large passenger!!!

H

hbcroft

New member
Hello

I own a 7ECA (with the O-200 Cont) and fly alone most of the time. Once in a while, I bring a passenger with me but have never
had one that weight more that 200 lb.

Well now my buddy Charlie wants to go for a ride but the problem is that he is 6'4" and 275 pounds! It does not quite agree with the POH and the weight and balance if I read this right!

Any of you have flown a Citabria with a heavy passenger in the back? Any experience...words of wisdom?

Cheers

Bruno
C-GDDG
 
Your best option, assuming an empty plane, is to reduce the amount of fuel on board. If you can't get the weight and balance within limits by doing that, then you won't be legal, plain and simple. If that's the case, hopefully he'll understand. I don't know what the regulations in Canada are concerning placement of the PIC. I know you want to be in the front seat, but are you required to be? Quite frankly, I've never flown in the back seat and I don't think I want to, since there are visibility problems as well as the inability to see the instruments. I'm 6' 2" and I've had people in the back say I block out the entire instrument panel. Your friend would do the same.
 
hey bruno!
my first tail-dragger was a 7ECA and my instructor insisted that i learn to fly it both from the front and back seats for this very reason. you can reduce the weight by controlling the fuel load, but you MUST observe the aft c.g. limits. unrecoverable flat spins will really ruin your day!
ease into the rear seat by first flying with a competent instructor. visibility over the nose will be non-existent, but you can look out the sides and do just fine. practice your first few landings at a field with LOTS of runway and not much traffic. be sure to do both wheel and full stall landings. the bi-plane crowd does this stuff all the time, so it's not impossible, just a different skill. hope this helps!
blue skies,
vic & N522A
 
by now, you've probably solved your W & B problem....but i thought I'd put in my 2 cents by telling you that in a 7GCBC operating close to the limits, the more fuel burn, the more aft the CG....tough situation. good idea to be proficient piloting from either seat.
LMB
 
For all you rear seat pilots... What do you do about watching the airspeed from the rear seat? It looks to me like with someone in the front seat , the airspeed indicator is pretty much hidden from view.
 
Flying from the back is easier than the front once you get used to it. Never do pay much attention to the speed indicator in any case but you can always ask your passenger to lean over to the right or read it out for you.

Depending on your seat belt arrangement you can work the trim with your left toe, not in ours the hooker ratchet gets in the way. So I fly untrimmed.

You also have to brief the passenger on how to work the radios, mixture, starter and prop.

Have done this sort of thing with folks who have never been in a little plane before. As long as you brief it well and have patience it works.
 
Now that I plan to take more people (large) for acro rides, I have had to start learning how to fly from the back. I'm short, so I can't see a thing from the back, including the instrument panel. We just had the Citabria restored, so the "feel" I used to have needs to be re-learned. At this point, I'm asking the front seat person to call out airspeeds till I get the "feel" back.

From the back, I have a tendency to raise the tail too high on take-off, and flare too soon/high when landing. Practice, practice, practice is what I need at this point. And figuring out where to look for cues.
 
If you pull real hard during aerobatics you will shorten your passenger by an inch or two by the time you are ready to land. That will help.
 
I have been flying Citabrias and Decathlons from both front and back for some time. I often fly my 7KCAB f rom the back. Visibility is fine at 10:00 and 2:00, better than a lot of taildraggers. I have learned to feel and listen. Also, learn what your wing looks like on the horizon in different configurations, e.g. 70 mph glide, 65 mph climb. Try it first with a compettent tailwheel pilot in the front. It is easier than you think and gives you more options for passengers. It also prepares you for many other taildraggers, from J3s to Extras! Good luck!
 
by now, you've probably solved your W & B problem....but i thought I'd put in my 2 cents by telling you that in a 7GCBC operating close to the limits, the more fuel burn, the more aft the CG....tough situation. good idea to be proficient piloting from either seat.
LMB
Click to expand...

In a GCBC the CG moves forward with fuel burn. The arm for fuel is around 24" which is aft of the CG range.
 
even if you don't have a need for flying from the back seat, it is a skill every tail wheel pilot should master, and keep proficent at. as stated earlier, many tail draggers are solo from the rear, i.e. pitts/cubs/extras/skybolts/&stardusters just to list a couple i have flown. i much prefer the back seat. in my opinion you get a truely better "feel" of the plane on all axis when you are sitting behind the CG. even when the plane is a solo from front, if i can get my passenger to ride up front i will. as an instructor, i get the chance to ride and fly from both seats often enough. learn to fly from the back seat and i'll bet you like it better than the front. as for the regs, the only time i am aware of assigned seating in a GA aircraft is if you are solo, and the aircraft is placarded to solo rear seat or front seat only. at any rate, get with a good instructor and learn a new skill. it will only make you a better pilot.
 
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