My New Toy!

[Gr8ful]

Got my new plane home so I thought I'd share my excitement! I've owned many aircraft. Learned in a 1940 Taylorcraft on ski's. Taylor made the Cub then partnered with Piper (the money man) Taylor was bedridden for a year & Piper took the company so he went to Alliance Oh & made a side by side that outperformed everthing in it's class. I've owned several Tcrafts, Ultralights, Powered Parachutes & a Beech V tail Bonanza(in the factory @ same time)of the one Buddy Holly died in. I can barely walk so I needed a 2 Axis(no pedals)& one I can get in. Bought a Weedhopper 40 in Phoenix in 2000 & got snowed in Albuquerque. Sold it to a gent from KY who owned an orig he bought as a kit in 1980 (same as in the article below & basically had worn out flying off a 300' mountain top. We kept in touch & he said the mod 40 climbed like a rocket. I always regretted not flying it. It's rated 8+ Gs,more than a Cessna Aerobat. Had many Phantoms @9 Gs but they're wire braced & I can't get in. W-Hs were so advanced at the time,steerable nose wheel, struts, not cables, made to haul in a pick up or 5'x8' trailer with 1/2 hr set-up & take down & still improving. 2 builders I know of still build them to order. Mine was made for a 280# guy so it's 2 place tubing & extra wing ribs.W-H is the only A/C co I know that made their own Chotia engines. Mines 2 years old w/100 hrs & the 447 sent to a Rotax Repair Center for complete inspection. I hope to beat the TWA (world's tiniest airport) landing.Seller had $15k+,Paid $5k & split with 83 Y/O neighbor. Sorry to Bore you!
https://www.si.edu/object/weedhoppe...October 1981,but continued on the Weedhopper.

 

[NctryBen]

Well, congratulations... I hope your always safe and you sound quite experienced so I do not doubt you won’t be. Enjoy and send a picture of you landing that shortest runway landing... would be cool.

 

[Gr8ful]

Thanks! Will do.

 

[rruff]

Looks like fun!

 

[Gr8ful]

I have simple plans for a smoke system & drum of smoke oil aka 5w mineral oil. Here's more WeedHopper info for those interested as it was made to haul in a pickup or 5x8 trailer & 1/2 hr set up/tear down.Every airport that has ever taken $1 fed money must allow ultralights to fly there. https://www.ulav8r.com/library.htm

 

[Carla618]

Got my new plane home so I thought I'd share my excitement! I've owned many aircraft...

I couldn't get to your link, but I found another at the Smithsonian:

https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/weedhopper-jc-24c/nasm_A19820536000

 

[Gr8ful]

The Smithsonian has all those famous planes & chose one to represent each era. I was surprised it was the WeedHopper as John Chotia died in late '81 test flying the "Rocket model" but had planes being built in at least 3 counties & his design still lives on & slowly improves. Popular Mechanics had him design & draw a set of plans for a wood ultralight easy & cheap to build in a home workshop or garage in '78. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choti...er was featured on,estimated at 250–300 hours.

 

[eDJ_]

Congrats on your acquisition

Just curious Gr8ful, since you were around the Cubs and Taylorcrafts.....did you ever see one of these ?

W-5 Wittman Buttercup STOL.

The unconventional slat moves in and out of the leading edge of the wing.

I've only seen these in pictures & youtube videos.

 

[Gr8ful]

I've seen several planes with slats & spoilers. I was building a Hot Rod Tcraft that just needed covering when I broke my back. It has a fresh Lyc O-32O B2B 160HP in the experimental Homebuilt class & had spoilers. The weedhopper will have Vortex Generators on top of the wing. They break up the air flow for better climb & lower stall speed & are even sold on Amazon. As far as the Wittman I think they have or had one I saw at AirVenture at the Antique hangers & grass strip or the museum. You know AirVenture is held the last week of July at OshKosh at Wittman field & is the busiest airport in the world one week a year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittman_Regional_Airporthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wittman_Regional_AirportI've flown into AirVenture several times & couldn't the year I broke my back. I always was PIC when I flew with my friend I split the Weedhopper with so he dropped the flaps too soon when departing AirVenture in a Piper Tri-Pacer & put all 4 of them in the hospital, but no deaths or fire just 4 men a bit uglier. Now you have to make reservations to fly in. Someone dies every year. Worst I saw was a big old Military tailwheel behind a a small alum 2 seat home built. When everyone was departing the Mil tailwheel couldn't see the small homebuilt & sliced it like a spiral ham killing the passenger. The Wittman in your picture is a 1937 registered to the EAA Foundation in Oshkosh so you can arrange to see it. Here's the info. Let me know if you go or if I can help. STOL is for Short Take Off And Landing https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult

 

[eDJ_]

Where I live a short grass field would be about the most available. A plane that could handle that, like the W-5 would be a prize for an owner.

