Coins and airplanes don't mix

Longacre

One of my other hobbies, besides coins and golf, is airplanes. I like to read about them, watch them, play Flight Simulator, etc. For Christmas, my wife got me a book called "The Flying Book". It is a pretty high level view of how airplanes work, what everyone at an airport does, how planes are navigated, etc. Anyway, there is a chapter on why it's important for a pilot to make sure of the weight and the balance of the airplane before it takes off. The book then goes on to tell of an incident in 1980 on a flight out of Chicago. The pilot reported that the plane seemed very heavy and sluggish on take off and in flight. The plane landed safely at its destination. A later investigation concluded that there was a coin convention in town and most of the passengers were coin collectors. They estimated that there were approximately one ton of coins in everyone's carry-on bags. That accounted for the imbalance on the plane and extra weight! I thought that story was interesting, so I wanted to share it.

nwcs

I bet that was a fun plane trip, though, if everyone talked about the convention. I remember reading that the FAA was going to require passengers and cargo to get weighed on small planes before takeoff after a crash in North Carolina a couple of years ago where it was determined the plane was over-weight.

ziggy29

Interesting. I was a student pilot for a while -- logged 26 hours and flew 7 hours solo -- so I've been a bit of a student of aviation as well. I suppose if I get around to flying again, I'll have to remember not to set many briefcases full of coins in the back of the Cessna and really screw up the weight and balance of the airplane...

66Tbird

<< <i>They estimated that there were approximately one ton of coins in everyone's carry-on bags >>



Neat sidenote that it was noticed. For a jetliner a ton is not much, unless each person carried-on a ton. If I recall a pilot friends coment once that it takes a good 20 people to move to the rear of the plane(707) to make a difference, of course thats for a modern jet. Who knows what what plane was used in the book.

Here's my latest, It's a 13 oz. 39 in span 3D flyer with 30oz thrust. Does any/all high alpha aerobatics (prop hovering)

3d flyer Video, 13MB rightclick and save

jbsteven

the ton guess is too high. If 20 dealers on a plane (VERY high number of independent dealers on a plane) had 50 pounds of coins each that is 1000 pounds. I have been on a plane with 4 other dealers tops so 20 dealers is pushing it.

still a neat story that they thought up about coin collectors/dealers.

Lakesammman

Interesting story! Had forgotten about it. That would throw the weight and balance off, wouldn't it.

Just had a Garmin GPS installed in this plane and am trying to figure out how to use it to best advantage on the simulator. The sophistication of modern instruments is amazing. It's becoming more like a video game. Basics are easy on the laptop but trying to do it "on the fly" IFR as a single pilot is another matter.

RYK

Cute story, but I agree with Jason. Sounds more like an urban legend.

mrearlygold

Lakesammman, if you live anywhere near where you are standing with that plane,


you have an enviable lifestyle



Tom

Lakesammman

In this case, coins and airplanes DO mix - had to sell 2 of my favorite coins to buy it

MrEarlyGold:

Nice web site.

The pic was in northern Idaho about 2.5 hours east of Seattle. Pretty country.

EagleEye

Tim, That is one beautiful flying boat! Great trade A set of Flying Eagles for a Flying "Eagle"!

MrEureka

I've definitely been on planes with 20 or more dealers. It's most common when leaving big shows in small cities.

EagleEye

I guess if it was 1980 all the dealers had at least 5 bags of silver each!

DMWJR

<< <i>Lakesammman, if you live anywhere near where you are standing with that plane,


you have an enviable lifestyle



Tom >>



Yes, you can keep the plane, I've had several. But that landscape is awesome!

jetmek03052

Nice Aircraft! What is that....a 210? Nice amphip floats too! Those babies probably cost as much (if not more) than your aircraft!

Nice 3 bladed constant speed McCauley prop too!

I had a C-170 on floats, with a Franklin engine conversion in it....one of a kind. You could load it up with full fuel and four with baggage on floats, still climb out at 1,000 FPM! We (my dad and I) also had a J-3 cub on floats. That was a lot of fun but you really could go anywhere with it until we put some long range fuel tanks up in the wings during re-cover (Stits Polyfiber).

I take care of a Gulfstream 4 and a Hawker 800XP for a living now. Garmins are nice......I used to install avionics for a living about 18 years ago. Back then, the big things to have were GNS 500's. Kind of like boat anchors now, since there are no more navigation bouys being maintained for that system!

But still....it's hard to beat a nice Honeywell or Collins FMS with 3 IRS platforms and 6 tube EFIS or the new Planeview system!!!