All Things Aviation Related

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by Brown747

https://mesratings.com/what-we-do

That’s awesome! Thanks for the link. They flew into KPVF for our EAA pancake breakfast.

At MCC today, very cool paint scheme







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[Heel n Toe]

[t6dpilot]

Originally Posted by rsrguy

Bugz, Wow... a g model stag, your extremely fortunate to have seen one in the wild. They made less than 30.

They made exactly 20. A friend of mine actually just rescued one that had been once owned by Red Holloway, one of the founders of the Staggerwing Club, which became the Beechcraft Heritage Museum. A fantastic hidden gem in Tullahoma TN. That G model had been sitting for 35 years before my friend recommissioned it and got it flying. Flew it to Beech Party for the first time since the 80's and I got to fly off his wing in my 7th from the last D model.

[john70t]

The Cirrus SR22 has a parachute and perhaps one of the safer GA aircraft.

One of my favorites is a little lightweight rocket with dive flaps and oxygen. Has a higher stall speed tho. Lancair Legacy


For longer small hauls with a turbo prop this one ain't bad in MSFS2020. Dauer TBM930.

[rsrguy]

Originally Posted by t6dpilot

They made exactly 20. A friend of mine actually just rescued one that had been once owned by Red Holloway, one of the founders of the Staggerwing Club, which became the Beechcraft Heritage Museum. A fantastic hidden gem in Tullahoma TN. That G model had been sitting for 35 years before my friend recommissioned it and got it flying. Flew it to Beech Party for the first time since the 80's and I got to fly off his wing in my 7th from the last D model.

Figures, the only other guy that knows that seriously arcane piece of trivia would be a stag driver!
All i can say is ..... dammn Scott.
I'm truly happy you were able to grab the brass ring that made that particular unicorn dream come true.
The g model has been an art piece in our home since the 70's, so unfortunately or fortunately along with ac porsches I was imprinted early.
Give us a brief write up on operational procedures if you don't mind, from the pull through to fuel management to base, final and touch down speeds?

[rsrguy]

One of my all time favorite staggs is this one, the restoration was amazing.
I call it the dreamcicle. You probably know everything about it.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by rsrguy

One of my all time favorite staggs is this one, the restoration was amazing.
I call it the dreamcicle. You probably know everything about it.

That actually is Scott's airplane.


Here he is getting ready to leave OSH in 2022.

[rsrguy]

Small world, that was my first AV, and when I saw it for the first time.

[t6dpilot]

Well RSRGUY, I like your taste! Yes, as Tim states, that is my Staggerwing restored by RARE Aircraft. And that is me flying the slot position on our departure from Tullahoma's Beech Party a couple weekends ago. The ex-Holloway G model is "above" me in the picture. The new owner is the perfect person to be the next caretaker of that plane and understands its history and strong ties to the early days of the Staggerwing Club and Fly-in. And Dreamsicle (I call it the same) is also tied to those early days of the club as my father was an early member and instrumental in its growth.

So the airplane was in the family for 27 years, left in 2001, and reacquired in 2018. So you would like a brief description of operational procedures? I'd be happy to...

Pull through the prop 9 blades to make sure you don't have hydrostatic lock in a cylinder. I just learned from an expert that I should pull through 18 blades. Mixture rich, wobble pump the fuel for 5 PSI, prime 3 shots, and leave the primer out. Press the start button and let it run through a few blades, then mags to BOTH. She'll come to life a couple cylinders at a time. DO NOT wobble, that could cause a fire - give it a slow shot of prime of its not catching. Look for oil pressure and give it time to warm up to 40 deg C. If its cold outside, you can bypass the oil cooler and/or shut the oil cooler door. Now you are safe for a runup. Nothing special here, same as any other aircraft. Make sure you are on the fuselage tank for takeoff and landing. Why? The vent tube is much larger than the wing tanks so you ensure good fuel flow if pressure drops.

Ready for takeoff, lock the tailwheel, check locked, and advance the throttle to 36" MP. Keep it straight with constant rudder dance, airspeed alive, and about time to raise the tail. Do so to get it into a flying attitude and when it comes up, be ready with a little stab of right rudder because the nose is going to go left. Keep the rudder dance going and she should come off at about 65 MPH. Climb out about 80-90, gear up and give the manual handle a tug just to make sure the gear is up and snug. Look for 100 MPH and 30" MP and 2000 RPM. Constant rudder and elevator trim to airspeed. Switch to an upper wing tank.

