is bigger better or worse

[lame duck]

question, if you are used to flying bensen, and two place bill parsons most of the time about 125 ft. agl, down to 20 ft. agl over my farm ground, and you were thinking about jumping up to a sparrow hawk, or raf two place do you still feel as comfortable flying at the same hight or do you find yourself wanting to fly a little higher to be in the same comfort zone? i love flying low and seeing things in great detail, i fly about 67 mph. just don't want to buy one and then relize i made a big mistake the way i like to fly.

[WHY]

HI Jerry

It's my guess that if you are seeing "things in great detail" you are devoting quite a bit of time to "looking first and flying second" therefore I would choose more altitude for a margin of safety

Tony

[birdy]

do you still feel as comfortable flying at the same hight
Comfort is a personal thing, and its should be regulated by the pilots ability.
I get nose bleeds just thinkn bout flyn as high as most pilots, and most pilots only fly at my normal alt just before landn and just after take off.

The biggest loss youll find in and cabed machine, speciasly a 2seater, is how much you cant see.

[Texasautogyro]

You might think about a couple of things. A Benson and Parsons fly totally different then an RAF or Sparrow Hawk. RAF and Sparrow Hawks normally have more drag, and in some cases do not have the same profile in flight as what you might be used to. So go find or call Steve McGowan or Ron Menzie and see how they fly. Steve has both. Then make a better decision. I never normally fly that low for obvious safety reasons. But when I do I am much more concerned on keeping the right speed to recover then looking around. This comes from 11 years in Alaska bush flying and seeing to many guys crash.

[Ronnie328]

i think Birdy is on point here. Your abilities will dictate your comfort. And an enclosed or semi enclosed machine is going to impair how much you can see.

[lame duck]

i guess i'm just getting older, thinking about winter coming on and if i would fly more this winter in a cab. thank you for your wisdom. i have flown in ron,s raf for training but i didn't get to go joy riding in it and i only had a few hours in it back then, now at about 150 hours open frame, some days if the engine is hooked up good i fly lower than other days more like 250 to 300 ft. i fly over a lot of open farm ground no trees very few power line's, i do agree the higher you fly the safer we are. thank you from missouri

[Ronnie328]

i agree. you will probably do more winter flying with some wind protection. I don't see that being a bad thing. Just stay safe and get a refresher on flying in a pod. That way you can get even older

[birdy]

i guess i'm just getting older, thinking about winter coming on and if i would fly more this winter in a cab.
Ah, good, i thought it was just me.
Did my first year mustern ina cab this winter, and f***d if im flyn in the open all day wen its anythn below 40c again.
Getn too old for that now.

[Joe Pires]

What is this winter thing you speak of??


Greetings from Sunny Florida!

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by birdy

Did my first year mustern ina cab this winter, and f***d if im flyn in the open all day wen its anythn below 40c again.
Getn too old for that now.

Below 40C, Birdy?
(That's 104F for us backward Americans.)
That's pretty toasty, isn't it?

[birdy]

Anythn below 40 is too cold.
I like to fly naked.

[Gyro28866]

birdy:
"Anythn below 40 is too cold.
I like to fly naked. "
Thats cuz the snake goes into hibernation, and leaves the eggs to shrivel in the nest!

[Penguin]

Originally Posted by birdy

Anythn below 40 is too cold.
I like to fly naked.

I been wanting to try that.
But am afraid of getting my necessaries in the prop.

[reelmule]

The RAF has a really great heater for you winter flyers!

[Gyro Junky]

Well anyway...back on the topic as posted. I have flown 11 hours in a Sparrow Hawk, this year, in the course of flight training. I have flown about 15 hours in the same area and conditions in my open frame cockpit Dominator. My opinion is, you will be hesitant to fly low and fast or low and slow, in the larger enclosed machine, relative to what you are use to. Just feels like the larger aircraft needs more altitude and speed in case of an emergency. I would stick with what you have for the back 40 and get you a second machine for dinner in the next county, with the wife. Hell, if she doesn't want to go, drop me a line. (: