Homecoming

"What am I doing?" I wondered as I boarded a Continental 737 at EWR for Columbus, Ohio. I'd flown five hours in the last year, all in the previous week. I still felt like a hopeless case in the Cherokee 140. Still, the appointed time had come and I was on my way.

All the way to CMH, I watched out the window. I had my sectional out. I might have to do this, the other way, very soon. Pennsylvania and Ohio sure have lots of emergency fields.

I called Jerry Eichenberger when I arrived at the Delaware, Ohio, Best Western. We arranged to meet at the airport later that afternoon.

I was early, of course, and there was N2906H. Tom Quinn, the A&P said 'why don't you take the cover off?' I did, and found the Ercoupe just as in the pictures and as Jerry described. Not a show winner, but nice, quite nice.

Jerry was soon there, also as expected. We decided there was nothing for it but to go fly, and he walked me through the pre-flight, such as it was.

Jerry Eichenberger is a renowned aviation defense lawyer (emphasis on defense) with a voice that sounds like it belongs in the front office of a 777. He seems to have flown everything but a 777. He's also a darn good CFI. His wife, Candy, writes aviation insurance. Jerry's partner, Jerry Isbell, flies a G4 for a chain of retail stores. He's also a CFI. Together, they'd put a small fortune into 06H over the last couple years. Now they needed a 4-seater to take daughter Eichenberger to and from college in Nashville, so 06H was up for sale. The prior owner had stripped and zinc-chromated the wings with lots of parts going in, including the infamous spar carry-through. Everything looked right with this one.

Everything about an Ercoupe is different. You don't even get in the way you are used to. 06H has little flaps that let you step on the seat without messing it up, but it's easy just to step over the side and onto the floor. It's a 1947 airplane, so the key has no 'Start' position. Instead, there is a Tee-handle starter. Something else was new. And, of course, there is the one pedal on the floor. For the brakes.

What a smooth motor! That's a good sign. What's this? These wheels steer the plane! Okay, Jerry says to keep a little forward pressure during takeoff. But gee, she actually climbs pretty well with two adults on board. So went my first Ercoupe ride, and my first Ercoupe take-off.

Jerry pointed me towards Marion, Ohio, where he flies gliders. On the way there I did a few turns. Wow! This thing handles! If it was a car it would be an MG Midget, but in the air it feels a lot like an A36 Bonanza! Now, I admit it. I'm a sucker for a nice pair of ailerons. And this baby's got them. Big time. You just want to slam it around a silo. And compared to the PA28, things are light. Really light. What joy! Jerry says 'looks like you know how to fly!' No, the Ercoupe knows how to fly. It's taking care of me.

True to legend, she won't stall power off. Power on, I can induce a little buffet. That's all. Then back to mushing.

First landing was pretty horrid. I began to drag the nose up, 172 style. Uh uh. Jerry disabused me of that idea real quick. He wanted 80 down final at first (the runways are long in Ohio, there is room to play). Next bugaboo: the pitch forces are light and I'm porpoising all over the place. Also, my sight picture is causing me to fly into the ground. The latter solves itself, and the former is solved by very gently making the transition to flare attitude.

After a few more landings, I seemed to have it. The wheels were making a pretty 'chirrip' each time, and Jerry let me drop my speed down to 75 MPH. I was kicking myself around for not being on centerline, but after a couple more I catch onto the fact that you can make little turns right down to the ground to put it on the line. This would be important in a week!

Jerry had said that one flight would hook me. He was right. I was hooked. These are remarkable designs. Especially considering that they were designed 36 years after the Wright Brothers did their thing at Kitty Hawk. They make more 'modern' planes feel like tubs.

On Friday, we finalized the deal. Candy sent an insurance binder for all the insurance a sane person would buy, and I gave Jerry and Jerry a check. Jerry Isbell took me for a few landings, and they were getting better. By then, I was exhausted. I headed back to the hotel to take a nap.

When I woke up, it was sunset, and I decided to go pick up the POH from the plane to read. I got to the airport at sunset. There was my plane. 'Might as well' thought I. Better to do the first solo in it with nobody around, in the lovely Midwest sunset. A proper solo… …3 takeoffs and 3 landings. A bit long, but no extra weight.

Back at the room, I called Continental to change my flight home to Sunday. I was supposed to stay until Wednesday, or try and fly the Coupe home. But the weather will be bad starting Sunday. Jerry said I'd better try for Saturday, but I didn't feel solid enough in the plane yet. It would have been okay by Tuesday, but that was out.

My friend Dick Hamilton had said he'd drive a rent-a-car to Columbus and fly right seat on the way home. Dick is a real current cross-country PP-ASEL. He's also my former boss, and a real nice guy. So that's how it will be. Discretion is the better part of valor.

