Tristar
Pattern Altitude
Last weekend was the Cessna Pilot Center conference in Wichita. Three of us from my flight school flew down in a 182RG to join in and learn about new ways to interact with customers as well as better teaching methods. I had the wonderful opportunity to have lunch with John King and of course hear his exciting tale on being handcuffed. Our table also had the opportunity to work with Martha in redesigning one of our pre-written lesson plans from the online Cessna syllabus our students are using. We modified it to the challenges of Lincoln, NE such as how to deal with tall towers when the clouds are dropping/low visibility etc. One of the best presentations was Red Bird Flight Simulations. They're designing a program to simulate ATC with voice recognition called the "Parrot" program. Unexpectedly, John King walks into the room dressed as a very colorful and loud parrot! The entire room roared with laughter! The guy giving the presentation laughed and said, "someone help! This wasn't on the agenda!" It was quite entertaining!
The best part was of course the flight in the Skycatcher. I didn't expect getting on the list to be as easy as it was with so much interest but sure enough, 11am was my slot!
The Skycatcher in my opinion is very much cessna's version of an ultralight..but then again that's why it's called a light sport. The aircraft itself is built for lightweight and, according to cessna, people over 5'6". You cannot raise the seat and I did sit lower in it than is available in the 172s but I'm 5'4" and didn't have a problem. I have to say IMO the aircraft is more challenging to taxi because of the differential braking that is used to steer. The max demonstrated, or as the demo pilot put it.."recommended" is a total of 22kts from any direction. That day it was Gusting to 22 which was perfect to see its reaction.
If you're used to a 172, the controls are a lot lighter on takeoff. Use two fingers and it'll practically jump off the ground in a very short time. It was interesting considering I expected it to feel heavier but that airplane wants to fly...and climb!
We flew out to the west practice area to clear ICT's airspace at about 3,000ft. The "stoke" is pretty intuitive to fly with. Your pilot instincts kick in so that was no big deal. The demo pilot let me take it through its paces of climbs, medium and steep turns, as well as a power off stall. It feels like a very light 152...go figure. All the turns felt natural. The stall is just like a 152 stall although, be careful instructors, skycatchers are prohibited against spins unlike a 152 and 172.
After getting a good feel for the airplane, we headed back in for a few landings. One caution I'll give is if you're strictly a 172 pilot, the skycatcher sits a lot lower to the ground, so as in any low sitting aircraft, flare lower. The approach speed is 65 and then it bleeds off to 50 as you cross the numbers. If you love old cherokees and cessnas, you'll love the flaps. It has the Johnson bar in the center between the two seats. I was able to land the airplane twice with very little coaching even in the 22kts but I'm used to a lot higher in Nebraska. I was surprised at why they'd set such a low limit with how easy it was to control but apparently their reasoning is because of the low stall speeds. I'm not sure I understand that since the stall flaps down is around 39, and stall for the 172 flaps down is 40. I see it more as a weight issue in the fact that the plane just may not land!
The airplane is wonderful in the aspect that it's "just another cessna." Although I will be curious to see how students feel about it. You feel every bump turbulence has to offer. It's harder to steer than it is to fly and you MUST be gentle on the controls. I'm concerned that flight schools will be going through a lot of break pads. Although if you don't know the difference between aircraft when you learn to fly, it will be normal. All in all, I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to fly the airplane everyone has been so excited about! I flew #9 off the production line. It's a fun and very sporty little airplane!
The best part was of course the flight in the Skycatcher. I didn't expect getting on the list to be as easy as it was with so much interest but sure enough, 11am was my slot!
The Skycatcher in my opinion is very much cessna's version of an ultralight..but then again that's why it's called a light sport. The aircraft itself is built for lightweight and, according to cessna, people over 5'6". You cannot raise the seat and I did sit lower in it than is available in the 172s but I'm 5'4" and didn't have a problem. I have to say IMO the aircraft is more challenging to taxi because of the differential braking that is used to steer. The max demonstrated, or as the demo pilot put it.."recommended" is a total of 22kts from any direction. That day it was Gusting to 22 which was perfect to see its reaction.
If you're used to a 172, the controls are a lot lighter on takeoff. Use two fingers and it'll practically jump off the ground in a very short time. It was interesting considering I expected it to feel heavier but that airplane wants to fly...and climb!
We flew out to the west practice area to clear ICT's airspace at about 3,000ft. The "stoke" is pretty intuitive to fly with. Your pilot instincts kick in so that was no big deal. The demo pilot let me take it through its paces of climbs, medium and steep turns, as well as a power off stall. It feels like a very light 152...go figure. All the turns felt natural. The stall is just like a 152 stall although, be careful instructors, skycatchers are prohibited against spins unlike a 152 and 172.
After getting a good feel for the airplane, we headed back in for a few landings. One caution I'll give is if you're strictly a 172 pilot, the skycatcher sits a lot lower to the ground, so as in any low sitting aircraft, flare lower. The approach speed is 65 and then it bleeds off to 50 as you cross the numbers. If you love old cherokees and cessnas, you'll love the flaps. It has the Johnson bar in the center between the two seats. I was able to land the airplane twice with very little coaching even in the 22kts but I'm used to a lot higher in Nebraska. I was surprised at why they'd set such a low limit with how easy it was to control but apparently their reasoning is because of the low stall speeds. I'm not sure I understand that since the stall flaps down is around 39, and stall for the 172 flaps down is 40. I see it more as a weight issue in the fact that the plane just may not land!
The airplane is wonderful in the aspect that it's "just another cessna." Although I will be curious to see how students feel about it. You feel every bump turbulence has to offer. It's harder to steer than it is to fly and you MUST be gentle on the controls. I'm concerned that flight schools will be going through a lot of break pads. Although if you don't know the difference between aircraft when you learn to fly, it will be normal. All in all, I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to fly the airplane everyone has been so excited about! I flew #9 off the production line. It's a fun and very sporty little airplane!
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