A lesson on pressing buttons...

11-07-09, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

my preflight briefing for passengers who have never been in small aircraft includes

1. How to operate the door for closing and opening
2. how to operate the safety restraints for buckling and unbuckling
3. how to operate any emergency equipment which might be onboard (fire extinguisher chiefly)

and one very important final addition

"...put your feet flat on the floor, put your hands on your knees, and dont move your hands or feet from that position without first asking me... are you comfortable? good... enjoy the ride!"

the most benign looking buttons and switches and levers can be the most critical in an airplane.

The first time I went up the pilot sat me in the co-pilot seat offered me the wheel.

GoldenRivet · 11-07-09, 11:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rilder

The first time I went up the pilot sat me in the co-pilot seat offered me the wheel.

Thats my daily job

of course there are no eject levers or self destruct buttons in a Cessna 150

so pretty much no matter what you pushed or pulled or felt the desire to tinker with... the situation would pretty much be recoverable

Platapus · 11-08-09, 08:45 AM

Ahh the 150. Brings back good memories. That is one good aircraft for learnin

SteamWake · 11-08-09, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platapus

Ahh the 150. Brings back good memories. That is one good aircraft for learnin

About all its good for really damn thing is so slow

Platapus · 11-08-09, 11:36 AM

Yeah but it is a good predictable and forgiving aircraft.

Kpt. Lehmann · 11-08-09, 12:01 PM

So if I push this button right here...

GoldenRivet · 11-08-09, 12:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteamWake

About all its good for really damn thing is so slow

which is a good thing considering it was purpose built for training and as a student you need to build flight time.

with the Cessna 150 you only have to go about 60 miles out and back to get a good hour and a half of flight time on a cross country.

With a Warrior or a Cessna 172 you would have to fly about 100 miles out and back for the same amount of flight time.

put this 150 up against a cross country with 4 or 5 stops with 2 touch and goes at each... takeoff at 7:30am you could EASILY meet all of your solo cross country flight time requirements before lunch time the same day covering half the distance of another student in a faster airplane.

every airplane has to be purpose built, and the Cessna 150 was built with the flight school operation in mind.

The Cessna 150:

1. Has an hourly fuel cost of about $19
2. it is half the insurance cost of a 172
3. They have an extremely low acquisition price ($17-$25K)
4. They are very easy to maintain
5. Parts availability is excellent
6. they are always in demand so resale value holds very well
7. It takes up very little hangar space, so you could cram 8 or 10 of them in a single fairly medium sized hangar.

the list goes on and on

Schroeder · 11-08-09, 01:54 PM

17K$ to 25K$? That's damn cheap.

We operate a double seater glider as a trainer at our airfield which is 30 years old (AsK 13) and even that thing would still cost 16 - 18.000 € to acquire.

Platapus · 11-08-09, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

2. it is half the insurance cost of a 172

Yikes! I never knew that? Any idea why?

GoldenRivet · 11-08-09, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Platapus

Yikes! I never knew that? Any idea why?

a couple of main things from the vantage point of the insurance company:

Cessna 150:

2 seats - This means that potentially only two individuals will be injured, maimed or killed if the aircraft is involved in an accident.

Hull Value - $24,000 (approx) This means that if the aircraft is invovled in an accident, and the result is that the aircraft is a total loss... the insurance company will write a check for $25K

Cessna 172

4 seats - This means that potentially there will be four individuals injured, maimed or killed if the aircraft is involved in the accident.

Hull value - $60,000+ (approx) This means that if the aircraft is invovled in an accident, and the result is that the aircraft is a total loss... the insurance company will write a check for $65K or perhaps more.

My annual premium on the Cessna 150 is about $3,100

this covers any human being to act as the pilot of the aircraft even if they have ZERO hours experience. This also covers me for up to $1,000,000 liability insurance.

Annual insurance premium for a Cessna 172 for the exact same coverage was in the neighborhood of $7,000

11-08-09, 08:45 AM	#3
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,384 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	Ahh the 150. Brings back good memories. That is one good aircraft for learnin __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

11-08-09, 11:36 AM	#5
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,384 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	Yeah but it is a good predictable and forgiving aircraft. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

11-08-09, 12:01 PM	#6
Kpt. Lehmann GWX Project Director Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: The Republic of Texas Posts: 6,996 Downloads: 124 Uploads: 0	So if I push this button right here... __________________ www.thegreywolves.com All you need is good men. - Heinrich Lehmann-Willenbrock

11-08-09, 01:54 PM	#8
Schroeder Navy Seal Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Banana Republic of Germany Posts: 6,170 Downloads: 62 Uploads: 0	17K$ to 25K$? That's damn cheap. We operate a double seater glider as a trainer at our airfield which is 30 years old (AsK 13) and even that thing would still cost 16 - 18.000 € to acquire. __________________ Putting Germ back into Germany.