DLZ doesn't have 80 Octane, and my baby's lips have rarely drunk 100LL. Jerry E. suggested a quick little cross country to Madison County airport. Cheapest avgas going, and a fun 40-mile jaunt. So, bright and early on a CAVU day, 06H and I took off. The GPS pointed the way, and the airport was easy to spot. I found myself approaching on the 45, but loitered a bit. A student was in the pattern doing her first solo. On each landing she said 'Yee haw!' I remember that feeling. Similar to the current one.

Her work done, I jumped on the 45 and made a decent landing. They're getting shorter. Patience. I taxied to the pumps. Cheap? I'll say $1.64 a gallon for either type of avgas. Fill my pockets. I'll take some home. Bought oil too, and window-cleaner. All cheap. What a place.

A gentleman was there washing a really nice 172. I borrowed some shade from his wings and enjoyed the over-spray while we talked. Turns out that Madison County is a great place to watch the world go by because cheap Avgas draws cool planes like moths to the flame.

Dick Wetherald turns out, like me, to be a ham radio type. He had an older Icom handheld aviation radio that might suit my needs, but we can't figure what it's worth, so agree to talk that evening. Meanwhile, the day just kind of passes in a stream of people passing by.

06H kept making friends. A decent, flying, Ercoupe is a bit of a rarity. Some people are just curious about the rudder pedal-less design. People coming to rent an aging PA28 for a young fortune can't believe just how cheaply an Ercoupe can be flown.

It was near time to go. Dick had never flown in an open cockpit, nor in a Coupe so I offered him a trip around the patch. He took me up on it, so I had my first passenger. His remark, as we flew over the numbers on the departure end (at around 500 feet AGL!) with the blades of grass visible so clearly was a simple 'I want one!' I knew the feeling. He was fascinated as I did the pattern tight, and ball was uncannily centered.

I dropped him off at his plane, and headed home through moderate turbulence. That was something like work. And it was 90. And the oil was getting hot. I was glad when DLZ hove into sight. What did I hear but Jerry Eichenberger's unmistakable voice on Unicom. They were test-flying a Pacer he had seen, and coveted, at Oshkosh. I slipped into the pattern with a Christen Eagle behind me. Try as I might, I couldn't keep him from having to do a 360 for separation. When I stopped by to say 'sorry,' he told me he had just bought the Eagle the day before. Guess it was the day for new planes.

I talked to Dick Wetherald that night, and we figured out that it would make more sense for me to buy one of the new baby Yaesu hand-helds. Then he suggested that if his schedule allowed, he might just fly the 172 to NJ to ferry my co-pilot and I to DLZ to bring the Coupe home. His schedule didn't permit as it turned out, but what an offer. You do meet the nicest people flying.

Next morning, I came out to DLZ, secured everything, and got ready to go home. Somewhat wistfully, I might add.

As the towering cumulous built during the commercial flight, I contemplated the role of judgement in prolonging life.

On Monday, I started watching the weather. Tom Quinn was going to look into a loose Molex pin on the back of the COM radio. The weather said it should be good on Saturday, and pretty good on Sunday. Dick wasn't so sure, but I started making plans. As time went on, I got more nervous. By Thursday, I was a wreck. Tom fixed the radio on Friday, and was nearly apologetic for the pittance he charged for some real nasty grunt work. Along with the cheap Avgas at Madison County, I'd like to import a few Tom Quinns to New Jersey.

On Friday, I headed to EWR not to fly, but to rent a car. Inspired by the long line at Alamo, I called National and ended up with a car for half the price. Hint: always use National for one-way rentals. There is no drop-off charge! They upgraded me to a wheeled couch called a Buick. Not much on corners, but perfect for a 10-hour drive to the Midwest.

Next morning, I picked up a somnabulistic Dick Hamilton at 0700. Dick is not a morning person. This was to be the first of two morning I was to torture him. I drove the middle, he drove the ends. It had been a while, so we chattered the whole way. Along the way, I ate nothing but bread and water---- ----an intestinal bug had struck me on Tuesday, and was still troubling me on Friday night. A pretzel somewhere near Pittsburg or Harrisburg or some burg cured me. Or so I thought.

Dick and I made record time. We had the unexpected spare time to go check out the plane before dropping off the rent-a-car. And even checked into the hotel. When near DLZ, stay at Campbell house. Best 36-buck-a-night motel going. And, unlike the Best Western up the road, they have not one but two weather channels on cable. Pilot heaven. Several eateries in walking distance. And a four-dollar cab ride to DLZ.

I proved I still knew how to fly it. It was good to do a landing on a 6000-foot runway to gain confidence. Tom had put 06H in the hangar. Thanks, Tom.

