Cruisair

S

slimpockets

New member
I had the chance to sit in a Cruisair a few days ago. My question is this... do they come in larger sizes? I need 2 more inches of head room to get the door closed. Is the Cruisemaster much larger? I have a tall sitting height but can fit into Mooney and Cesssna planes. I like the Mooney but think a Bellanca would work better off the field I live on (2500' grass). I'm just over 6'4" and now down to 225#.
Thanks,
Russell
 
Alas, Russell, Cruisairs come in but one size. Cruisemasters are slightly larger and have adjustable seats that not only served to move you back, but down as you go back. The seat rails follow a curve, you see. Thus tall torso folks will do fine in a 'Master. Short torso, long leg guys like me use cushions :)

Jonathan
 
Good, I can keep the dream alive. I'll keep an eye out for a Cruisemaster and see if I fit. The problem is you never see them!
 
Come out to our West Coast Fly-In and you'll see plenty. Probably get a ride in one too!
http://www.bellanca-championclub.com/WC2009upcoming.html
 
Thanks for reminding me, Robert...dang near forgot to register and arrange to eat until AFTER the discount deadline <blush>.

And yeah, Slim...er...I mean Russell, I think you can count on a ride if you come. Beats just sitting...well, you'd still be sitting. Difference is the distance between the seat and the ground.

Jonathan
 
If you find a later Cruiseair it will have adjustable seat backs, the further you go back the more head room you get. I have heard of guys making the slide tubes out of .080 tubing and adding an inch or two to set the back even further back. I have a late Cruiseair and a late Cruisemaster and the head room is about the same.....Greg
 
Russel,if you are looking for a Cruisemaster, call Sherman Oxford down in Texas. The plane is listed on the club Flymart and has a real low time engine. Sherman is a BIG OLD BOY and if he fits it you probably will also. Something you might want to think about between the Bellanca and the Mooney is passenger comfort. I have been getting a fair amount of Mooney time lately, and the front seats are wonderfully adjustable but I sometimes have to ride rear seat on on a return leg. I can attest that the back seat of a Mooney is a torture chamber compared to the back seat of a Bellanca. Thats just my 2 cents worth.______Grant.
 
Russel,another 2 cents worth! The Cruisair (14-13-2) and the Cruisemasters (14-19/14-19-2) can gain an additional 2 inches of headroom over the pilots seat by modifying the headliner to match the last Cruisemaster ( 14-19-3). The -3 Cruisemaster has a half moon shaped piece of wood trim over the pilots side that is similar to the upper door trim on the copilots side that allows the liner to attach further up towards the fabric of the fuselage . Because the structural tubing above the pilots side is the same on 14-13 thru 14-19-3 the older Bellancas should be able to be changed without too much work. The wood trim would have to attach with adell clamps rather than the welded tabs on the _3, but it is doable. If you get close on the choice of planes, I could take some pictures and send them to you. Good luck____Grant.
 
You guys are the devil! I'll see if I'm off work for the fly-in. I don't know yet. As far as the back seat goes, that's for kids. I'll never go back, it will give them more material for the shrink they will need after being raised by me.
Russell
 
I live South of Atlanta. I can nonrev out to the flyin, I just don't know that I will have the time to make it. You know how it goes w/ the kids on vacation.
Russell
 
I may be selling my Cruisair if you want to give it a sit. How much height do you need from the seat cushions to the ceiling? My seats aren't very thick.


Kevin
 
How come, Kevin?

I would have preceded that with a "If you don't mind my asking," but I always thought that was silly because the question follows anyway :)

Jonathan
 
Just hard to fit it in the hangar with my Ercoupe and I am not flying it enough. It is also hard for me to pull it into my hangar by my self. I would be better off replacing it with something smaller. About the only certificated airplane I would want to replace it with is a Mooney Mite and would trade it for a nice one. I have been doing the annual and of course when I start flying it again I may change my mind.

Kevin
 
Just pulled out the handy tape and it says 41.5". I fit in other light planes like the Bonanza and Mooney.
Do you guys have problems finding cyl. for the 0-435? The Cruiseair guy I talked to said he had to search hard for them to do his last top.
Russell
 
I have a Frankin 165. No problem doing the top overhaul. The cylinders have sleeves in them that are replaceable. I sent mine to Greg. It's a really smooth engine.

Kevin
 
I had a chance to ride in a Stinson w/ the 165. It ran nice not like the lyc. How short of a field would run your plane out of? I live on a 2500' grass strip w/ trees. The o-435 Cruisair had no problem here.
Russell
 
Ah, that's right, Kevin...I forgot about your love of the double tails as well.

Although I had managed to get my Luscombe in and out of hangars with a toe bar, when I got my Cruisemaster there was not a moment of such reckless consideration involved...I had to get one of those tow devices. Power Tow I think it's called...single wheel, gas engine, and an adaptor that accepts Scotts. With but one secure point of contact with the ground it would have been an...amusing process to have tried just the tow bar. For me it was as much the cost of ownership as hangar rent, but I've yet to hear of anyone else needing one, especially for the lither Cruisair.

I get your point about not flying it much. Even though my 'Master is finally up to a wonderful dispatch rate I often have to make myself fly it at times. It's fun to fly, of course, but it's not a patch airplane. It's a go somewhere airplane and we're but one month into to heart of the flying season. Get to your cruising alt, get her all trimmed out and hands off and it's time to begin your descent in some cases. Hell, yesterday I had to go to local radio shop in the Shenandoah valley, barely 40nm away, just over the mountains....up 1k/min and then immediately down 1k/min...three tenths of an hour maybe...four if I buzz the field a couple of time making machine gun sounds over the radio or do my "Calling Barranca...calling Barranca" shtick. In short, it's a mission airplane. The mission of patch flying is not having a mission.

Larry may disagree but he's just plain disagreeable :mrgreen:

Jonathan
 
True JB, but remember I have a sign that I use to hang under my engr. licence that said " Arguing with an engineer is like mud wrestling with a pig...after 30 minutes you realize they both enjoy it!"

I too find that moving my plane out of the hanger is a royal pain...someone told me that GB said that if it didn't make it go faster or lighter, it wasn't going on the plane...hence not tie downs hand holds etc.

I pull my plane out of the hanger with an electric wench (a winch works with less complaining though) set AFT of the plane. I have a small removable eyebolt set in the ground in front of the hanger at the taxi lane. I set a pulley at the eyebolt that the cable feeds thru and then back to my tail wheel. Pulls the plane out in three minutes or so. I can also use it to pull it in, but the tail wheel tow bar is faster.
 
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