No matter where pilots gather, it's only a matter of time before someone starts a debate over which are the best and worst airplanes. It is no exception in the Pilot's Lounge at the virtual airport, and the battle was raging one afternoon when I happened to wander in. Old Hack was adamant that the Piper Super Cruiser, an example of which he had purchased almost-new back in the late 1940s, was the finest general aviation airplane ever manufactured. There were those who differed with him.I've certainly thought about the issue, especially when doing aircraft checkouts, as the good and bad points of a model -- as well as what are best described as its quirks -- need to be known and explained. For example, I generally like the later model Globe/Tempco Swift, the GC-1B, with 125 hp. When I fly with someone in one, I make sure the new pilot is carefully introduced to its special corners. For example, the open wheel-wells mean that, during an attempt to three-point-land the airplane, the drag of the airplane dramatically changes late in the flare, causing such landing attempts to be wildly unpredictable. Most Swift pilots I know will only do wheel landings. Those who will attempt three-point landings tell me they do so only when the weather is perfect and they are feeling daring. Is the landing behavior a bad thing about that airplane? Well, yes, it is. It takes a corner out of the performance envelope and probably reduces the level of safety somewhat because it compromises one of the tools a pilot has to use when operating the airplane. Is that a fact or an opinion? Opinion, of course, but an educated, reasoned one, I hope. The factual part is that the Swift does not handle predictably when attempting a three-point landing.As we pilots look at quirks, shortcomings and virtues of airplanes, we develop our own opinions as to their values. The original American Yankee had controls that were generally more responsive at all speeds than most production airplanes -- with the possible exception of the Cessna Cardinal -- which made for utterly delightful handling and, at the same time, an increased accident rate when flown by pilots who overcontrolled the airplane on landing.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.avweb.com/features/the-pilots-lounge-126-the-less-than-great-planes