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I planned on buying a plane, just not a Taylorcraft. How I came to buy N95706 is a bit of a winding path that extends back years before my wife gave the green light to buy an airplane. The finalists were a Cessna 120/140, Luscombe 8A, and J-3 Cub…but I bought a Taylorcraft. If you want to find out how…and like good stories…read on…
I started to fly in 1987 when I was 17 years old, working at an FBO at Galt Airport, Illinois (10C). Despite making next to nothing, I somehow managed to fly for 3 whole hours that summer. Time and money came and went. I worked at FBO’s at Midway Airport in Chicago, Georgia, joined the Air Force as an A-10 and F-16 mechanic. Took flight lessons on-and-off…and finally I got my Private Pilot Certificate in 2010 and my IFR in 2012. Maybe another time I will tell you how I got my IFR ticket ONE DAY before getting on a plane and moving to Okinawa Japan with the Navy (my wife reminds me of this every now-and-then).
Fast forward again now to 2023. I had been retired from the Navy for almost four years and had only logged 1.7 hours in the preceding 11 years…pilot certificate had lapsed…etc… I thank my continued involvement in the local EAA chapter for pushing me back into flying. I have a homebuild Pietenpol project that I had worked on here and there, took some EAA workshops, and did Air Venture every year now that it is only an hour away by car. It was a Young Eagles event that finally did it.
I had initially not signed my 12 year old son up for a Young Eagles flight because I didn’t want to use my position in the club to get him a slot at the expense of another kid that doesn’t have a parent involved in aviation. A day before the event there were still open times so I put his name down. Well, my wife brought him to the airport at the allotted time and he got to ride in a J-3. When he got off the plane he was smiling and jumping up and down like he won the lottery, regaling me and my wife with tales of aerial bravery at the controls “all by myself” in the back of the J-3. At the end of the event the volunteer pilots gave all us ground-based volunteers a ride and I was snapping selfies and sending them to my wife who texted me: “Just go ahead and get it over with and buy a plane already.” I have since framed the screenshot of that historic cellphone communique.
To my wife’s surprise I found my Taylorcraft three days later and the rest is, now history. Trade-a-plane should give me an honorary subscription or something because all these years I have almost religiously looked at Cessna 120’s and 140’s, Luscombes, and J-3’s for sale a few times a week. I could give you a detailed breakdown of the fair market value of these planes in various conditions at the drop of a hat. I know, some of us should get a life, but those addicted to aviation understand. And in case you think I am small minded, I’ve had various Grumman Goose, Beech Staggerwing, and Cessna 195’s picked-out in case I discover gold or strike oil on my property. Regardless, I already had 3 planes on my radar that week and started to pick up the phone and make some calls. (With cell phones, do we really “pick up” the phone anymore? Is it still called a phone? My kids look at me funny sometimes when I make references like this.)
So where does the Taylorcraft come into play? The short story is that Luscombes seem to take up a lot more runway than the 120/140’s and J-3’s, 120/140’s don’t seem to be quite as rugged as the J-3, and J-3’s have gotten expensive. The J-3 was still the plane for me, but my wife didn’t want to be sitting up front “all by myself” while I had all the fun in back. This is where involvement in aviation comes into play. A bunch of old-timers (which I am slowly becoming every year) were talking J-3 Cubs and Piper and about how Mr. Taylor designed the original Cub, the founding of Taylorcraft, etc… Then I learned that the Taylorcraft was “…kind of a Cub, but with side-by-side seating and a faster wing allowing you to actually get places quicker.” I looked at a few pictures and saw a few at Oshkosh and started to swoon. Then I saw an ad for a local (2 hrs away), restored (in the last 20 years) Taylorcraft with only about 200hrs on a complete engine overhaul. It even had a maroon stripe down the side, which is my wife’s favorite color trim on a plane. Oh, and my borther-in-law who is a Boeing engineer kept egging me on to get a plane. That all sealed the deal and now we’re the proud new owners of a 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D.
About me and plans for the plane: These last few years I have come to really be impressed by all the innovation in the experimental and ultralight realms and have seen me gravitate to the South end of Oshkosh more and more. All this innovation has seemed to go hand-in-hand with all my increased interest in the various STOL competitions. I’m also addicted to tales of outdoor survival and I can’t get enough of video and television programs about bush planes, Alaska flying, etc... I knew enough about Taylorcraft before my purchase to know that without flaps it might not be an ideal STOL candidate (I have no aspirations to really compete) and then I saw a video about ArkenSTOL and saw a guy do the course in a Taylorcraft I almost fell out of my lawn chair. Vortex generators anyone?
