|
|
Post by D. Robert Quick on Dec 5, 2011 16:18:29 GMT -6
It's interesting what your mind does on a dark and rainy day... I found myself thinking back over my aviation career of instructing, charter flying, crop-dusting, flying for a skydiving school, and a few years flying for Chautauqua Airlines before my health scuttled the boat... I got to thinking of all the different vintage planes I've instructed in, and all the different planes in general that I've had the honor of flying. That lead to wondering what was my favorite plane... Not too easy to answer because of all the various kinds of planes, but if I had to pick one, I think it would be the Cessna 180. I have hundreds of hours in this old bird doing everything from flying chemicals into remote farm fields to load the crop-dusters, to flying skydivers for Parachutes and Associates, Inc. It's a solid, strong bird that is a pilots airplane. Like many if not most tail-draggers, you really have to stay ahead of her, and fly her by the numbers, and she has a huge range of uses... I miss flying this great airplane... Dave |
|
|
|
Post by Don Gieseke on Dec 5, 2011 20:01:45 GMT -6
Great thread, Dave! Mine is the T-38. The White Rocket! She was powerful, light on the controls, sleek and sexy looking. For a young lad, climbing into her out at Reese AFB back in '70, she was the ultimate kick in the pants! Acro, formation flying, solo flights racking around west Texas thunderstorms were all great fun. I sure would love to strap her on one more time! Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by Bruce Gorrell on Dec 7, 2011 20:18:20 GMT -6
A4 Skyhawk. The most fun I've ever had in an airplane.
Sent from my Android phone using ProBoards
|
|
|
|
Post by Mike Baier on Dec 8, 2011 14:49:19 GMT -6
Have 2 choices actually. First is the T-6(SNJ). Flew one for a museum in NY..best fun I ever had. As for on the job- Fokker 100 was my favorite!..Mike
|
|
|
|
Post by Paul Hadfield on Dec 9, 2011 1:18:18 GMT -6
Well, I have to say I have not had the privilege to fly the fast stuff, but I happen to be a pickup truck lover and in my humble opinion the cessna 206 fits the bill, a truck strapped to a wing with a prop on the front. I can land it in 700' fully loaded and get out of something just a little longer if full.
Paul
|
|
|
|
Post by Tim Cocrane on Dec 16, 2011 11:56:18 GMT -6
I agree with Don, The T-38 was very fast. Point the nose straight up, straight down, roll 720 degrees in 1 second, etc. I also flew them at Reese AFB, then named my 3rd son Reese. BTW, Thursday, 22 Dec 2011, weather permitting, Reese will solo a glider on his 14th birthday!//// Must be the invisible ink
|
|
|
|
Post by Odie Crossman on Dec 22, 2011 7:30:28 GMT -6
My Lazy-Boy
|
|
|
|
Post by Don Gieseke on Dec 22, 2011 17:37:49 GMT -6
>>My Lazy-Boy<< Can you get that bad boy airborne???  |
|
|
|
Post by Don Gieseke on Dec 26, 2011 15:33:05 GMT -6
Can I have another favorite? If so, here is my second choice. She wasn't too pretty, but the -A model I flew had a lot of power, some real long legs and took this young Illinois country boy all over the world. Check her out, courtesy of Johnny Cash: youtu.be/7Z6mrL1KzbMAttachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by Mike Baier on Dec 27, 2011 9:20:45 GMT -6
Great video and music Don. Did they really launch a 141 off a carrier? WOW
|
|
|
|
Post by D. Robert Quick on Dec 27, 2011 11:48:52 GMT -6
  Hah Gieseke, mess with me will ya'! Then I get a second one too! Commonly known as the Stinson Station Wagon, (a variation of the 108 but often a misused name) the Stinson 108 had a bunch of mods. done over the years. Few know that the "type" was purchased by Piper in 1949 and just a few over 300 were built (by Piper) and later sold by Piper, being called the Piper-Stinson. There are too many mods., models, and variations for me to write here, or even look up though including several different engines. Among the mods. was a conversion from a fabric covered fuselage to sheet aluminum. Univair built the Station Wagon version which included space for around 600 pounds of luggage/cargo aft... Of all the tail-draggers I've had the pleasure to fly, this airplane really stands out. She is so gentle on the controls, one of the most well behaved taildraggers I've flown, and so so comfortable. Only one thing I didn't care for was the rather high stall speed of 65 MPH, and to be honest, I don't recall if the fixed leading edge slat that was pretty much unique to this plane fixed that, or was added TO fix it. I do know of one hapless flier who had the bright idea to put duct tape over the slat openings ended up auguring in with his right near my home, but many years ago... As far as I recall, all the ones I flew had the original horizontally opposed Franklin 6 cylinder advertised to put out 165 HP... I often said that if I ever bought a plane again, the next one would be the Stinson 108... |
|
|
|
Post by Hutson Lindner on Dec 27, 2011 21:01:33 GMT -6
My favorite; hands down was the Navy T-28 Trojan I flew it in basic training in Corpus Christi, Texas in '75-'76. We did FAM, Instruments, ACRO, formation, and took them to El Centro for a long detachment due to foul weather in Texas. The big radial recip. = right rudder for torque like you would remember forever. Holding her still in the run-up line was a bear alone. I can still feel the heat, sweat, grease, and oil. If it was not leaking, we did not fly it = no oil. The Navy stopped taking the "Charlies" to the boat in 1975 due to their age. Attachments:
|
|
|
|
Post by Tom Taylor on Feb 29, 2012 12:17:48 GMT -6
RE: Paul's Cessna 206
The most fun I ever had flying was in a Cessna 208 - the Mighty Caravan. It's a 172 or 206 on steriods. We packed 3,000 pounds of lose freight in the back every morning for UPS. Great stuff.
Every speed on the plane is 175 knots: Vne, normal cruise, max flaps, etc etc. You could even use it as a final approach speed.
Actual ATC conversation from a few years back:
ATC: Caravan 604, say airspeed.
604: Currently, 170 knots.
ATC: Caravan 604, reduce to 140 knots. Traffic you are following on the approach is a Northwest DC9.
|
|
|
|
Post by WJB on Mar 2, 2012 10:26:29 GMT -6
Military: RF-4C.
Civ: Twin Otter.
|
|
|
|
Post by Bruce Gorrell on Mar 3, 2012 6:05:45 GMT -6
My favorite; hands down was the Navy T-28 Trojan I flew it in basic training in Corpus Christi, Texas in '75-'76. We did FAM, Instruments, ACRO, formation, and took them to El Centro for a long detachment due to foul weather in Texas. The big radial recip. = right rudder for torque like you would remember forever. Holding her still in the run-up line was a bear alone. I can still feel the heat, sweat, grease, and oil. If it was not leaking, we did not fly it = no oil. The Navy stopped taking the "Charlies" to the boat in 1975 due to their age. Looking back on it now and the way we flew them, would you buy one now? ;-) Sent from my Android phone using ProBoards |
|
