Your longest Taylorcraft flight

[Tom G]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

I guess I haven't gone that far! Right now the longest is from Somerset NJ to Alliance Ohio for the fly-in. When I retire I want to fly it across the country and back.

[baldeagle27]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Flew my '39 BC-65 (65hp, 12 gals. gas) from Front Royal, VA to Paso Robles, CA in 4 1/2 days (in 1996), via Dayton, St. Louis, Albuquerque, Winslow (over the metoer crater), 29 Palms, lots of desert. Highest airport Gallup, NM, 6,472 elevation. Two of us, and our stuff, got to 9,400 feet at one point. Worked out there for 5 months till I couldn't stand my boss any more, and moved back to VA. Wanted to see some states I hadn't been to yet, so flew the Taylorcraft north, over the Golden Gate, up to Oregon, Washington, Coeur D'Alene, ID, Glacier Nat'l Park, Montana, did a pylon turn over Devil's Tower, WY, flew over Mt. Rushmore, over the badlands of S. Dakota, stopped in Nebraska, (my 49th state, not all flying, only HI left), on to Wisconsin, and then back to VA. Alone on the way home, got to 10,600 feet over the Rockies. Don't remember how many flying hours, but boy I wish I could do that again. One of these days...

Did go VA to Wisconsin and back this past summer-


And no GPS, used the compass and maps....

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Okay Andrew and other guys. THIS YEAR I will do this stuff. I have only gone on Taylorcraft ferry flights one way to Georgia, Eastern seaboard lots of places, nothing west of the Mississippi. Almost got to AK , young ferry pilot beat me to the job, he ran off runway in N. Dakota somewhere. Happy New Year, in office doing end of year stuff.

[SteveR]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

I once flew with a friend (CraigH, I believe he is a member here) in his F21B from Graham, TX (near DFW) to Leadville, Colorado and back. That was a great trip:

http://www.wotelectronics.com/flying/2004Jul03-Leadville-CO/

I took this somewhere over the panhandle of Texas, headed to Dalhart:



In Colorado, between Canon City and Buena Vista:



Between Buena Vista and Leadville:




On the ground, at 10,000':

[Len Petterson]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

On the ground @ 10 000 ft how long was take of run ?
F 19 108 hp I asume.

[Ron Coleman]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

I'M curious too... How long before you can get the tail up and how long before you have rudder authority? Is landing on hard surfaces at 10,000 feet more difficult than keeping it straight at sea level? What do you think is the actual touch down speed?

Great photo's.
RonC

[CraigH]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

On the ground @ 10 000 ft how long was take of run ?
F 19 108 hp I asume.

I'M curious too... How long before you can get the tail up and how long before you have rudder authority? Is landing on hard surfaces at 10,000 feet more difficult than keeping it straight at sea level? What do you think is the actual touch down speed?

Great photo's.
RonC

I honestly can't remember how long the take-off run was, but do remember it being much shorter than expected. Maybe Steve's memory is better than mine, but I'd guess well under 2000ft. The plane was a 118hp F21B. The landing wasn't really anything out of the ordinary - the plane handled the altitude very well. We did a test flight in preparation for the trip by loading the plane with full fuel (42 gallons), 200lbs of weight in the baggage compartment and two of us onboard. Then we climbed up to 12,500ft on a 90+F day and did a series of steep turns, stalls, etc to see how the plane would perform. Rate of climb in that configuration was still around 250fpm. Not too shabby.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

You DID intend to say 20# of baggage, not 200# didn't you?!?!?!? If not, how much for your engine? Name your price!
I would be interested in the rest of the plane too. Money is no object.

Hank(;f

[CraigH]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Nope, 200lbs. F21B has a 200lb baggage compartment.

If you want to buy the plane, you'll have to talk to the current owner in Alaska.

[SteveR]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

I have always had in my head that we got off the ground right around the 2,000' marker. And it was 200lbs of baggage on the test flight...I remember lugging a huge bag full of books out to the plane, just for ballast.

The F21B was a great plane...with two people I think it would climb at 1,500-1,700FPM.

[CraigH]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Found this on YouTube. A video of our landing in Canon City enroute to Leadville:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=II1ZN1cTfS4

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

HOLY FREHOLIES!! 1,500 to 1,700 fpm with 200# of baggage! I had NO idea an F-21 could do that. I think my BC-12-65 is fantastic with MY pile-O-lard and an EMPTY bagage sling in it!
Hank
(Of course my ROC was busted at the time and indicated direction more than magnitude, but it WAS going UP.)

[Forrest Barber]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Sweet Jesus, did anybody read my old post about flight testing the F-21's with Lyc 118 hp. Those ships were amazing, I was grossed at 1750# ( in the F21B prototype) , a wee bit over for fuel burn off so I hit 15,000 ft at 1750 lbs. ; I had no xponder, Dorothy really did not own one at the factory.
I had radio back to the ground at 2D1 ( Alliance, Oh) and the factory right down the road. As I approached 18,000 I was still climbing around 125 ft per minute. I asked what to do , Kris the engineer took my readings, temp , altitude, flight angle and said to stop at 18 . I sneaked up to 18,500 and she was till going up, slow BUT up! Nice ride down too, spun her from 10,000 down to 2000 . Ah those were the days.

[murphy]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Now I never see 1500/1700 FPM climbs here at sea level more like 1000 FPM but my F21A (118hp) will get off the ground about quicker than anything around here in the 115/150 HP range. I have been to 15000 and it was still climbing stronge. Just a hell of a good airplane.
Mike

[dadam]

Re: Your longest Taylorcraft flight

Here is the show stopper for longest in a tcart, I believe. (bc12d 65) Hans is a fellow from Qualicum Beach, on Vancouver Island, BC Canada. He flew from home, down the west coast of north and south america, up the east coast of south, and north america, to Gander, then across to Greenland. He turned around there, and came back to Qualicum. His story, photos, etc, are available for viewing at: http://members.shaw.ca/spiritonashoestring/

ps the flight (nonstop) from gander to greenland ...10 hours