As an airshow performer they appeal to the masses.
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As an airshow performer they appeal to the masses.Would a modern Biplane have any advantage over a modern Monoplane?
Would a modern Biplane have any advantage over a modern Monoplane?
As an airshow performer they appeal to the masses.
A modern biplane would have a chance in today's market only if it filled a niche - the only thing I can think of, is the An-2 which was capable of carrying cargo and people in and out of some fairly primitive locations.
If I remember right, they produced the "Annie" right up to the turn of the century, too.
And USAF would never let them have it anyway. "You ground gainers seem to be forgetting who's in charge here. Your Close Air Support requirements are determined by us, not you!!"The Army response was, "What? Us buy a biplane today? It may be exactly what we need but we'd be laughed out of the Pentagon!"
Those ex-Navy SPADs should have gone to the Army, not USAF.During Vietnam the US Army was looking for a convoy escort aircraft. They did not like the USAF solution of scrambling jet fighters when a convoy of trucks got into trouble. They wanted something overhead all the time.
Would a modern Biplane have any advantage over a modern Monoplane?
I have not known anybody who could make consistently good landings in a Comanche or a Mooney. (That includes a friend who has had his Comanche 180 for 30 years and flies it a lot. Probably 200-300 hours a year.)"Low wing float", the bane of high wing pilots transitioning into a larger, heavier, underwing bird. That's one of the reasons I used to advocate that primary students with professional aspirations finish their private in the Sundowner. You think a Warrior is a floater, try a Twin Comanche, Seneca, or Seminole. Or even worse, a Mooney or Comanche.
Cheers,
Wes
As mentioned, our "old-timey" (Including one 34K hr, FAA CFI of the year.) CFI's were not fully onboard with full-flap landings unless you had a reason to get down and stopped in a short distance.To full flap or not to full flap, that is the question.
I spent several years as chief instructor at our local FAR 141 flight school, and we got jerked around by the Feds over full flap landings. The FSDO inspector who supervised our administrative and curriculum documentation was a follower of FAA dogma that all standard routine landings be full flap in all aircraft at all times. Our ops inspector, OTOH, felt that light, low powered aircraft like C150/152/172 didn't have adequate performance to consistently make safe go-arounds in a full flap situation from low altitude. We were stuck in the middle with conflicting written directives from two different offices in the FSDO. My boss (the owner) presented these literary masterpieces to the chief inspector/facility manager, who chose to err on the side of safety and cancelled the full flap requirement.
Cheers,
Wes
Why not use a resource that is available to you?As mentioned, our "old-timey" (Including one 34K hr, FAA CFI of the year.) CFI's were not fully onboard with full-flap landings unless you had a reason to get down and stopped in a short distance.
Why not use a resource that is available to you?
We never had any issue going around in a C-150 with full flap, as long as you didn't try to go straight into a climb. There was some forward pressure required on the controls until you got it trimmed, but speed had usually built up enough that you could raise the first 10º of flap fairly quickly. The only go-around accident that I've heard of down here in a C-150 was a student that raised the flaps before adding power.
"Erc one five Charlie, three quarter miles, call the ball."the Ercoupe does not float down the runway like the Cessna. The angle of incidence and airfoil is such that you can just fly it onto the runway and stomp on the brakes.
Because we were not flying out of 1200 foot circular grass aerodromes with trees and wires all around anymore. We didn't need to make a routine out of maximum performance takeoffs and landings, though we did practice them to stay proficient. We did make a lot of crosswind landings out of a slip, and high wing planes generally handle better with half flaps in that scenario. What I used to do for my own proficiency practice, and what I would allow less experienced renter pilots and solo students to do on their own, was of course different.Why not use a resource that is available to you?
Back when my (then) girlfriend was working on her ratings, we went partners with an old classmate of mine on his Mooney M20. He couldn't get insurance on it by himself because of low total time. Neither he (150 hr private) or I (6K hr ATP commuter pilot) ever mastered consistent greasers in that bobsled, but my girlfriend (who eventually retired as an AA 737 pilot) could do it every time. She just had the knack. I've ridden (in the pax cabin) through her landings in DO228, SW4, SAAB340, ERJ145, CRJ50 & 70, and B737, and she greased them all. Talent will out.I have not known anybody who could make consistently good landings in a Comanche or a Mooney.
Don't they have them whirly things that could do that kinda thing?During Vietnam the US Army was looking for a convoy escort aircraft. They did not like the USAF solution of scrambling jet fighters when a convoy of trucks got into trouble. They wanted something overhead all the time.
Grumman proposed a COIN version of the Agcat crop duster. Based on the design of the F3F fighter, the airplane was simple, reliable, very rugged and resistant to ground fire, able to loiter for extended periods, and capable of accurately delivering considerable effective ordnance; the Army concluded it was just what they needed. "How many do you want to buy?" asked Grumman. The Army response was, "What? Us buy a biplane today? It may be exactly what we need but we'd be laughed out of the Pentagon!"
Them whirly things in that hot humid climate were kind of limited on ordnance load. A rotary to fixed wing conversion student I had flew Charlie gunships in Nam, and he said with only a partial ordnance load it wouldn't lift into a hover, and had to be "hop-skipped" into a sliding takeoff on the PSP matting. Kind of hard on the skids. He said once a crazy Birddog FAC friend of his made a "formation" takeoff with him side by side and did three liftoffs and touchdowns before his gunship cleared the PSP. Said his door gunner bout died laughing.Don't they have them whirly things that could do that kinda thing?
A Huey or a Cobra?
Don't they have them whirly things that could do that kinda thing?