Can it be I am virtually too fat?

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Bruce66
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Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Bruce66 »

I just (finally!) bought the Cub and took the floats out for a flight yesterday.

I put my real weight in for the pilot, took Heidi along for a laugh and let her bring a makeup bag, camera etc (about 20lbs I reckoned).

So paddle out, start up (Refuge Cove in ORBX PNW by the way), and full power.

Real time weather so it was a bit cold +3 C I think. I got up on the step and motored along for ages. Finally got in the air but still took quite a while to get any altitude.

I can only assume I am too fat for this little thing. Sadly I killed my passenger when I flew up a cul de sac and couldn't climb out the end.

None of this is a complaint by the way. I really must read the manual and learn the limits of the aircraft before taking passengers and luggage.

I am curious though, do others here use their real weight in the planes they are flying?
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CessnaSkypilotN7365W
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by CessnaSkypilotN7365W »

Most definitely I use my real weight when I fly.

Adds to the realism.

Roger

ps,,, sorry to hear about Heide :(

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Bruce66
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Bruce66 »

Oh girls like Heidi are a dime a dozen. Its the plane that worries me!! :wink:

I suppose though at least the Cub isn't a perpetual airframe like my other A2A aircraft (or is it and I missed something). I really must get that manual read!
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by CessnaSkypilotN7365W »

Bruce66 wrote:Oh girls like Heidi are a dime a dozen. Its the plane that worries me!! :wink:
:lol:

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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Hook »

Real time weather so it was a bit cold +3 C I think. I got up on the step and motored along for ages. Finally got in the air but still took quite a while to get any altitude.
Yeah, sounds about like a real Cub. :) The temperature helped but the floats added weight and slowed you down. Climb rate is about 200 to 300 feet per minute at best. It is all part of the "Cub experience."

If you did a pre-flight run up and the engine worked well on either magneto alone then you probably didn't have a power problem. You shouldn't be seeing lots of smoke coming from the engine. If your RPM was low then you may have had a problem. You did let the engine warm up before trying to take off, right? There isn't much to the Cub, but it all matters.

Hook

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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Bruce66 »

Yup engine was running well and warm. I was just overloaded I think.

The cold air should have given a little more lift but I had the carb heat on as I went up the canyon due to the light clouds. Might have had enough power without the carb heat but then I may have had carb icing

Best idea would have been to climb before I went over the island but I wanted to show Heidi the scenery

Turns out she was psychic - she kept screaming "We are going to die!" And she was right!
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by CessnaSkypilotN7365W »

don't know much about the cub except I had an rc one once.
Does that engine have carb heat. Maybe a little ice in the carb?

Roger

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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Hook »

The cold air should have given a little more lift but I had the carb heat on as I went up the canyon due to the light clouds. Might have had enough power without the carb heat but then I may have had carb icing
Always keep an eye on your RPMs. They usually let you know if you have problems. A2A has done a fantastic job on this. Other planes have heart, but A2A planes got *soul*! :D

Don't expect too much performance out of the Cub. :)

To answer your question, I usually put 220 as the pilot weight when I fly the Cub.

Hook

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Bruce66
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Bruce66 »

Ya that's about what I put as well. The default is 170 but it is a long time since I have seen that part of the dial on my scales!
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Lewis - A2A »

The cub is a tiny little thing a little person carrier more than anything else, 20lb for makeup up alone is certainly pushing it.

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Bruce66
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Bruce66 »

Lewis - A2A wrote:The cub is a tiny little thing a little person carrier more than anything else, 20lb for makeup up alone is certainly pushing it.

cheers,
Lewis
What can I say, Heidi looks like that kind of girl!

(When we travel with the kids I carry a 50 LD pack - nothing for me as I can buy it when I get there, maybe half for the kids in snacks and changes of clothes in case of accidents and the rest is my wife's 'maintainence kit' I guess we won't take the kids out in the Cub like we might in the Comanche.
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Scott - A2A »

Bruce,

Weight (and the accompanying size) is a major concern for flying. These aren't car seats bolted with steel, rather all aluminum. Once a passenger is over 250lbs, it starts to become a safety issue in small airplanes. A pilot also needs to be able to remove someone from a burning wreck if they are unconscious.

If you the pilot are heavier than 250lbs, it's less of an issue than a passenger.

Scott.
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Bruce66
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by Bruce66 »

Scott - A2A wrote:Bruce,

Weight (and the accompanying size) is a major concern for flying. These aren't car seats bolted with steel, rather all aluminum. Once a passenger is over 250lbs, it starts to become a safety issue in small airplanes. A pilot also needs to be able to remove someone from a burning wreck if they are unconscious.

If you the pilot are heavier than 250lbs, it's less of an issue than a passenger.

Scott.
Well I am a ways off 250 lbs still so no worries there then. Good point about removing someone from the wreck though - similar logic to being able to lift your motorcycle in case you or a passenger wind up underneath it.

I think where I went wrong on this flight was I was thinking in terms of the Tiger Moth which is superficially similar. The Tiger Moth has no problem carrying two grown men and carry-on baggage. But thinking more about it there is no real similarity at all except they are both aircraft. A noob mistake. Moral of the story - Read the Manual before you fly (good thing its a simulator!)
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Re: Can it be I am virtually too fat?

Post by CessnaSkypilotN7365W »

Bruce66 wrote:Good point about removing someone from the wreck though - similar logic to being able to lift your motorcycle in case you or a passenger wind up underneath it.
Lift with your legs, of course as long as they aren't under said bike :lol: :lol: :lol: :roll:

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