I owned a C140 for a while (and flew it coast to coast in the USA), they are pretty mild mannered aircraft although with a C85 the mountainous parts have to be planned quite carefully. I’ve not had the pleasure of flying a Luscombe.
I did my coast to coast trip when I already had on the order of 1000 hours, so I had plenty of XC time by then, but even so it was an adventure and I learned a lot from it. I think for low hours pilots there’s a tendency (usually from other people) to think that a long VFR cross country is some hugely terrifying pioneering activity that a low hours pilot has absolutely no business doing, but that’s just miles from the truth: in reality, a really long XC flight is just a collection of shorter XC flights, and the aeronautical decision making is just the same. The FAA deems you capable of this the moment you pass your checkride. It tends to be the “other crabs in the bucket” that try to pull you down.
Thanks for that very nice write-up Silvaire.
It piqued my interest since a friend of mine bought HB-DUC, a C-90 powered 8A in pristine condition, now stationed on my field. I wouldn’t want to go into oldtimers again, but those Luscombes sure are cute.
I’ll offer my opinion The Luscombe 8 was an innovative, pure successor to the Monocoupes that Don Luscombe was earlier behind. It’s therefore a little tricky, sporty as something with as little as 65 HP can be, but it’s an original: mostly metal, flat engine that doesn’t leak or require much service, side by side closed cockpit, pressure cowling etc, things that we now see as normal. And it flies in a way that was reminiscent of a Monocoupe, with stiff, narrow main gear and stick controls. Cessna, being anything but dumb saw the value and built a direct copy, but more refined in its detail design and made with everyman in mind, so more tooled-up for production, a bit more forgiving to fly, yoke versus stick, less sporty.
How does the L8 compare to the C140 derived from it?
@Capitaine the Luscombe is a semi aerobatic art deco masterpiece with very strong construction, the Cessna 140 is a fine aircraft but just a mere Cessna :)
Thank you Silvaire, very informative. I knew almost nothing about the type. How does the L8 compare to the C140 derived from it?
I’ve just read C’est la folie and the sequel Je t’aime à la folie (more flying but not as good) as recommended by RobertL18C, and it was refreshing to read a non-aviation book where GA is completely normal.
I think there are too many existing Luscombes in the $15-30K range for a new production aircraft to sell at several times that cost. Also, I don’t think many people spending new plane money would choose a Luscombe over other options. What has happened with past efforts to revive the design is that the company survives for a while selling used parts and so on, plus a couple of planes, then sells the assets to somebody else. It’s a 1930s design, a good one, but still a plane with the design and control issues of that era.
Now as an LSA. @silvaire, your opinion?
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I wasn’t sure where to post this, but this fellow’s YT channel documents his Luscombe trip last year on a 7000 mile loop around the western US. Not such a huge deal except that he’d only had his Private Certificate a few months before departing, having bought the plane to get it. Very nice video and narration quality and it shows what you can do in a very light plane, if you’re willing to plan and patient.
He’s adding segments weekly or so as he produces them. I’m interested to see his (intentional) off airport desert landing in a future episode.
Channel here https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCjVuLZt0rFQRISqHhYxVAVA
Teaser here
I think my Luscombe time is mostly behind me, but it makes me nostalgic, especially the sound of the idling engine with the window open. Low wing and power loading in turbulence, not so much.