Ifr Bc-12?

[Greg Bockelman]

Can a BC-12 be certified for IFR Flight?

[flyguy]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

You mean you have to be certified? JK.
DC

[Frank DeBartolo]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

BC12 is already certified for IFR--I follow Roads, I follow Rivers, I follow Railroad Tracks

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Frank D

[astjp2]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

Sure, just add heated pitot tube, deicing boots on the prop, heated leading edge, window defrosters, and with all of those fancy instruments, the pilot should beable to weigh about 65 lbs and haul about 8 gallons of gas. Dont forget that you still probably will not beable to fly into icing conditions...hahahahaha Tim

if you want to practice ifr, you could add the instruments but you would lose sooo much of your useful that it would be cheaper and easier to rent a 150....

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

It would take a lot of equipment and a new panel to make it an IFR legal.

Mike

[Greg Bockelman]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

It would take a lot of equipment and a new panel to make it an IFR legal.

Mike

Not talking about mine. A friend has a buddy that is looking at one that is supposedly equipped but he wasn't sure it COULD be IFR certified because the TCDS does not specify that it can.

[DanBrown]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

Yes, but why would you use an early T-Craft for a planned hard IFR flight? IMHO it is the wrong equipment for that. Would you really want to plan for a cross country, missed approach, going to an alternate plus 45 minute fuel reserve at 80 knots? And many places in the country, you also need oxygen for safe IFR flights. I could see having the avionics and training so you might expand the envelope of VFR flights you would undertake, knowing that if the weather is worse than forecast, you have a safety valve. For me, when I was flying IFR regularly, the minimum equipment I was comfortable with was a C-180 or better.

Now, I'm just happy to be able to continue getting up in the air on good VFR days and enjoying the feeling of beauty all around me when flying. When I plan cross country flights, I have enough time to wait until the weather clears -- whatever that takes. I'm no longer happy flying in MVFR conditions.

[Larry Lyons]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

40 years ago we had a pilot (Attorney) in Freeport, IL. that regularly flew an IFR equipped Luscom. Even had redundecy where needed, however he was over gross at take off with a full load of fuel, his wife, and himself. LOL But you could shave in the luster of the polish job. It was a beautiful bird! Larry

[Greg Bockelman]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

Well the point, as I understand it, is this particular airplane is mostly equipped already and the guy wants it as a trainer, not a serious go places IFR airplane.

[fearofpavement]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

Well, to answer the original question, as to whether a T-craft of that model can be certified for IFR flight, I would say no since it is not on the TCDS. However, an STC is a modification of the original type certificate so if they received an STC certifying the aircraft for instrument flight then of course it could be used for that.

I don't think a Taylorcraft could meet the minimum equipment requirements and still have enough usefull load to carry a passenger.

Now, on the other hand, if he is interested in using it as a trainer there is no reason it couldn't be equipped with enough basic instruments to allow that assuming "light" people are being trained. An aircraft does not have to be IFR certified to be used for instrument training as long as they stay out of IMC conditions (and don't file an IFR flight plan). It would probably not be suitable for all of the instrument training but could be used for the large majority of the required training and would certainly be inexpensive to operate. I would think that this type of aircraft may not meet the expectations of the current generation of students...

All that said, I think it would be trying to squeeze the T-craft into a shape it wasn't intended to be and if he wants an IMC weather IFR trainer perhaps a Cessna 150 or 172 would be more practical.

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

Our F-21 was an IFR trainer. The hardest part I can see about using a Taylorcraft for an IFR trainer is holding altitude when being beat to death by thermals.

Mike

[lfries]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

I've always thought how neat it would be to go into a busy CT airport actual IFR down to near minimums and land in my taylorcraft. The purpose of the flight only being to do it.

[fearofpavement]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

I've always thought how neat it would be to go into a busy CT airport actual IFR down to near minimums and land in my taylorcraft. The purpose of the flight only being to do it.

Going into any airport at IFR minimums in any plane is neat! Especially if it is a dark and stormy night and you would rather be in the pilot's lounge than in the sky! A taylorcraft showing up in such conditions would startle the tower personnel though...

[astjp2]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

I love flying cross country with out a xponder even, the controllers love it when I call, "negative transponder, no electrical system!" I dont think that most newer controllers even realize that its legal to fly without them outside of class A or B. I do enjoy correcting them when I have had to call them after landing....Tim

[DanBrown]

Re: Ifr Bc-12?

Going into any airport at IFR minimums in any plane is neat! Especially if it is a dark and stormy night and you would rather be in the pilot's lounge than in the sky! A taylorcraft showing up in such conditions would startle the tower personnel though...

Even more so in an WWI era open cockpit biplane

On the training issue, a part of my IFR training was in actual conditions -- that was really valuable in giving me confidence that I could really do that on my own. Of course that was in the days when I could shoot practice ILS and GCA approaches into LAX. Any you stiil had to have a notation in your logs that you qualified on the A-N ranges. Wow -- does that date me.

Dan