I spent some time at the MicroAire vendor booth at Oshkosh and mulled over the $50 discount they had if I purchased a kit at the show. Having already bought the plane (I hadn’t even had time to bring the plane down to my local airport or get my tailwheel endorsement before Oshkosh kicked-off) and having wrote checks for insurance, Flight Review, and a bunch of other new-plane expenses I just couldn’t pull the trigger for VG’s. It seemed like an unnecessary purchase. Visions of having to finance unexpected repairs for the new plane, as well as the looming annual inspection in October and new hangar expenses slowed down the flow of cash out of my ever-lighter wallet. Besides, I had to get my wife the “My Husband is a Sexy Pilot” t-shirt and those bifocal sunglasses I swore I’d never wear. I drowned my sorrows in 70th Anniversary Oshkosh Beer so it was ok.
Back to the future plans. We own a farm and after the corn is harvested my new 1,200’ grass airstrip will begin to take form. I’m going to put up a 50’x30’ “agricultural” building to go with it. (No zoning hurdles when an Ag building goes up; a plane being in there is incidental.) My wife wanted the fancy lighted windsock for sale at Oshkosh, but as much as I admire her enthusiasm I didn’t want to put the cart before the horse. The T-craft doesn’t have lights anyways. Half the future strip will cross a current hayfield which I thought was great until I learned the difference between Orchard Grass, which grows in clumps (too bumpy) and Fescue…which is a “turf” grass. So the orchard grass will have to go.
Back to the VG’s. 1200’ grass strip. During my tailwheel transition I was able to execute one perfect landing (whew!) on a grass strip and came to a halt in 400 feet. Really not bad at all…and my strip will have a 2% gradient that starts about halfway down! That sounds good…when the wind is favorable. But I should be able to stop in 1200’ even with a slight downhill grade…unless it’s wet? Hmmm… VG’s may make their appearance yet, but I’m having fun exploring the performance of a “pure” Taylorcraft. But they might be great from a safety standpoint, if for no other reason. Anything to keep the insurance rates down.
Tires. I don’t live in Alaska and Taylorcraft have a limited useful load. That rules out 29” tires but some of the grass I’ve landed on have had their rough spots. 8.50 tires on my 6” rims would probably make my airplane happy and I could at least pretend to be a hotshot STOL pilot. Hey, some guys put $1500 winches on their truck and then drive to the grocery store….besides, my wife thinks I should get them. There is a theme here, but a happy wife equals a happy life. I still can’t believe she was excited about getting a plane. I don’t want to end a good thing. (And I still want that 1953 Cadillac…) The question is smoothies vs. treaded tires. I’m inclined to go with the treaded tires especially since there really isn’t much around here in the way of gravel strips and such. There is plenty of asphalt runway landing around here and the treaded are 6-ply and the smooth 4-ply. Please chime in with an opinion on this. Smoothies would complete the “look” but it’s real-world utility I’m looking for. Some have observed that with a plane as light as a Taylorcraft they have decent wear on the smooth tires.
Mods. I’m still just jazzed to have a plane. I got an external GoPro camera mount. My plane already has a Tanis heater with insulated engine cover and a dual EGT/CHT gauge (even though I don’t have a mixture control). With Garmin Pilot the plane thinks it has an HSI, vertical speed indicator, and sophisticated touch-screen navigation system. Having an IFR license means my brain is always scanning, and missing, those gauges I mentioned. I like the seat-of-the-pants nature of the 1946 panel and am learning to let it go. I thought I’d want rear quarter windows, but having flow the plane for 11 hours now I really only miss looking back when I check the flight controls at run-up. I’d still have to open the door to look at the rudder even with rear quarters. We’ll see. I think I would like full plexi doors so I can look down even more and am considering getting the field approval for the removal of one door for ‘aerial photography.’ Anyone who has this chime in with how windy it is. I’m looking into options for external storage for hunting/camping gear. Oh. I’m getting snow skis. Poor-man’s floats around here in Wisconsin where we can visit all kinds of restaurants once the lakes freeze. A-1500A skis are what I’m looking for and I’ll install the plastic bottoms.
That’s probably more than enough for this post. I’m excited to be part of the taylorcraft community and hope to see some of you in the future. I’m looking forward to learning more about our planes, places to go, and the inevitable maintenance tips. Oh, what grease do you use for tailwheel bearings, tailwheel pivot shaft, and main wheel bearings. I hear Aeroshell 5 or 22 for bearings. The manual says AN-G-15 for the shaft (which I believe is Aeroshell 15). I’m waiting to hear from the guy that did the last annual what he used, because it’s not really good to mix different greases and I am not eager to disassemble, degrease, and reassemble a perfectly good tailwheel assembly.
