Today's Message Index:
----------------------
1. 06:58 AM - London,Ky airport open house (Herb)
2. 11:04 AM - Just bought a Firefly (Keith84)
3. 06:04 PM - Re: London,Ky airport open house (Bradley Nation)
4. 06:43 PM - Re: Just bought a Firefly (Stuart Harner)
Message 1
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Subject: | London,Ky airport open house |
I suspect that the Open house at the London/Corbin airport is not on for
today... Lots of weather over there...Herb
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Subject: | Just bought a Firefly |
I wanted to introduce myself, name is Keith and I live in central texas. I have
40 hrs between a cessna 152&172 but lost my medical while I was preparing for
PPL oral and check ride. Well that was a year ago, a couple weeks ago I bought
a part103 legal firefily! So far it seems to run pretty well, i have only
done a few high speed taxis but it seems to get squirly rather fast. I have been
pretty hesitant to fly it honestly, every time i go to the grass strip its
based at I am determined to crow hop it. Then once i try i get nervous at how
squirly it is. The tail wheel configuration is pretty foriegn to me! I suppose
their is no reason to rush! If you guys have any tips I would love to hear them!
--------
98' Kolb FireFly
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=444100#444100
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Message 3
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Subject: | Re: London,Ky airport open house |
Yes it was, rain and all.
> On Jun 27, 2015, at 9:58 , Herb <Herbgh@nctc.com> wrote:
>
>
>
> I suspect that the Open house at the London/Corbin airport is not on for today...
Lots of weather over there...Herb
>
>
>
>
Message 4
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Subject: | Just bought a Firefly |
Welcome Keith! Great to have another Firefly owner. There are lots of
great people here to help you along.
First off, be very, very careful if you don't have any time in a tail
dragger. They are not hard to handle but are most certainly different than
the nose gear aircraft you mentioned. I am an old time type that thinks
everyone should learn to drive a stick shift before an automatic and
everyone should learn to fly in a tail dragger before moving on to a
tricycle gear. That's just me, others may be different, so take it for what
it is worth.
The main difference is on a tricycle gear airplane the center of gravity is
between the main gear and then nose wheel. The tail dragger has the center
of gravity between the wheels too, but that puts it behind the main gear.
So, the center of gravity is always trying to get in front. It is up to the
pilot to keep it in place.
This is not difficult to do, but it does take some getting used to. I am
sure there are some pilots that could teach themselves to drive a tail
dragger, but for the most part I am betting most people here will recommend
you get some training in a tail dragger before you venture out on your own.
If you could get some training in a two seat Kolb that would be the best
thing I could think of. Short of that, another very light tail dragger.
Short of that, a full sized aircraft such as a Champ, Cub or Taylorcraft
come to mind. They are a little heavier but the basics of tail wheel
aircraft are the same.
One thing that you did not mention is what engine and prop setup you have.
If a Rotax with a gearbox, even though the prop turns the same way as say a
Cub, the Firefly will require left rudder on takeoff, not the right rudder
that the other mentioned tail draggers require. Not hard, just different.
Also, the Firefly is an Ultralight and will behave differently than the
"heavy" aircraft you are used to. There is a significant amount of drag and
very little mass (or inertia) so when the power is reduced, you see a rather
instant reduction in airspeed. Not dangerous, but you need to be ready for
it. And the high thrust line of the engine causes some different motions
than the forward nose mounted Cessna's. Again, not hard but different.
Now, don't take any of this as a negative. You can do this, but you are
probably going to need some help. Sometimes instruction in a tail dragger is
hard to find. Instruction in a very light aircraft can be even more so. Look
around, even if you have to travel some. Since you already know how to fly,
it will probably only take a few hours of instruction to get the hang of a
tail dragger. It might be possible to get it done in one day.
There is a fair amount of "discussion" about "crow hops". I won't get into
that here except to say in your situation I would not recommend it. I would
really hate to see something go wrong and for you to ball up your Firefly on
the edge of the runway. That might end your desire to fly ever again. The
Firefly is in my humble opinion one of the most fun things to fly I have
ever been in.
My first flight in the Firefly was an eye opener. I had never flown anything
that light weight and managed to get into some turbulence at about 200 AGL.
The Firefly is so responsive that I found myself in Pilot Induced
Oscillations (PIO). Fortunately I heard my first instructor saying "cut your
corrections in half". That helped me finish the first flight without
incident.
The next best piece of advice I got was a good friend who is a helicopter
pilot. He said to quit flying with my arm and hand. "put your elbow on your
leg and fly with your fingertips. That combined with really smooth air on
the second flight made it a complete success.
A bit of background for you to relate this to: I learned to fly in an
Aeronca Chief while in high school more than 40 years ago. Flew Cessna
150's, 172's and Various Piper products but never a Cub. Flew a Cherokee 180
for several years and that is by far the easiest aircraft to fly. You have
to work at it to make something go not right. Made my first flight in my
Firefly last Fall and have amassed nearly 10 full hours in the air since
then! Wow huh? So as you can see I am no expert, but rather am nearly where
you are although a little more experience in tail draggers. The Chief was a
great airplane but it kept you honest and would remind you of what could go
wrong if you ignored it.
If you can't find tail dragger instruction, maybe you can find a fellow
pilot with one that will help you out for say gas and a wash job.
When you finally do make that first flight and get it back on the ground
without bending anything, it will be one of the most memorable things you
ever do.
Keep asking questions we are here to help.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
Stuart
Firefly Serenity
P.S. Take some time and read the archives on this site, they are chocked
full of good stuff.
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-kolb-list-server@matronics.com
[mailto:owner-kolb-list-server@matronics.com] On Behalf Of Keith84
Sent: Saturday, June 27, 2015 1:05 PM
Subject: Kolb-List: Just bought a Firefly
I wanted to introduce myself, name is Keith and I live in central texas. I
have 40 hrs between a cessna 152&172 but lost my medical while I was
preparing for PPL oral and check ride. Well that was a year ago, a couple
weeks ago I bought a part103 legal firefily! So far it seems to run pretty
well, i have only done a few high speed taxis but it seems to get squirly
rather fast. I have been pretty hesitant to fly it honestly, every time i go
to the grass strip its based at I am determined to crow hop it. Then once i
try i get nervous at how squirly it is. The tail wheel configuration is
pretty foriegn to me! I suppose their is no reason to rush! If you guys have
any tips I would love to hear them!
--------
98' Kolb FireFly
Read this topic online here:
http://forums.matronics.com/viewtopic.php?p=444100#444100
Attachments:
http://forums.matronics.com//files/image_635.jpg
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