We buttoned her up, went to dinner, reviewed the flight plan for the next day, and crashed. Plan was to get breakfast at McDonald's at 0600, then be off at 0800 if the mists were out of the valleys.

Alas, my intestinal bug raised its ugly head and awakened me several times in the night. In between, I fretted about being too unwell to fly two 90-minute and one 70-minute legs next day. What would I do?

After finally getting to sleep, I awoke at 0500 and tuned in the weather channel. It looked good. At 0530 I called the FSS. Looked even better! Alas, McDonalds didn't open until 0700 on Sundays. Neither did the mini-mart. Looks like we had a 'flight delay.' Lie down for an hour.

My breakfast was a muffin. They seemed to stabilize things. By 0800 we were off in a cab to DLZ. Tummy felt good. The airplane looked good. The big crisis was opening the Loctite plastic window cleaner. I think Loctite put Loctite on the lid. Someone lent me a Vicegrip. That did it. Eventually, after a bit of chart-folding, we ran out of excuses not to fly. So at 0830, we went.

It was a beautiful morning over Ohio, and we headed for the first stop, Greene County airport (WAY). The GPS did its thing, and Dick started looking for check-points. 110MPH GS. A ten-knot tailwind was helping. 3500 feet on a clear Midwest morning is hard to beat.

Dick gave yeoman service, given the terrible landmarks I had chosen. They're scarce in the Midwest, but my poor choices proved why I needed his help. I hadn't flown serious cross-country in about 15 years. The good news was the help. The bad news was that we just about at max gross weight. In the 415D, that's 1400 pounds on wings that were originally planned to haul 1260. She felt it.

It was easy to find. As I entered the pattern, Dick pointed out a para-sail in the pattern. I saw for myself the good size hills under the downwind leg. All this caused me to focus, and I made one of my best landings yet. The Coupe is remarkable. It just does what you tell it to, if you pay attention to the airspeed. We filled up with gas. I left a few gallons out, to reduce some of that weight for the climb to come.

The Allegheny mountains are amazing. For me, a native Californian, they aren't tall at only 3410 feet. They are, however, very long and lay across our route. Between them lay verdant valleys of emergency landing strips. We went to 5500 feet--- ---slowly---- to put ample space between us and any ridge effects from those mountains. She did it slowly, but she did it without complaining or heating up, and was relieved when we leveled out and hit cruise speed again.

A quick check-in with Johnstown tower as we grazed their control zone, and we were free to see that nearly every valley had a major airport Altoona was a case in point.

At the end of the Alleghenies was our second stop.

Mifflintown airport looks flat on the sectional. It isn't. Like WAY it has a mountain under the downwind. It also has one inside the base leg. The mountain is there to obscure what you're in for. As you roll out onto final, you see a runway that looks more like a roller-coaster track than a runway. The guy in front of me nearly rolled it into a ball. As I saw it, I thought 'on, no.' It was the nastiest looking airport I'd ever seen. I thought about diverting, but then figured I'd might was well land on it. The set up looked fine. It was short, so slowed just a bit, dragged it in over the corn, and plopped it on. The up-hill run was better than arresting gear. The gas pumps required taxiing up about 20 feet of terraces. What a kick! It was at that point that I figured out that this plane will take care of me if I treat it right.

They guy said 'we're out of 100LL, so I hope you can take 80!' Can I ever!

Out in the country, but the cell-phone worked. So I telephoned my wife to tell her we'd be home in 90 minutes. Off we went! The runway was now up-hill, with a hill and a mountain, or two at the end. By now, I wasn't afraid to put the Coupe where I needed to, so I turned out between the hills, over the stream, and to hell with the standard pattern. It had a mountain in the middle of it! This was fun!

Out to Quakertown (to avoid the airspaces) then a quick dog-leg to Alexandria. Alexandria was hopping, as was the adjacent Sky Manor. It was hard to get a pattern in edge-wise, so I flew away for a bit and came back. I plunged in a bit hot and high, floated to perdition, and made the worst landing of the day. But I was home.

What a home-coming! A Breezy and a dozen other home-builts were flying. The place was hopping. And 06H's new line-mate, a similarly-painted Alon was flying, too. Pete Hogan, her owner, welcomed us with open arms and guided me down the confusing taxiways to our tie-down.

My wife brought her convertible. Oh boy. Four and a half hours with the canopy open, and I got to ride home with the top down!

All in all, it was a long day. But a good one. An Ercoupe is a more solid altitude and heading holder than a 152 or 172, so I wasn't fatigued from keeping the GPS bearing agreeing with the track. Dick had done the chart-work and relieved me on the yoke for the 30 minutes he could wrest it from me. And above all, 2906H was home!