On 2007-01-30, Don Tuite wrote:
On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 01:41:30 -0000, Dylan Smith
wrote:

On 2007-01-29, Don Tuite wrote:
OTOH, I think the fuselage tank is bad, because it makes you pull carb
heat on takeoff -- to prevent you from pitching up so much that you
uncover the fuel intake port.

I'm curious - how does carb heat stop you pitching up? Surely just not
pulling the stick quite as far back will do the same job without the
reduction in power?

I owned a Luscombe 8A for about 17 years. The reason the requirement for the
carb heat on takeoff, as I understand, was actually the gravity flow fuel
system in the 8A from the tank behind the seat. The gravity flow would not
provide enough fuel to satisfy the FAA fuel flow specifications and rather
than redesign it or add a pump of some sort, the addition of carb heat
reduced the power of the engine, hence fuel needed, and then met the FAA
specs. I don't know whether or not this applied to the 8E, which often had
tanks in the wings.

There is a wonderful book outlining the history of Luscombe, "The Luscombe
Story", by John C. Swick (pub SunShine House). It begins with the factory
before the advent of the 8A and has pictures of many designs they actually
built, but never entered production.

Just as a bit of trivia, there was a four place plane built and tested
called the Colt. This was _not_ the Sedan or model 11. The Colt looked
identical to the 8A/B/C series but had 4 seats. The only remaining Colt
prototype was bought by a gentlemen who has an airport south of Ft. Worth,
TX, and who refurbished it. I flew down to the grass strip and saw this plane
along with several other Luscombes. He said there were a few mistakes in the
above mentioned book, but otherwise a good history of the company.

The Luscombe is a great airplane and a pleasure to fly. It got a rather
undeserved reputation, but you must remember it was a 'hot' airplane for its
day along side planes in its size group. As with any plane you must fly it
within its boundaries, but is a real joy to fly.

I always regret selling mine (don't we always) and would enjoy having
another, if I could keep my present Maule, also.

....Edwin
--
__________________________________________________ __________
"Once you have flown, you will walk the earth with your eyes
turned skyward, for there you have been, there you long to
return."-da Vinci http://bellsouthpwp2.net/e/d/edwinljohnson