Cruise 26 or 27" and 1875 RPM. Lean mixture to 22 GPH and you'll get about 157kts TAS at 8500 ft. Burn 30 minutes from one upper wing tank, then switch to the other upper tank and burn until dry about 1 hour and 23 gallons. Switch to the other upper and burn the last 30 minutes until dry. You really have to watch the time because it is easy to get distracted and have the engine quit. Not fun. Do the same with the lower wing tanks. Has 23 in four wing tanks and 29 in the belly.

Landing I like to drop the gear as close to 100 MPH as possible, mixture rich, fuel on the belly tank, prop short final. Trim, trim, trim. Downwind 100 MPH, base 90 MPH and half flaps, final 80 MPH slowing to 70 over the numbers and full flaps. GUMP checks complete with multiple gear green light and manual handle checks. She will sink pretty good with full flaps and power off, so I carry some power to get the sink rate I like. Flare and touch down on the back side of the mains or 3 point. Get that crosswind aileron in and dance on the rudders to keep it straight. As soon as the wing quits flying, FULL aileron INTO the wind to help you keep it straight. That is what has gotten Staggerwing drivers in trouble over the years. Wrong aileron input with a yoke shaped like a car wheel. What do you do when your car rear breaks out? Steer into the slide. That will for sure ground loop a Staggerwing. And she will land short. Stalls about 52 MPH.

You are very busy flying one of these and sometime need three arms, but boy executing a well done mission is very satisfying.

[rsrguy]

What an amazing experience, thanks Scott. I had an f model bo, an amazing airplane but nothing close to a stagg. We're currently building a Stallion and I'll be painting it staggerwing yellow, it'll be an amazing aircraft but it'll never have the style or ooze the refinement of the staggerwings.

[rsrguy]

Being in Utah, flying to AV is an iffy proposition, in any case I'm hoping to take the Cap 10b next July.

[rsrguy]

This cap10 was a Mexican airforce version delivered approximately 1982
These are pictures of what it would have looked like, every time we work on it the old colors
Peek out all over.

[t6dpilot]

Guy, if you come anywhere near KARR, I will give you the royal treatment. I am so happy to share with those that appreciate it.

[rsrguy]

It would be a seriously amazing privilege, thank you.

[t6dpilot]

Love the Cap10. I took the 10 hour aerobatic course from the French Connection in the late 90s. Nice flying airplane.

[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by rsrguy

Bugz, Wow... a g model stag, your extremely fortunate to have seen one in the wild. They made less than 30.

Sorry that am late to the party on this RS….

Yeah, it had to be one of the most beautiful ones I’ve seen. In my mind, it’s a functional flying piece of art. Aside from war birds, this it neck n neck with the Constellation. Its design, lines and sound are completely in a league of their own. Her at KPVF, we have Ragtime Aero run by Rick Atkins. He work on the classics are off the chart. He was featured in the Smithsonian a few years back and has even built some things for Kermit. There is a waiting list to get stuff into his shop, like years…. Super nice guy and does everything solo.

BTW, not sure if this IG link will work, but I saw this and immediately thought of “what would RS think if he saw this?!?!?” I see shards of fabric being ripped off as they pour the beans to it. It reminded me of a home built I saw for sale years ago in the pits at Reno. An old wood n fiberglass (sketchy build quality) with a PT-6 attached to the front. “Needs flight test” was on the bottom of the advert.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBxu0xpxwsj/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==

Cheers


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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by t6dpilot

Well RSRGUY, I like your taste! Yes, as Tim states, that is my Staggerwing restored by RARE Aircraft. And that is me flying the slot position on our departure from Tullahoma's Beech Party a couple weekends ago. The ex-Holloway G model is "above" me in the picture. The new owner is the perfect person to be the next caretaker of that plane and understands its history and strong ties to the early days of the Staggerwing Club and Fly-in. And Dreamsicle (I call it the same) is also tied to those early days of the club as my father was an early member and instrumental in its growth.

So the airplane was in the family for 27 years, left in 2001, and reacquired in 2018. So you would like a brief description of operational procedures? I'd be happy to...

