|
|
|
|
Pete's RV-8 Web Site
|
Date: 6-9-2009
|
Number of Hours: 0.00
|
Manual Reference:
|
Brief Description: My Current Wings - Page 1
|
|
My Current Wings
Page 1
Well, it’s 9 June 2009 and here I sit waiting for delivery of my wing kit. It’s obvious now the order should have been sent earlier but I had to go through my usual hand-wringing routine over the stock market and general state of the economy. The “Worry Bird” moniker for a paint scheme is looking more appropriate all the time. Anyway, I am not getting any younger so it was past time to quit delaying and make a move. In the words of Admiral Farragut, “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead”. For now though, I am laying at anchor in anticipation.
To occupy my time, I thought it might be interesting to write briefly about my current wings, a ’77 Piper Archer II, and how it came to be. In the 1980s I was flying a mix of Skyhawks, Cherokees, Archers, and the ocassional Decathlon but most of my time was in a Cessna Hawk XP II owned by a friend.
The Hawk XP is a great airplane. For those who may not know, it’s essentially a Cessna Skyhawk with a big engine. The model I flew, a 1980 R172K, had a Continental IO-360KB engine with a McCauley constant speed prop. The engine was capable of 210 horsepower but had a prop governor limiting the horsepower to 195. Nevertheless, the overall performance of the airplane was phenomenal and the sound of the Continental was great. The plane was well equipped for instrument flight including two altimeters, DME, multiple VORs, glide slope, etc. The only thing missing was a Loran/C or GPS. The aircraft also had two 34 gallon fuel tanks for long range (longer range than me).
Cont'd
|
|
Cessna Hawk XP II
|
|
Younger Days
|
|
A Little Variety - Aerobatics
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2001-2024 Matronics. All Rights Reserved.
|
