Eric's Sukhoi 26m


Eric bought this Sukhoi 26m at an auction in November 2000. After he bought it, he had no money left for the engine. Over the winter he saved up for a OS .46FX. This was one of his first take off's. Notice the tail wheel is off the ground.


Eric had so much of his own money tied up in this plane that he wanted help from an "old pro" for the first couple of flights. Of course, I'm not the "old pro", this is someone he's seen fly at the at the field. So Eric thought he'd ask him to help him fly. Eric has flown it plenty of times himself now.

Eric really loved this plane. One day, after flying for several minutes, he took it way up to see how many spins he could do. He was also quite far out, and other planes where in the air. After 20 spins he pulled out. Then he pulled up. Stall! What happens when the plane is pointed down for too long with half a tank of fuel? The fuel clunk is in the air, not in the fuel. The motor had gone dead-stick, but Eric was too far away to hear it with the other planes in the air. By the time he realized it, he was too low to glide back. The plane went in. A three hour search found the plane. I repaired it, but not to its original beauty. Although it flew several more times, it just wasn't the same to Eric. So he stripped it and bought the P51 FunTiger. But that wasn't the same either. He sold that and bought the Giles 202. Alas! He has a new love.

Up
Home