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From Joel Whitehurst Less than a week ago, I bought a flying Aeronca K. It is a 36 horsepower, 2 passenger, side-by-side taildragger. It has a thirty-six foot wingspan, narrow main gear with wheelpants, and a little, tiny tailwheel. Unlike the single, centered stick in its' predecessor, the C3, the K has two control wheels. Instrumentation includes a tach, oil temp and pressure guages, an altimeter and an airspeed indicator. Whereas the C2 was so klunky looking, it was almost attractive in its' ungainliness, the K is sort of petit and pure and proportional. It kind of looks like the C3's much-prettier sister. The two-cylinder Aeronca E-113 engine spins a 69/28 Sensenich wood prop. The sound that the engine makes is reported by watchers to resemble a large lawnmower flying by. They say you can distinctly hear every explosion. Since there is only one magneto, the runup is more of a warmup. If the engine is running and you have oil pressure, it's a go. So you line her up with the centerline and give her the gun... and nothing seems to happen except the engine makes more noise. S-l-o-w-l-y she crawls forward and very sedately accellerates to about 45 or 50, at which point, the aircraft sort of levitates slowly into the sky. The control surfaces are big, so you are in complete control. You trim her up for a 60 mph climb at 2550 rpm, and climb out at about 300 fpm. Upon reaching your assigned FL (usually around 1000 AGL) you find that you can easily cruise at a blistering 73 mph at 2450 rpm at 2.5 gph. For me, the most fun part of flying the K is the landing. What a pussycat!!! It set up my final approach at 60 mph, and slip it down if she's a little high. Nearing the ground, I level out and hold her off til she instinctively settles in a 3-point attitude. This plane seems to land in slow motion, and really makes me look good. I have landed in some pretty healthy crosswinds using a combo of the low wing and diagonally-across-the-runway techniques. Once on the ground, you really must fly it to the tie-down, but the big control surfaces make it easy to handle in a gusting wind. I had a Citabria for many years, and the K is a whole different, and VERY enjoyable experience. Seeya, buzjob. Mr. Trainor: I would be honored if you would add this to your discussion group. Joel |
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