Lets hear it for the Aeronca C-3

[Helldiver]

When I was a kid, I thnk the second airplane I rode in was a Aeronca C-3 out of Beverly Airport. They had three of them, two Yellow and a Red one. They sold for $1800 bucks in the depression. I remember flying over the United Shoe Machinery Corp. (USMC) and the Beverly-Salem bridge and we turned around over Salem Willows. It seemed like it took us a long time.
I remember it had no brakes but as soon as the tail skid hit the grass, she stopped dead.
Would be refreshing to fly something that only had a 36 HP motor and cruised at 65 MPH. Any takers?

[OleBoy]

I'd personally like to see the Aeronca "K" modeled to it's fullest glory.

A2A Accusim would be fantastic!!!! But likely never see the light of day.

[PutPut]

When I was a kid, I thnk the second airplane I rode in was a Aeronca C-3 out of Beverly Airport. They had three of them, two Yellow and a Red one. They sold for $1800 bucks in the depression. I remember flying over the United Shoe Machinery Corp. (USMC) and the Beverly-Salem bridge and we turned around over Salem Willows. It seemed like it took us a long time.
I remember it had no brakes but as soon as the tail skid hit the grass, she stopped dead.
Would be refreshing to fly something that only had a 36 HP motor and cruised at 65 MPH. Any takers?

Patience is a virtue. I have done the C-3 twice before for earlier sims. It is high on my list of "must do's" for FSX. The C-3 was the first airplane I can remember. I saw it it the airport at Dubuque, Iowa in 1937. (I was 5.)

Paul

[oakfloor]

Yes, thats a great idea, I downloaded the free tiger moth, the latest one out. Its also a nice cruiser for a sunday afternoon plane ride. There is also a "mini- max" microlight freeware thats almost as much fun as a C-3 try it out too.

[Helldiver]

The first plane I remember was an American Airlines Ford Tri-Motor landing at Boston Airport before it became Logan Airport.
The first airplane ride was in a biplane on floats on the Merrimac River in Lawrence. I don't remember what it was since I was only five My Grandfather took me up and he caught hell from my Mother when she found out.

[Lionheart]

My dads first plane was the Aeronca C3. It needed recovering. It was given to him if he would recover a mans plane at the airport. Dad did, he get the Aeronca, and had it covered in quick time. It was during WWII and he was only about 14 or 15 when it was flying. He kept it on his uncles dairy, his parents never knew he had it till after he war when he returned home.

The funniest part was his story of when he fueled it. He would land on a remote road, taxi up to the gas station, fill it (very little fuel as it was being rationed) and then back to the Dairy.

Imagine that.. lol..


Reminds me of that movie 1940 with John Belushi, when he lands his P-40 at that gas station, tells the guy to fill it up and clean the windows, goes in and grabs some cans of soup and a squeezy toy, hops back in his plane, and back in the air... lol

[Helldiver]

Lionheart, I'm not doubting your story, God only knows what ever happened in the hinterlands during WWII. Some of them never got the word that there was even a war going on.
But back here in America, all the GA aircraft were confiscated, including a Stinson Reliant and a Beech Staggerwing. They even took the two J-3 Cubs from Beverly Airport.
The three Aeronca C-3s, the props were taken off and the wings were removed. They stayed in the hanger during the duration. There was no private flying allowed. Now maybe your Dad ignored the rules and maybe he flew to a gas station. But with a "A" sticker, he would only get 5 gallons a month for his airplane. That's about a hours flight. But he would take a chance of being shot down by a P-40.
The Beech Staggerwing came back with O.D. paint and stars and bars and a almost zero time engine. However the Stinson and the J-3s never came back and I guess the government settled for cash.
Anyways, if your Father misbehaved during the war, - I'm not telling.

[Lionheart]

Hey HD,

Thats good to know. He did say it was an A ration for fuel and it was rare. I guess he was a rebel.

He enlisted at 15, lying about his age like most his age, got in as a carrier transfer pilot, but it happened right at the end of the war, so he was back after a short while. Bummed him out. He ended up wrecking the Aeronca, stalling it up a ways in the air. One of his eyes came out of the socket at impact and they were able to pop it back in. His friend and AirCorps 'boss' was injured, but they both recovered fine. Dad was medically discharged.

Too bad no one makes really affordable planes these days..

Thanks for that bit of history. I had never known that GA was shut down during WWII....


Bill