Cool. That's impressive.

As Bob Hoover would likely say, it's all about energy management--and a whole lot of practice!

Cary

Awesome performance. As Cary says: great energy management. That's how I would like to know my airplane.

Eduardo

MANY years ago, I rented a J-3 Cub in Hawaii, and the fun gig was to fly over to the Dillingham airstrip on the Nw corner of Oahu, which is a big glider base, get into the ridge lift above the strip, shut down the engine and soar with the sailplanes.....then land, prop the engine to start it, and go home. Big fun, and those things are pretty good gliders with the prop stopped.

MTV

Wonder if there are any videos of that, MTV??

Eduardo

That was before there were video cameras which weighed less than 200 lbs.!

Cary

Cary wrote:That was before there were video cameras which weighed less than 200 lbs.!

Cary

Hell, that was before there was video.....

HNL Tower could never copy our transmissions from the crappy handheld radio in that thing, so if they heard a REALLY crappy radio call over ground, it was either the Cub or the guy down the ramp with a Stearman, and they'd look that direction and clear whomever. If it came over the tower freq, they just cleared us to land, didn't really care who it was.

MTV

Mike ,
Are they still using Bird Dogs to tow the sailplanes? Did some slope soaring over there some years back. Even remember a Stearman around there. Guys were flying R/C gliders and got one stuck in a tree half way up the slope. Watched as some idiot was hanging out in a tree, off the side of the slope, trying to get to his glider out of the tree Jon

Kind of crazy the prop barely moves, even when he is in a dive.

Dizzle wrote:Kind of crazy the prop barely moves, even when he is in a dive.

That would be called "compression". I've flown a couple cubs that wouldn't crank w/out starter once prop stopped. Our Top Cub does that....student killed the engine on me at 200 agl......"okay, now put your right hand on the ignition switch while I fly the plane....now turn that key to the start position". Whew!!

MTV

That's a great story MTV! Nothing like coastal ridge lift.

Super flying in that vid, much more impressive then a horsepower based flight, less expensive and quieter also

Wow, I wish I could experience those days. Nowadays when the local towers hear me coming in my crappy radio - they just say "aircraft calling xxx tower, transmission unreadable, stand by"

I've not gotten the nerve up to shut down the engine on my J3 intentionally. But it doesn't feel like that good of a glider to me. But I'm comparing the the modern ones.

mtv wrote:
Hell, that was before there was video.....

HNL Tower could never copy our transmissions from the crappy handheld radio in that thing, so if they heard a REALLY crappy radio call over ground, it was either the Cub or the guy down the ramp with a Stearman, and they'd look that direction and clear whomever. If it came over the tower freq, they just cleared us to land, didn't really care who it was.

MTV

soyAnarchisto wrote:Wow, I wish I could experience those days. Nowadays when the local towers hear me coming in my crappy radio - they just say "aircraft calling xxx tower, transmission unreadable, stand by"

I've not gotten the nerve up to shut down the engine on my J3 intentionally. But it doesn't feel like that good of a glider to me. But I'm comparing the the modern ones.

Are you using a handheld inside the cockpit?

My understanding is that _most_ J3 cubs have to dive well above Vne to get the prop to turn over, especially ones with upgraded engines and metal props. I watched this viddy closely - and he's going pretty fast and the prop doesn't turn over. Which is why I've not tried to kill the mags and restart mine in flight.

mtv wrote:

Dizzle wrote:Kind of crazy the prop barely moves, even when he is in a dive.

That would be called "compression". I've flown a couple cubs that wouldn't crank w/out starter once prop stopped. Our Top Cub does that....student killed the engine on me at 200 agl......"okay, now put your right hand on the ignition switch while I fly the plane....now turn that key to the start position". Whew!!

MTV

Zzz wrote:Are you using a handheld inside the cockpit?

Yup. But I think I just finally solved my problem by upgrading the external antenna with a crappy to nonexistant ground plane to an internal high gain dipole unit from Advanced Electronics - bonus that it (will be) mounted inside the fuselage behind my seat. Right now it's just zip tied to a yard stick and laying in a non-optimal orientation.

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/antennasystems.php

But I bought the right plane - now they are shutting down all the towers.

1/2 the guys in the fish bowl don't understand that a transponder is not required equipment. Feels good to quote FAR 91-215 to an ATC guy.