft. And flew them a lot)
 
Jimmy cooper said:
No one has a problem until they do. It usually happens when one floods the engine, either cold or hot, and opens the throttle, then turns the prop thru cold a few times to clear it, then forgets to bring the throttle back to idle, makes it hot and big trouble occurs. It happens to pilots well versed in these type airplanes,often those with high time in them. Let me reiterate, when I started flying there were many people who would give you a prop. Today almost no one will as they do not know how to. It's a stupid arguement. It's also true that often someone try's starting it on asphalt with no chocks and no place to tie the tail down. Asking for big trouble. Bye bye. ( I weigh 195, 6 ft. And flew them a lot)
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I've made a couple hundred bucks over the years a twenty at a time for propping someone up with a dead battery, even tossed in a few freebies here and there, one at a POA fly in even:lol:. It's not rocket science, but you're right, it can go wrong, and when it does, it's usually a mess.
 
How's the visibility out of these? From the outside, they look a bit claustrophobic.
 
FormerHangie said:
How's the visibility out of these? From the outside, they look a bit claustrophobic.
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Compared to a hang glider it's like being in an Iron Maiden.:lol: As compared to others of the genre it's not too bad, but I'm 6' and my height of eye is about as high as is comfortable in it.
 
Several years ago I was at an airfield in Toledo. While we were waiting around I walked around the airport & did a little “snooping.” There was an old guy there sitting in a hangar by his small taildragger. It hadn’t flown in years, and he no longer had a medical, but he still owned the airplane and was more or less an “airport bum.” He invited me into his hangar and showed me his airplane. I can’t remember what it was now – it could have been a Luscome, T-Craft, Aeronca, etc.
It was a non-electric aircraft, but he had this neat little rig installed in his plane that I would compare to a motorcycle kick starter. There was a ring gear on the engine and a lever in the cockpit. You pulled the lever sharply and a pawl on the other end of the lever engaged the ring gear. It allowed you to start the engine from the cockpit without hand propping. Never saw one before or since, don’t even know if it was a factory option or an STC, but a setup like that would eliminate a lot of the hand propping worries and not add a lot of weight, either. You might look into something like this if hand propping is a concern
 
KRyan said:
Several years ago I was at an airfield in Toledo. While we were waiting around I walked around the airport & did a little “snooping.” There was an old guy there sitting in a hangar by his small taildragger... It was a non-electric aircraft, but he had this neat little rig installed in his plane that I would compare to a motorcycle kick starter. There was a ring gear on the engine and a lever in the cockpit. You pulled the lever sharply and a pawl on the other end of the lever engaged the ring gear. It allowed you to start the engine from the cockpit without hand propping. Never saw one before or since, don’t even know if it was a factory option or an STC, but a setup like that would eliminate a lot of the hand propping worries and not add a lot of weight, either. You might look into something like this if hand propping is a concern[/SIZE][/FONT]
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Aeronca Chief is the only one I know has this pull starter option. Name escapes at the moment, but I'm sure someone will chime in with the correct name.
 
I've hand propped mine a few times, with chocks and the tail tied, and it's no big deal if one is careful and doesn't rush or get distracted. I think the biggest risk is the flooded restart procedure, where the throttle may be inadvertently left open. My Luscome is a lightweight and will roll at idle unless the wheels are chocked.
 
McDowell starter.

McDowellstarterinstructionsp4.jpg


N659HB said:
Aeronca Chief is the only one I know has this pull starter option. Name escapes at the moment, but I'm sure someone will chime in with the correct name.
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N659HB said:
Aeronca Chief is the only one I know has this pull starter option. Name escapes at the moment, but I'm sure someone will chime in with the correct name.
Click to expand...

McDowell hand starter. They were pretty rare, even when the Chiefs were new (everyone knew how to hand prop), A few years back, if memory serves, someone was going to start making parts/units, but I never did hear how that venture turned out.

Jim
 
Those were the days, huh? McDowell's instructions: "Install an impulse-type left magneto---supplied free by manufacturer in exchange for old mag."


Dan
 
Seems like it would be pretty simple to manufacture a pull starter (like the 2-stroke Rotax UL engines have) but I'm sure the certification process would be prohibitively expensive. Perhaps if the regs get revised… lol
 
TS, I happen to know of a very nice Luscombe fur sale local to me that's local to me and not advertised online. Pm me if you want to know more.

That being said, I love mine. It's a tricky airplane, and doesn't forgive sloppy technique. But it does exactly what you tell it, right or not. I call it brutally honest. Which also means you fly it right, it handles like a dream. It's an incredibly fun airplane, and always attracts attention wherever I take it
 
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