I started to fly in 1987 when I was 17 years old, working at an FBO at Galt Airport, Illinois (10C). Despite making next to nothing, I somehow managed to fly for 3 whole hours that summer. Time and money came and went. I worked at FBO’s at Midway Airport in Chicago, Georgia, joined the Air Force as an A-10 and F-16 mechanic. Took flight lessons on-and-off…and finally I got my Private Pilot Certificate in 2010 and my IFR in 2012. Maybe another time I will tell you how I got my IFR ticket ONE DAY before getting on a plane and moving to Okinawa Japan with the Navy (my wife reminds me of this every now-and-then).
Fast forward again now to 2023. I had been retired from the Navy for almost four years and had only logged 1.7 hours in the preceding 11 years…pilot certificate had lapsed…etc… I thank my continued involvement in the local EAA chapter for pushing me back into flying. I have a homebuild Pietenpol project that I had worked on here and there, took some EAA workshops, and did Air Venture every year now that it is only an hour away by car. It was a Young Eagles event that finally did it.
I had initially not signed my 12 year old son up for a Young Eagles flight because I didn’t want to use my position in the club to get him a slot at the expense of another kid that doesn’t have a parent involved in aviation. A day before the event there were still open times so I put his name down. Well, my wife brought him to the airport at the allotted time and he got to ride in a J-3. When he got off the plane he was smiling and jumping up and down like he won the lottery, regaling me and my wife with tales of aerial bravery at the controls “all by myself” in the back of the J-3. At the end of the event the volunteer pilots gave all us ground-based volunteers a ride and I was snapping selfies and sending them to my wife who texted me: “Just go ahead and get it over with and buy a plane already.” I have since framed the screenshot of that historic cellphone communique.
To my wife’s surprise I found my Taylorcraft three days later and the rest is, now history. Trade-a-plane should give me an honorary subscription or something because all these years I have almost religiously looked at Cessna 120’s and 140’s, Luscombes, and J-3’s for sale a few times a week. I could give you a detailed breakdown of the fair market value of these planes in various conditions at the drop of a hat. I know, some of us should get a life, but those addicted to aviation understand. And in case you think I am small minded, I’ve had various Grumman Goose, Beech Staggerwing, and Cessna 195’s picked-out in case I discover gold or strike oil on my property. Regardless, I already had 3 planes on my radar that week and started to pick up the phone and make some calls. (With cell phones, do we really “pick up” the phone anymore? Is it still called a phone? My kids look at me funny sometimes when I make references like this.)
So where does the Taylorcraft come into play? The short story is that Luscombes seem to take up a lot more runway than the 120/140’s and J-3’s, 120/140’s don’t seem to be quite as rugged as the J-3, and J-3’s have gotten expensive. The J-3 was still the plane for me, but my wife didn’t want to be sitting up front “all by myself” while I had all the fun in back. This is where involvement in aviation comes into play. A bunch of old-timers (which I am slowly becoming every year) were talking J-3 Cubs and Piper and about how Mr. Taylor designed the original Cub, the founding of Taylorcraft, etc… Then I learned that the Taylorcraft was “…kind of a Cub, but with side-by-side seating and a faster wing allowing you to actually get places quicker.” I looked at a few pictures and saw a few at Oshkosh and started to swoon. Then I saw an ad for a local (2 hrs away), restored (in the last 20 years) Taylorcraft with only about 200hrs on a complete engine overhaul. It even had a maroon stripe down the side, which is my wife’s favorite color trim on a plane. Oh, and my borther-in-law who is a Boeing engineer kept egging me on to get a plane. That all sealed the deal and now we’re the proud new owners of a 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D.
About me and plans for the plane: These last few years I have come to really be impressed by all the innovation in the experimental and ultralight realms and have seen me gravitate to the South end of Oshkosh more and more. All this innovation has seemed to go hand-in-hand with all my increased interest in the various STOL competitions. I’m also addicted to tales of outdoor survival and I can’t get enough of video and television programs about bush planes, Alaska flying, etc... I knew enough about Taylorcraft before my purchase to know that without flaps it might not be an ideal STOL candidate (I have no aspirations to really compete) and then I saw a video about ArkenSTOL and saw a guy do the course in a Taylorcraft I almost fell out of my lawn chair. Vortex generators anyone?
I spent some time at the MicroAire vendor booth at Oshkosh and mulled over the $50 discount they had if I purchased a kit at the show. Having already bought the plane (I hadn’t even had time to bring the plane down to my local airport or get my tailwheel endorsement before Oshkosh kicked-off) and having wrote checks for insurance, Flight Review, and a bunch of other new-plane expenses I just couldn’t pull the trigger for VG’s. It seemed like an unnecessary purchase. Visions of having to finance unexpected repairs for the new plane, as well as the looming annual inspection in October and new hangar expenses slowed down the flow of cash out of my ever-lighter wallet. Besides, I had to get my wife the “My Husband is a Sexy Pilot” t-shirt and those bifocal sunglasses I swore I’d never wear. I drowned my sorrows in 70th Anniversary Oshkosh Beer so it was ok.
