New 8KCAB Super D, N944TL Aims College!

Bartman

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Bob Turner

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Engine? 3-bladed prop? Looks great. Good thing I don't have a spare quarter mil for a new one.
 

Bartman

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I emailed the people at Aims College inviting them to come tell us more about their programs and to post photos and stuff when they are out flying/teaching.

Would be nice to see more college programs involved here with their planes and students. :)
 

Bruce

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To think if this would have been available to me when I first started, my first aerobatics were in a Cessna 152 acrobat of course that was 30 years ago. Nice to see young folks getting involved.
 

Bob Turner

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Um - my Decathlon rolled out of the factory 42 years ago, and I think it cost around $20 grand. It is worth 50 today, and except for only two blades and a 1500 hour engine it is identical to the new ones (well, they have metal spar wings).

You could have trained in a Citabria or even a Great Lakes back then if you had wanted.
 

JimParker256

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Well, I "wanted" but no one near me had a Citabria for rental or instruction. Of course, we didn't have a Cessna Aerobat either... My CFI took me up in his Pazmany PL2 and we did some spins and aileron rolls. That airplane had a unique history. It was actually built for the Taiwanese Air Force for their initial training program. They used it instead of the Beech Mentor because it was MUCH cheaper to operate. Their aviation cadets built it under supervision of Leo Pazmany himsels (so the story goes). The panel was laid out just like the fighters they would later fly, to include a dummy "landing gear" switch that was part of the checklist. (Gear down before short final, gear up once positive rate of climb was established.) Funny thing is that it actually had a buzzer that would go off if the manifold pressure went real low with the "gear" switch in the "up" position. Good training, I guess... My CFI did some contract training for the Taiwanese Air Force, and when they surplused the PL2s, he bought one of them for next to nothing and had it shipped back to California. It wasn't registered EAB, but Experimental Demonstration or something like that. Very restrictive other than local flights. Back then, he had to get approval from the FSDO to fly outside his local training area. Fortunately, the local flying area they designated was basically all of California from the LA Basin to up north of Sacramento, and extended just east to allow him to visit Las Vegas without exiting the local flying area. It was a sweetheart deal because he had served in the US Air Force with the guy who wrote the restrictions. Probably can't get anything close to that these days!
 

Bob Turner

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I met Paz at Ramona in the 1960s. He was meticulous. Neat airplane.

Fortunately, the Citabria is now the most bang for airplane bucks! Sure, you can get a 150 for less, but you could also buy a schoolbus for less and have just as much fun. If I did not already have a Champ of sorts, I would be looking for a low power spring steel gear Citabria.