Scudrunners

We need an appreciation thread for these little guys.

https://en.www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronca_Champion

Have you flown a Champ?

If [b]yes[/b], then great!
If [b]no[/b], then get looking for one to fly immediately.

Such a lovely airplane; spacious inside, the little Continentals tick right along, and they’re just so damned easy to fly.  I’d like to get one of my own but for the time being I’m lucky enough to have the hangar keys for two other ones.

Great little trainer with more room than a Cub and fly's quite similar to the Cub.

I'm all bark no bite Slick. Probably done flying 172s.

At least I have the Internet to "sit around talkin' about..."

[quote author=David MacRay link=topic=10051.msg28818#msg28818 date=1569033873]
I'm all bark no bite Slick. Probably done flying 172s.

At least I have the Internet to "sit around talkin' about..."
[/quote]
I think you’re too cool to limit yourself like that but nothing will change until you believe it too.  Let me know if you’re ever coming to Southern Ontario and I’ll try and set something up.

Back to Champs: I seem to remember reading that they were developed through extensive study of all the perceived deficiencies of the Cub.  I can’t say how pleasant they are to fly, and I just can’t land one badly.  I guess they must be groundloopable but as far as bounces and trounces grit just doesn’t seem to happen.  Wednesday evening I had an absolute garbage touchdown which would have been real trouble in a lot of other airplanes but the Champ shrugged it off and made me look like some kind of airplane hero.  Wonderful airplanes.

Any elderly fabric taildragger - cub, champ, t-craft - is a joy to fly from a
quiet grass field, especially around sunset when the wind is dying down
and everyone has gone home.  You have the airport all to yourself.

No electrical system, no radio.  No TC Inspector hiding behind the hangar,
taking pictures for "covert surveillance" enforcement action.

Just you at 500 feet over the trees and fields, in the setting sun.

[img width=500 height=245][/img]

A simple, slow, pure aviation.  You may be hated for it, but it is worth it.

No plans to visit Ontario but who knows. That might make it more likely to happen.

I don't think I'll fly a cub. There was a pretty nice one for sale based out at Kirkby Field, near here, no electrics, $30,000 canadian? I'll see if the ad is still up and link if it is. The Champ I made a thread about last year has come down in price.

I tried the Red Bird cub simulator at AirVenture and had a tough time keeping the ball centred. Silly me could not feel the adverse yaw. Still made me feel bad when someone that probably flew a lot more simulators than me landed it better.



That video is not a champ but watching it made me recall landing on the grass beside runway 34 out at Springbank decades ago. I'm guessing they don't let people do that anymore, but maybe they do. I bet none of the schools use it.

Brings back memories. Did my first 5 hours in a champ at the old BFC on Queen and McLaughlin Rd in Brampton and finished off my commercial mostly in a J3 except for the night and final training and check ride. No radios, no electrics and wandering around from farm strip to farm strip and any good looking field in between. Could we do it today? Land behind a restaurant on any highway and have lunch -- damn those were fun days.

It's hard to believe now, but in the 1960's I used to fly in Aeronca Champs
on skis in the winter, that the Kingston Flying Club rented out.  Damn cold.

Those days are gone.  I'm triggered by snow, now.

Thought about flying a Champ after work yesterday, didn’t, regret it this morning.  Lesson learned.

Another neat Champ feature: since the cockpit is roomy and the pilot sits in front, I have a flying selfie with every passenger I’ve ever taken up in one.  They probably didn’t consider that when it was designed.