Skyhawks are a wonderfully versatile (and numerous) aircraft. We have three good ones (and we can get more) Sometimes I wonder why we knock ourselves out to have an LSA, Mooney, tail wheel and also provide twin training. I guess that is what makes us different…we try to provide what members want. We are currently facing some steep costs to restore our Citabria…do we have fliers for this plane? We need to know what you want! Comments please!!
Published by David St. George
David St. George. David took his first flying lesson in 1970. Flying for over 50 years, he began instructing full-time in 1992. A 26-year Master Instructor, David is the Executive Director of SAFE (The Society of Aviation and Flight Educators). He has logged >21K hours of flight time with >16K hours of flight instruction given (chief instructor of a 141 school with a college program for > 20 years). He is currently a charter pilot flying a Citation M2 single-pilot jet. View all posts by David St. George
EHFC Members Talking! 
A couple of years ago I got my tail wheel endorsement in the Citabria and I think every dime spent was well worth it. If you were to ask me I think we should stipulate tailwheel time (an hour) for every newly minted pilot. I went inactive last year because of pressing family commitments (two teenage kids) and I’ve been considering getting back to flying because I now appreciate what I took for granted. One of the things that I do want to do is get back to flying the Citabria.
The fun index outweighs every other aircraft in our fleet.
One thing I might suggest is, decide if the club wants a tail-wheel first, then second decide if the Citabria is the right aircraft. Since we bought the aircraft shes been a bit of a maintenance diva. In fact one thing that bummed me was when she went from costing the same to fly as a 172 when she originally cost the same as a 152. I think that hurt the aircraft usage. SO if the club decides that it wants a tail wheel, then perhaps it might be worthwhile to dump the Citabria and get an aircraft that may be more stable maintenance wise.
Something really affordable, I would like to fly just for fun and spend $50 or less a hour doing so. What would it take to do this?
What drives the airplane costs right now is the price of fuel…currently $50 an hour for the fuel in a Skyhawk! Maybe future fuel (electric?) planes will be cheaper?
!!!Please keep the tailwheel!! I love the tailwheel, it’s amazing that we one have one at East Hill. And I’m upset that somehow our tailwheel was damaged!!! I think that plane is the ultimate freedom of flight. The first time I flew it, it was what I had originally dreamed of flying to be. I wish I did PPL in the tailwheel. The 172 or the mooney, just don’t give you that feeling! You are just one with that plane when ones you flys it. I agree with Ron on that every student pilot should be required to do a few hours in a tailwheel.
Now, I thought the mooney took the title for maintance queen when I originally got getting started with it. Or prehapes it is just the perspective pilot checking out in a plane that the plane has isses. Ya know every plane has maintain bumbles when they see as much rough and tumble use as our planes get. All our planes do Pretty well.
LSA is an untapped market and tailwheel is also! If I were to rearrange the fleet I’d probably let the 152’s go. And replace them with something else… I understand Flight is not cheap, in fact I’m one of the least richest pilots you’ll ever find, noone will never be able to get a flight in for $50 in 2012! — insurance, fuel, upkeep, etc– it all adds to over $50 quickly. I think East Hill does an amazing job of controlling those costs! If it were not for East Hill and the varity of plane we have people like me would never be able to fly.
I love the tailwheel. And the Mooney. And a twin. I promise to travel up to Ithaca twice a year to stay current in a tailwheel and the Mooney (as long as I don’t own my own aircraft, which isn’t likely for at least a few years). I would do the same for a twin, but that is more dependent on David’s time than anything else. EHFC Skyhawks are superior to Florida beaters regardless of the weather.
If we’re dreaming, how about a Husky on floats?
I’d love a Cirrus. Capable x-c aircraft with known ice protection, and the chute to give my wife some extra comfort. I know it would be expensive, but i’d be willing to pay the rates. Learning the Avidyne panel would take some time, but it seems like a great platform for serious IFR flying
I believe I’d get a lot out of flying a taildragger, but that’s somewhat less of a priority for me.
I’d be most interested in a plane good for longer trips. Of course a Cirrus would be great but there may be other more affordable options.
How about using a multiple choice survey to better estimate the actual needs of all pilots (including hours intended to fly), not weighted by the amount of posting done?
While I have been inactive for a couple of years due to work and time constraints I would make time to fly in a Cirrus. What a great plane for cross country travel. In the tail dragger category I would love to fly a Huskey. It might be less of a maintenance hog? Either or both would get me back flying. A survey sounds like a good idea.
Mark Wagner
Of all the planes the club has, and I”ve flown them all at one time or another, the tailwheel Citabra is the most fun for me. I certainly second the idea of trying to get a relatively inexpensive acrobatic tailwheel airplane if the Citabra is to be replaced. The Navy taught us precision acrobatics right after learning how to fly by ourselves, After that all of us believed we could fly the box the plane came in. A great confidence builder. And fun! Pete Loucks
I have been checked out and flown the LSA a certain amount and have five hours in the Citabria. I have plans to be flying both aircraft in the near future. I would like to see both planes stay in the fleet, or maybe a different tailwheel that might be more dependable.
One of my regrets as a pilot is that I never soloed in a Champ, back when I owned half of one. The Citabria’s pretty much the same plane, and someday, when time permits, I would like to pick up the tailwheel endorsement I otherwise would have been grandfathered into.