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Thread: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

  1. #1
    Member twoeleven's Avatar
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    Default My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    Greetings and Happy National Aviation Day!

    My name is Larry, and I have been a Cub fan most of my life, but I have never learned to fly. As a kid in Colorado, I flew in the back of a Super Cub flown by my father as he took his turn towing at his soaring club. I have had the bug since then, and now I am 47 years old.

    Along the way I took some glider lessons at Boulder Muni at age 15, and learned to build and fly RC planes and gliders, but then left for California to go to college. After school I resumed flying RC gliders, slope soaring on the bluffs overlooking Marina Del Rey. I also took some hang glider lessons, but stopped at the point where you are required to buy your own glider.

    Since then I have fed the bug by building a nice home flight sim, flying RC just about every weekend, and going on demo flights out of Chino here and there, always knowing that one day...

    After finding the Carbon Cub through my RC world, I started paying attention, bought the 80" electric RC version, and then figured out who CubCrafters was, and now I'm here. I want one so bad it hurts. I am envious of you all, and thank you to every one of you that have posted stories and pictures, I think I have read just about every thread...You all have given me so much enjoyment and have fueled my dreams.

    I have contacted Ben at California Cubs, and I will be heading his way as soon as I have a few hours under my belt. It took me over a month, 5 airports, and 6 schools to find someone willing to teach me to fly a taildragger from hour one. But as of 6pm yesterday, I have .9 hours in a beautifully restored 1952 Cessna 170, flew out of KCCB yesterday late afternoon with my new CFI. They got me, hook line and sinker...What a blast.



    I was trying to think what I could add back to this community, as a total noob, and I don't have much...I am an semi-expert at Microsoft FSX flight simulator (flying, changing color schemes, flight tuning, general knowledge), if you ever have a question, feel free to PM me. I am coloring and flight tuning my own FSX Top Cub Ranger, when it is done I will share my color and tune for free of course, but you must purchase the model "Super Cub Extreme" from Flight Replicas for about $20.00 (I have no affiliation, and the flight dynamics and color schemes can be shared, the model must be first purchased by you), and I can email the scheme and flight tune.

    Also, if you happen to fly or have flown the real one, I'm going by gut and would appreciate feedback from a fellow sim pilot. I have yet to find a FS model for the Carbon Cub, and I do not have the skills to develop a 3D model for the sim, but I do know a few folks who could, I just need to persuade them...I know it is nothing like the real thing, but maybe rainy day sim flying? Here it is parked at VS1, overflying the hangar at VS1, and yes, it can skim the water in the channel, or any river or lake in the sim. How 'bout them 35s, eh?





    So, I have a journey ahead of me...Please take very good care of your Carbon Cub, you may want to upgrade one day and I know someone who will be in the market in just a few years

    Larry.

  2. #2
    Member Max Platts's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    Welcome to the forum Larry!

    Also, congratulations on taking the steps towards getting your pilots license. Learning to fly in a taildragger is very rewarding and I am certain you will enjoy every minute of it.

    Your Top Cub scheme for FSX looks great as well! It would be great to see a Carbon Cub for FSX someday!

    Again welcome to the forum!

    -Max
    Max Platts
    Builder Assist Program Coordinator
    CubCrafters

  3. #3
    Member twoeleven's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    Thank you Max,

    "Kit Marketing Coordinator"...Hmmm, adding you to my contacts...Are there any tutorials on how to sell the benefits of converting a garage into an aircraft factory to say...a spouse? Hehe.

    Larry.

  4. #4
    Member Max Platts's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    HAHA! That might be an idea for our next promotional piece!
    Max Platts
    Builder Assist Program Coordinator
    CubCrafters

  5. #5
    Member twoeleven's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    Yesterday was fantastic. I completed my fourth hour of instruction that included my first power-on and power-off stalls, 45 degree bank steep turns holding altitude through 360 degrees, slow flight maneuvering and stall/spin awareness, the ground reference maneuvers, and I think my smoothest (yet still instructor-insisted) landing. Clearly I need more rudder in ground effect as I felt the pedals sinking away from my feet, my CFI making sure we were straight just before touch down.

    Walking back to the school after securing the plane, we heard a tremendous roar and looked up to see a Classic Yellow Carbon Cub on steep climb out from the runway we had just landed. Since I had never seen a CC in person, I hung around long enough to watch it complete the pattern and land, beautiful. I snapped a quick picture of the brand new machine, after the owner secured it outside the restaurant. What a great day for flying!



    Four hours closer to my dream,

    Larry.

  6. #6
    Member twoeleven's Avatar
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    Default Measurable progress...

