ERCOUPE

The Ercoupe (E and R coming from the company's name: Engineering and Research Corporation) was one of the most unusual-and controversial-light airplanes ever built. It was designed by Fred E. Weick, one of aviation's foremost engineers, who decided to solve with one bold stroke the biggest single cause of aviation fatalities: the stall, followed by spin, at altitudes too low to permit recovery. The Ercoupe was designed to be stallproof and spin-proof. (The same idea was executed, in a slightly different form, by Professor Otto Koppen, of MIT. His design, called the Skyfarer, was also stall and spin-proof, but it never reached volume production.)

The Ercoupe could not be ignored. The wing was placed low, there were two vertical fins on a horizontal tail boom, and the third landing wheel was under the nose. This design flew in the face of all things known about proper light airplanes, which had high wings, one fin (and rudder), and a tail wheel.

The Ercoupe really is a nice little plane though some pilots (mostly those who've never flown it) don't think it's too respectable. Most owners love them.

Both the Ercoupe and Skyfarer were built in small quantities before World War II. After the war the Ercoupe came on strong, and was promoted as no airplane had ever been promoted before. It was displayed at state and county fairs, demonstrated at air shows, flown from shopping center parking lots, and even dismantled and reassembled inside department stores. The results were satisfying, to say the least, and Engineering and Research Corporation had to expand their production facilities several times before they could catch up with the demand.

Wayne White sends in these very nice Ercoupe model photos.. Note the extra work he did on the landing gear.

All of this took place with absolute disregard of what aviation's oldtimers were saying about the airplane. Because of its tricycle gear, they called it "the flying milking stool." Because its ailerons and rudder were interconnected-there was only one pedal, for brakes, on the floor-the oldtimers spoke darkly about the problems of landing in a cross wind. (In fact, there were almost none: the landing gear was sturdy, and would accept a very high level of cross wind and a correspondingly low level of pilot skill.)

Even so, it was soon found to have a serious fault. It would get into a high rate of descent (or "sink") which could only be stopped by full forward yoke and loss of a considerable amount of height. The usual result was a hard landing and expensive airframe damage. Injuries to the occupants rarely required medication, but the experience was unsettling enough to drive some new pilots out of aviation.

Fred Weick's goal of eliminating the stall-spin accident sequence was achieved, but the airplane was badly oversold. The high sink rate was never mentioned. In fact many salesmen were themselves surprised by it. The major thrust of the sales effort was "anyone can fly," and cases without end were cited in which pilots who had never had a previous lesson soloed in two hours, or three, or even one.

When the postwar airplane sales bubble burst, Engineering and Research Corporation was not alone in disaster, but unlike Beech, Cessna, and Piper, it did not survive. The Ercoupe itself refused to die and went through a series of revivals, with each new group of owners as starry-eyed as the last, certain that they could escape the fate which had overtaken their predecessors.

Unfortunately, none of the attempts succeeded, not even the most recent revival by Mooney Aircraft, who bought all rights, tooling, and parts from Alon Aircraft, which had been building a few at a time in Kansas. This time the resurrectors took the approach that the only thing wrong with the Ercoupe was its stall-proof, spin-proof philosophy. The tail was redesigned, using one fin and rudder. Rudder pedals were made standard. (A previous field modification had permitted adding rudder controls to the original.) All of the engineering tricks which had made the Ercoupe stallproof and spin-proof were undone.

The Cadet, as the reincarnation was called, no longer looked odd: by now, low wings and tricycle gears had become commonplace, and that double fin was gone. The Cadet flew just like other airplanes, given small differences in handling. It would stall, and it would spin. The attempt failed: the Cadet didn't even show the small spark of life visible in the previous tries.

The unfortunate part of all this is that the Ercoupe is really quite a nice small airplane. The freedom from stalls and spins doesn't hurt, and anybody who wants to can have rudder pedals installed. The high sink rate can be avoided, as it is in all other airplanes, by proper pilot training and technique.

The one remaining Ercoupe problem is social: it is not thought to be a respectable flying machine. Most of those who have this attitude have never flown one and have no idea of its real assets and liabilities, but that does not lessen their scorn. The Ercoupe is worth looking at, even so.

The Great Silver Hope

Masquerading under the Aircoupe, Alon, and Mooney labels, the Ercoupe design has been around much longer than most people realize. The Ercoupe was designed to a lofty concept and high level of sophistication....and did exactly what it was designed to do.

It's roots go back to the early 30's when it was popular to believe that there would someday there would be a mass market for "Everyman's Airplane". Further, it was believed that the great mass market awaited only the appearance of a cheap, easy-to-fly and safe airplane.

In 1936 Fred Weick was a young engineer hired by the just formed ERCO (Engineering Research Company) and is generally regarded as the creator of the legendary 1937 Ercoupe. All through the initial design and testing, wind tunnels were not used at all. The airplane was flown, modifications made to correct deficiencies, then flown again and again until it was certified on April 20, 1938. A placard, which was the first for any airplane, was allowed to be placed proudly on the instrument panel reading: "This aircraft characteristically incapable of spinning"

Things looked rosy for the Ercoupe but then the Second World War came along and production was halted for lack of aluminum . Sadly, just 112 Ercoupes came off the line.

EPILOGUE
After the war, it became evident that there simply wasn't an "Everyman's Airplane Market" and possibly might never be. The Ercoupe is, arguably, the best tested, best designed, and best researched light airplane ever produced. Even today it has few peers and it's only failure was that it was produced for a non-existent market. Look for one at your local airport.

 Looking at the front view (see 2 view), notice that the Ercoupe has a very distinctive forward fuselage shape that narrows toward the bottom. Curiously, the reason for this shape was to accommodate the ERCO inverted inline engine that was custom built for the Ercoupe. The Continental A-65 was ultimately used and the fuselage remained unchanged. Refer to the typical cross-section. Yes, the nose section IS larger to permit engine cooling air to escape.

Keep in dihedral in mind as you glue the wing center section in place. It's hard to add it as an after thought later. I mean bending the wings up is really dumb. Carefully curve and bend the wing fillets out BEFORE glueing the wings to the fuselage. A pencil is a good diameter over which to shape the fillets.

Before you build your Ercoupe......

If you want your model to have registration markings, photo copy the numbers on the back of the card four times then cut and glue your own special number. RH wing/upper surface-LH wing/lower surface & fuselage