Quote:
Originally posted by dhamsaic
What's the full load for a Champ? Just curious how airborne it could be at 300 feet. That seems pretty short (not saying it's wrong - just saying that it's pretty short).
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300 feet was a guess. But takeoff run at max gross of 1220 lbs (which would be least 170 pounds--the FAA standard person--heavier...probably more unless this guy had a *bunch* of baggage) in zero wind is 500 feet to clear a 50 foot obstacle (think "a four story building")...and I'll bet it wasn't a zero wind day. With nobody at the controls the aircraft would have weathercocked into a direct headwind, and bear in mind that with a 36 knot headwind (brisk but not impossible) the takeoff run is *zero* feet. :-) Empty weight of the aircraft is around 750lbs...the structure is doped fabric stretched over a wooden frame; it's basically a powered kite.
I'll always remeber my first solo takeoff...I'd been training in a Cessna 152 (max gross 1670 lbs, aluminum monocouque constuction) , and it took off like a rocket, with no instructor on board. Some STOL aircraft like to demonstrate takeoffs in the *width* of a runway, or from *inside* a hangar...and the Champ is a cousin to those designs.