    It has been a struggle getting enough tail dragger time, so I have also been training in a Cessna 172N, getting into the Cessna 170B as often as I can. I have 30 hours under my belt, 12 Tailwheel, 18 Tricycle. I have 4 hours of solo time in the 172, and I am very close to getting my tailwheel endorsement, not in the 172.

    Up until Friday, all of my time had been in side-by-side seaters, yokes and plungers on the panel. Although it wasn't solo, I finally was allowed to fly the Citabria yesterday, an earned right where I train. The argument being if you can handle the 170B you should be good to go on just about everything else they have...I just mentally pretended I was picking up my brand new 2016 CC-FX in Yakima...Here she is...Classic Cub Yellow, of course...



    Ok, so she's really a 1970 Citabria Explorer, but with a brand new engine...LOVED it, my first flight with a stick instead of a yoke, throttle and CH on the left wall...Just had to pretend I was test flying the new FX around the Yakima Valley...



    ...Soooo instead that is really Upland, CA, burning closed traffic at KCCB trying to get my CFI dizzy enough to climb out...But he didn't...Dammit, but I bet it crossed his mind.

    Flying with the stick was very natural, and I was far more comfortable, and had way better visability, and it was 100 times easier to handle on ground, takeoff, and landing...I did well and I feel I am close to sending my TW CFI bowling with my 172 instructor...So I made my appointment to fly a real plane on March 4th...This plane:



    THANK YOU BEN! (Pretty sure he's not going to climb out either, but I am thrilled to pieces, can't wait...)

    Larry.
    Last edited by twoeleven; 02-06-2016 at 08:48 PM.

  7. #7
    Member tautrey's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    Thanks for your post Larry ans welcome to the forum. Your passion for flying is inspiring. I have been flying for 40 years and just recently received my tailwheel endorsement. My current plane is on consignment and I will be purchasing a CC-FX once it sells. I am also new to the forum and based in Florida.

    May the wind be at your back.

    Thomas Autrey
    KHEG

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Measurable progress...

    Quote Originally Posted by twoeleven View Post

    ...So I made my appointment to fly a real plane on March 4th...

    Larry.
    Larry, looking forward to your post after March 9. Good stuff - love it.

    But forget all that, and getting back to FSX. Orbx just came up with full FSX scenery for my home airport, Agua Dulce L70. I haven't run FSX for a long time, but I happened to have a copy of the s/w. I run Mac at home, but remembered I have a PC in my hangar - so I was off installing it last weekend. I don't have L70 loaded yet, but how cool will it be looking at my hangar from my hangar, and flying a FSX Cub around L70 on dreary days when I can't take out the Carbon Cub.

    Screen Shot 2016-02-09 at 7.58.03 PM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2016-02-09 at 8.03.43 PM.jpg

    Even cooler would be to have an FSX model of my Carbon Cub. Well, first things first.
    Chuck Hull
    L70 Agua Dulce, CA

  9. #9
    Member twoeleven's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    @Tautrey: Thank you Thomas, of course I don't actually have a 2016 CC FX in the build process or even on order, but it still fun to dream of the day...With a kid about to start college (currently in HS as a Junior), I just need to make sure he is on a full football or academic scholarship FIRST, before I place my deposit...However, my browser always opens up to this page: http://www.cubcrafters.com/inventory, and a nice used rig is always on my mind as a backup plan.

    Luckily for me, the boy is currently 6'2" and 265 lbs., benches over 275 lbs. at last max out, and is a starting left tackle with a 4.0 GPA...So, warm up those CNC machines, Yakima...Fingers crossed.

    Good luck with the sale, Thomas, looking forward to hearing about your FX experience.

    @Charles: I can't wait, just a few weeks away...and as for FSX, L70 looks awesome, I will need to get that scenery to add to my Orbx library. Thanks for the tip, and if you buy the Flight Replicas model mentioned earlier (again, no affiliation, just the closest thing to a CC product out there, so far), I will gladly send the files that I can legally share, and I can put whatever N-number you want on the fuse. Either in reality or in FSX, it looks like a nice hop from KCCB, and my lil' Citabria is a rentable airplane, after I'm licensed. So I will make a few practice runs in FSX before I try it in the Cit. one day.

    My first dual cross-country was yesterday morning, F70 to KAPV and back, and I got a front row seat as SoCal sent a 757 across my bow with only 1,000' higher altitude...They warned us it was coming but wow, what a sight!

    Larry.

  10. #10
    Member tautrey's Avatar
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    Default Re: My journey begins - Flying Taildraggers

    Larry,

    What kind of hardware are you using for the FSX ?

    Thomas Autrey
    KHEG

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