Most demanding airplane?

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Cat Driver
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Most demanding airplane?

Post by Cat Driver »

What was the most demanding airplane you have flown?

For me it was the Grumman Turbo Goose, especially docking solo.
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salt water cow poke
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by salt water cow poke »

The shuttle took a bit to get a handle of!!
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beechnut
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by beechnut »

The one I am in.

Beech
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by xsbank »

Firecat.
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Big Pistons Forever
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Big Pistons Forever »

A C150 with 40 degrees of flap :D
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Meatservo
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Meatservo »

I find the relative demanding-ness of different aeroplanes to be small potatoes compared to the relative demanding-ness of the different things we have to do with them.
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FICU
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by FICU »

1960s Merlin SW2A. Swearingen's first home built twin turbo prop with PT6-20s !
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Chuck Finley
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Chuck Finley »

Does keeping the props of a clapped out 337 without a prop sync in-sync count?
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by BKerns »

748 full of 12 packs of cola... Why do they even make those stupid 12 packs!
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by golden hawk »

Non-turbocharged Aerostar over Green Bay
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by flyinhigh »

Maule rocket on floats during landing,

Plane has an unusual nose high attitude naturally while one floats, puter in the flair and it was interesting.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by 55+ »

Landing(or trying to) a Canso in a cross-wind, I was never any good at it..
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sovereign
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by sovereign »

By far The R4D8 (super DC-3) Your ears would ache on takeoff and very poor in crosswinds over 10kt (very little rudder movement)
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Cat Driver
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Cat Driver »

By far The R4D8 (super DC-3) Your ears would ache on takeoff and very poor in crosswinds over 10kt (very little rudder movement)
Ahh for sure but the sucker sure did perform compared to the straight DC3.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by andy_mtl »

A pa-31-310 with 11 people on board moving to get ready to jump, it's not so pretty.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by oldtimer »

Many pilots will agree and many pilots will disagree but I found the Swearingen/Fairchilld SA 226TC Metro 2 to be a demanding airplane to fly the way it was designed to be flown but if it is flown the way it was designed to be flown it is a safe airplane. Fly the approach at Vref and it is a sweetheart, Vref -10 and it is a bitch. Loose an engine and it will fly IF THE BALL IS IN THE CENTER. Use the rudder pedals as foot rests as most pilots do and you are dead meat. The whole problem can be traced back to the way a young sprog pilot used to be trained. Because of the nature of the operation, small package air cargo with older airplanes, most training is to spend Monday reading the AFM, flight training on Tuesday and check ride on Wednsday and on line Thursday. Fortunatly, the company I worked for before retirement spent a lot of time and effort training pilots and most found the airplane to be a demanding airplane to fly properly but a safe airplane. But then again the same can be said of most high performance airplanes.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Liquid Charlie »

Not too many aircraft but those fuking simulators ...... arrrrrgggggggg -- they were always creating sweat -- :smt040
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Gene Hasenfus
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Gene Hasenfus »

One might suppose that the CADORs
database would be the repository of
this kind of information.

Has anyone ever done a report generation
from it, based on aircraft type? Would
be interesting to know which ones lead
the accident parade.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Old Dog Flying »

Gene Hasenfus wrote:One might suppose that the CADORs
database would be the repository of
this kind of information.

Has anyone ever done a report generation
from it, based on aircraft type? Would
be interesting to know which ones lead
the accident parade.
That would be the J-3 Cub...but it does it more slowly
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cgzro
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by cgzro »

Seriously the J3 ? its a lovely easy to fly little plane?
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Glasnost »

L-1011. They tried to make everything as complex as possible on that plane from a maintenance perspective.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Shiny Side Up »

Gene Hasenfus wrote:One might suppose that the CADORs
database would be the repository of
this kind of information.

Has anyone ever done a report generation
from it, based on aircraft type? Would
be interesting to know which ones lead
the accident parade.
While CADORs aren't strictly accidents, the type involved most often (keep in mind we're talking Canada) is the Cessna 172. There are all sorts of minor accidents, incidents from the top spot holder for appearing in the CADORs. The cub and its variants I suspect would be high as well, but many of these incidents escape the regulator's notice, and don't show up in reports.

As I recall, from one location a particlular school's Cessnas would show up in the CADORss at least a dozen or more times a month. Runway incursions being the biggest problem, though comm troubles and landing excursions being right up there.

If You query the CADORS for CYQL (Lethbridge, Alberta) there are an overwhelming amount of CADORS from single piston four seaters crossing the border without flight plans, both Charlie and November registrations.

I would suspect if one could sort out strictly accidents where damage has occured, the ubiquitous 172 would top the list, but primarily due to the numbers used and given their role. From a certain perspective, it might be considered the most "demanding" airplane, since it is so often in the role of playing host to someone at its controls with the least amount of ability. In lots of ways.
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looproll
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by looproll »

I'm going to go ahead and say Pitts Special...
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cgzro
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by cgzro »

Id narrow it down to a Pitts s2b flown from the front seat on a narrow runway with a 20 kt crosswind.
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Re: Most demanding airplane?

Post by Gene Hasenfus »

Honourable mention to:

Image

There's quite a story about Delmar's first flight
in it! It was in the EAA magazine, some decades
ago.

However, there aren't many of those around
for training in. If you do spend the time to
learn to land a Pitts, all sorts of other interesting
aircraft seem pretty easy afterwards, such as
Waco, Stearman, Harvard, P-51, etc. I remember
being told that the Beech 18 was a "fire breathing
dragon" that would eat me alive. What BS. I
jumped in it and checked myself out. A gentle
sweetheart of an airplane.

As Curtis once said, "There are no squirrelly
airplanes - only squirrelly pilots!".

You can't fault an airplane that does exactly
what you tell it to, although many weasels
will try.
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