The Ercoupe

The Ercoupe was a popular small airplane introduced around 1949. My Dad bought one and learned to fly. It was risky business back in those days. This was in an era when there were hardly any navigational tools... only a compass and look out of the cockpit with a map in your lap. The picture above shows my Dad and Mom, and my sister and myself beside Dad's Ercoupe. I have fond memories of the days we would drive over to the Island Airport in South Knoxville to see the airplanes and visit with other pilots.

I remember one time of going to Memphis with my Mother, an Aunt, and my Sister by auto. We had gone to visit relatives, and, later, Dad flew the Ercoupe, by himself, to a small airport in Memphis. But the most exciting thing ever was he let my fly back to Knoxville with him in the plane--just Dad and me! I remember him landing in Nashville to refuel. While there we were hungry and tried to get something to eat. Nothing was open and we had to eat some stale food from some vending machines.

The picture to the left is part of a 1949 brochure advertising the Ercoupe. It was quite an airplane for its day.

Dad finally sold his plane. Many of his flying buddies lost their lives in plane crashes. So he decided to get out of the flying business. I'm glad he did, because he's still around and will be 94 years old on September 2.

He could tell you many interesting stories about flying in the early days. Visit his Tomato Garden Journal for a visit with him. You can learn a lot from my Dad.

(For more information on the Ercoupe,
check out the Ercoupe Network web page or Wikipedia.)

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Quote of the Day

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time,
for that the stuff life is made of.
--Benjamin Franklin

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Joke of the Day

The human mind is an amazing thing. It begins working and controlling our body even before we are born and does all sorts of things throughout life... only to stop functioning the minute we get up to speak.