Back to the future plans. We own a farm and after the corn is harvested my new 1,200’ grass airstrip will begin to take form. I’m going to put up a 50’x30’ “agricultural” building to go with it. (No zoning hurdles when an Ag building goes up; a plane being in there is incidental.) My wife wanted the fancy lighted windsock for sale at Oshkosh, but as much as I admire her enthusiasm I didn’t want to put the cart before the horse. The T-craft doesn’t have lights anyways. Half the future strip will cross a current hayfield which I thought was great until I learned the difference between Orchard Grass, which grows in clumps (too bumpy) and Fescue…which is a “turf” grass. So the orchard grass will have to go.
Back to the VG’s. 1200’ grass strip. During my tailwheel transition I was able to execute one perfect landing (whew!) on a grass strip and came to a halt in 400 feet. Really not bad at all…and my strip will have a 2% gradient that starts about halfway down! That sounds good…when the wind is favorable. But I should be able to stop in 1200’ even with a slight downhill grade…unless it’s wet? Hmmm… VG’s may make their appearance yet, but I’m having fun exploring the performance of a “pure” Taylorcraft. But they might be great from a safety standpoint, if for no other reason. Anything to keep the insurance rates down.
Tires. I don’t live in Alaska and Taylorcraft have a limited useful load. That rules out 29” tires but some of the grass I’ve landed on have had their rough spots. 8.50 tires on my 6” rims would probably make my airplane happy and I could at least pretend to be a hotshot STOL pilot. Hey, some guys put $1500 winches on their truck and then drive to the grocery store….besides, my wife thinks I should get them. There is a theme here, but a happy wife equals a happy life. I still can’t believe she was excited about getting a plane. I don’t want to end a good thing. (And I still want that 1953 Cadillac…) The question is smoothies vs. treaded tires. I’m inclined to go with the treaded tires especially since there really isn’t much around here in the way of gravel strips and such. There is plenty of asphalt runway landing around here and the treaded are 6-ply and the smooth 4-ply. Please chime in with an opinion on this. Smoothies would complete the “look” but it’s real-world utility I’m looking for. Some have observed that with a plane as light as a Taylorcraft they have decent wear on the smooth tires.
Mods. I’m still just jazzed to have a plane. I got an external GoPro camera mount. My plane already has a Tanis heater with insulated engine cover and a dual EGT/CHT gauge (even though I don’t have a mixture control). With Garmin Pilot the plane thinks it has an HSI, vertical speed indicator, and sophisticated touch-screen navigation system. Having an IFR license means my brain is always scanning, and missing, those gauges I mentioned. I like the seat-of-the-pants nature of the 1946 panel and am learning to let it go. I thought I’d want rear quarter windows, but having flow the plane for 11 hours now I really only miss looking back when I check the flight controls at run-up. I’d still have to open the door to look at the rudder even with rear quarters. We’ll see. I think I would like full plexi doors so I can look down even more and am considering getting the field approval for the removal of one door for ‘aerial photography.’ Anyone who has this chime in with how windy it is. I’m looking into options for external storage for hunting/camping gear. Oh. I’m getting snow skis. Poor-man’s floats around here in Wisconsin where we can visit all kinds of restaurants once the lakes freeze. A-1500A skis are what I’m looking for and I’ll install the plastic bottoms.
That’s probably more than enough for this post. I’m excited to be part of the taylorcraft community and hope to see some of you in the future. I’m looking forward to learning more about our planes, places to go, and the inevitable maintenance tips. Oh, what grease do you use for tailwheel bearings, tailwheel pivot shaft, and main wheel bearings. I hear Aeroshell 5 or 22 for bearings. The manual says AN-G-15 for the shaft (which I believe is Aeroshell 15). I’m waiting to hear from the guy that did the last annual what he used, because it’s not really good to mix different greases and I am not eager to disassemble, degrease, and reassemble a perfectly good tailwheel assembly.
Anyways: I was sitting with some friends telling tall tales the other day at the airport. You should have seen the looks of disbelief and horror after I told a guy that I don't have an artificial horizon in the T'craft. He had just got done saying that he'd never fly with an inoperative artificial horizon (people were talking about the latest Garmin MFD's). I told him that in my experience the batteries in the natural horizon have never died, although it gets a little dim in the evening. I did mention the bubble gauge though...which I guess makes my plane not a plane at all but a Taylorcraft-brand level. 
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