Virtual Cockpit W-5

W-5 Overview

Oshkosh flyby

Slat operation of W-5 wing



So this will wrap up my FYI Gr8ful

 

[Gr8ful]

I have 2 1000' grass strips here on the farm. The Taylorcrafts takes 2-300' to TO & Land. The Vrail Bonanza 500' w/60 gal of fuel. Most U/Ls about 100' A Tcraft is one of very few GA planes if you can land you can always take off. The round bottom wing flies just as well upside down & makes a great plane for aerobatics.
https://images.app.goo.gl/Ad5V3EcvhCq5f2oW6

 

[eDJ_]

There are some Taylorcrafts & Luscombes around here yet. The Stinsons and Cubs are long gone. But I've seen some Tri Pacers, Aeronca Champs (CAP flies one...early afternoon and evening river patrol) and there are still Cessna 170's,'s, and 185 yet. Otherwise there are a few light twins owned by business professionals. Most exotic is the occasional Belanca Citabria, Stearman biplane, and a Pitt Special. For so many the parasail ultralights have become the thing as they are affordable and can operate from their small strips on their acreage.

It seems people here just don't live as they did in the 50;s and 60's. But the Micro Vortex items make sense.

 

[maki2]

I have friends with a hangar full of vintage aircraft. Early Cessnas, two Staggewing Beech Aircrafr, a Stearman Biplane and more including some newer airplanes such as the Husky. The hangar is on their farm in Idaho Falls snd has its own grass airfield. Flying is something the now 5 generations of the family is committed to. They are also committed to Harley motorcycles and have both vintage and new ones. The family hobby is restoration and maintenance of their treasures. The Stearman and the Staggerwings have been in various advertising films as well as movies.

 

[Gr8ful]

The Stagger Beech & the Taylorcrafthave rge same round bottom airfoil or wing. That's why they fly as well inverted & make such good aerobatic planes. Herre's Bob Hoover flying a very early Weedhopper, go to post #12 https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=19460.0

 

[maki2]

I have flown in a friend’s Aeronca Champ in the mid 1980s. There is a lot of vintage aircraft around in NW Washington. Which makes sense as there are a lot of aircraft folks working at Boeing over the years. Of course the EAA Fly-in at Arlington, WA happens there because of that influence. It is not just about experimental aircraft, the vintage aircraft that are there outnumber the experimental ones.

 

[hugemoth]

I have flown in a friend’s Aeronca Champ in the mid 1980s. There is a lot of vintage aircraft around in NW Washington. Which makes sense as there are a lot of aircraft folks working at Boeing over the years. Of course the EAA Fly-in at Arlington, WA happens there because of that influence. It is not just about experimental aircraft, the vintage aircraft that are there outnumber the experimental ones.

Me and a bunch of friends have PPCs that we haul around the west to camp and fly in beautiful places. Lots of great times since 1997. Used to haul the PPC in the bed of my old Toyota pickup and pull a homade teardrop.

 

[Gr8ful]

I've had 3 PPCs, a 2 sear Paracender, a Sng seat Buckeye & Palladin Sng seat that steered with a trike bar as I knew my legs were failing. I like anything that fly's except the PPGs you have to run to kite the chute. Flying for fun is PURE MAGIC!

 

[Malamute]

Well thanks. Thanks a lot. Just when I thought i knew how to spend my limited time and resources, old motorcycles and a cargo trailer camper build, you go and post this. The cost is much less than I expected.

I saw this several years ago and its intrigued me. Id love to have one I could take my dog or another person.

 

[hugemoth]

Well thanks. Thanks a lot. Just when I thought i knew how to spend my limited time and resources, old motorcycles and a cargo trailer camper build, you go and post this. The cost is much less than I expected.

I saw this several years ago and its intrigued me. Id love to have one I could take my dog or another person.

The Three Sisters Mountains near Bend are just a short hop from my house. A bit cold but beautiful scenery.

Well thanks. Thanks a lot. Just when I thought i knew how to spend my limited time and resources, old motorcycles and a cargo trailer camper build, you go and post this. The cost is much less than I expected.

I saw this several years ago and its intrigued me. Id love to have one I could take my dog or another person.

 

[Gr8ful]

I learned on wooden ski's on the 1940 Taylorcraft & around SW MI almost everywhere is a place to land in the winter after the lakes freeze & the crops are off. Anywhere you stand in MI you're within 3 miles of a body of water. GET HIGH, GO FLY!
And to everyone who isn't going to get a Magic Flying Machine go for a tandem skydive. About $200 here for a 14,000' ride with a Jump Master. If you like it & get a license & your own rig it's a very cheap sport. Tecumseh, Mi DZ has an Early Bird 9AM special $20 to take you to 14,000' GOOD to the LAST DROP