Pull through the prop 9 blades to make sure you don't have hydrostatic lock in a cylinder. I just learned from an expert that I should pull through 18 blades. Mixture rich, wobble pump the fuel for 5 PSI, prime 3 shots, and leave the primer out. Press the start button and let it run through a few blades, then mags to BOTH. She'll come to life a couple cylinders at a time. DO NOT wobble, that could cause a fire - give it a slow shot of prime of its not catching. Look for oil pressure and give it time to warm up to 40 deg C. If its cold outside, you can bypass the oil cooler and/or shut the oil cooler door. Now you are safe for a runup. Nothing special here, same as any other aircraft. Make sure you are on the fuselage tank for takeoff and landing. Why? The vent tube is much larger than the wing tanks so you ensure good fuel flow if pressure drops.

Ready for takeoff, lock the tailwheel, check locked, and advance the throttle to 36" MP. Keep it straight with constant rudder dance, airspeed alive, and about time to raise the tail. Do so to get it into a flying attitude and when it comes up, be ready with a little stab of right rudder because the nose is going to go left. Keep the rudder dance going and she should come off at about 65 MPH. Climb out about 80-90, gear up and give the manual handle a tug just to make sure the gear is up and snug. Look for 100 MPH and 30" MP and 2000 RPM. Constant rudder and elevator trim to airspeed. Switch to an upper wing tank.

Cruise 26 or 27" and 1875 RPM. Lean mixture to 22 GPH and you'll get about 157kts TAS at 8500 ft. Burn 30 minutes from one upper wing tank, then switch to the other upper tank and burn until dry about 1 hour and 23 gallons. Switch to the other upper and burn the last 30 minutes until dry. You really have to watch the time because it is easy to get distracted and have the engine quit. Not fun. Do the same with the lower wing tanks. Has 23 in four wing tanks and 29 in the belly.

Landing I like to drop the gear as close to 100 MPH as possible, mixture rich, fuel on the belly tank, prop short final. Trim, trim, trim. Downwind 100 MPH, base 90 MPH and half flaps, final 80 MPH slowing to 70 over the numbers and full flaps. GUMP checks complete with multiple gear green light and manual handle checks. She will sink pretty good with full flaps and power off, so I carry some power to get the sink rate I like. Flare and touch down on the back side of the mains or 3 point. Get that crosswind aileron in and dance on the rudders to keep it straight. As soon as the wing quits flying, FULL aileron INTO the wind to help you keep it straight. That is what has gotten Staggerwing drivers in trouble over the years. Wrong aileron input with a yoke shaped like a car wheel. What do you do when your car rear breaks out? Steer into the slide. That will for sure ground loop a Staggerwing. And she will land short. Stalls about 52 MPH.

You are very busy flying one of these and sometime need three arms, but boy executing a well done mission is very satisfying.

What an incredible write up!!! T6D, thank you for taking the time to share all of that. Those big radials as you described, require/recomended to be pulled through. When I was flying out of the Hemet-Ryan Aerobatic Flight Center back in the day, I got to do that with the Stearman. I have a classmate who now lives in Tullahoma, TN. They keep inviting us out to visit and we keep threatening to take them up.

I was going make it happen by pulling the plug on 12/24/24, our 25th anniversary but alas…. They dangled a carrot I can’t pass up and will wait until July 2025 after 31.5 years of state service…. Wow! Talk about TMI! lol. We will get out there for a solid visit in 25. We actually are planning to be in Nashville in December but it will be a fast n furious three day conference leaving one day to look around.




Way up in the clouds, you can see a U-2


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[bugstrider]

Originally Posted by rsrguy

Being in Utah, flying to AV is an iffy proposition, in any case I'm hoping to take the Cap 10b next July.

That is an absolutely gorgeous plane RS, you did a fantastic job. I’ve been running around like a headless chicken for so long, I forgot what our VariEZ even looks like… lol
I got out to rate our supervisors check-ride landing a few days ago. Had to keep it a Halloween themed rating.

[Racerbvd]

[Brian 162]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

That plane was called the Gimli Glider. It ran out of fuel over Gimli Manitoba. The plane landed under no power on an abandoned airstrip that was being used as a race track.
Random pic