Another first solo
 

In September, it will be the 54th anniversary of my first going solo in an aircraft. Today, I went solo in the fifth single-seat aircraft that I have flown, but this was the first with an engine!

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It was a Pawnee tow plane. Two other members of my club also got checked out today. Before we were allowed to fly, we had to make use of the “plastic chair training aid”. The top of the Pawnee’s cowling is parallel to the ground, so new pilots need to see the view when the tail is raised, before they go flying.


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Our Pawnee’s gross weight is 2900 lb but we operate it at about 2000 lb and so its performance is spectacular. On my first takeoff, I was off the ground before I had the throttle fully open! I was reminded of a famous quote from the Lightning pilot after his first flight - “I was with it all the way until I let the brakes off!”

It was a delight to fly - the handling is precise, although with large stick movements, and the stalls were benign. The unusual view over the nose was not as much of a problem as I expected, but getting the flare right will take some practice. What I did not expect was the rough ride over our fairly smooth grass runway. We shall need to install bungees that are less stiff.

That brings back memories. My first single seat flight was in a Pawnee ( but not quite as long ago as that). For someone with plenty of tailwheel experience it is easy to fly with great performance, being light with nothing in the hopper. A 250hp Lycoming up front helps. The view is actually quite good over the nose as it slopes down so much. I've flown plenty worse.

Takeoff was brisk as you say. When I got to around 400' I can remember thinking "Oh well you've done it now, got to get this thing back on the ground yet". Flown plenty of single seaters since but will always remember that Pawnee with affection.

I would be ready to take a bet that it can be taken off from the chair without the tailwheel ever touching ground. Probably the mean danger might be to apply so much power that the bird rolls tail over.

Oh my, yes. A fun aeroplane. I remember my first time tugging with one, gliders falling out of the sky on a day that wasn't as good as it looked, and trying to find a large enough bit of the airfield for a landing without dragging the rope over a glider.. Slightly downwind to add to the fun, gliders landing in both directions. I did hope I wasn't going to have to write an accident report, as with a whole twenty minutes on type I would have looked so stupid.

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Well done I42, I always fancied a go in a Pawnee as the only better tow-toy would have been John Jordan's 450hp Stearman. I made do with this venerable Tugmaster, aka Beagle Terrier, aka Auster AOP 6, which certainly gave me a thrill or two but from hauling students in a Blanik from a fairly restricted field rather than high power/weight ratio.

When IH was replaced by a Citabria I took her to Coventry, and 50 years later I'm glad to see she is still going strong in her original Army Air Corps colours. In fact she's weathering better than I am, although her worn-out bits have been replaced, whereas mine … :uhoh:

well done ...

Several UK gliding clubs had installed an approved mod. to remove one of the three bungees each side for a softer ride. It also reduces the max. permitted all up weight which reduces landing fees.