Many years ago, while working my way through college pumping avgas at the local airport, I discovered that one of our university deans owned a diminutive two-seat, twin-tailed airplane—an Ercoupe. He was proud of his little bird, with its unique split sliding canopy, no rudder pedals, and a delightful art deco instrument panel.
Long before he purchased his very own Boeing 707, actor John Travolta discovered this economical fun flier and began his remarkable aviation career as a proud owner. Then, a few years ago, I was privileged to hear how an amazing young woman, Jessica Cox, earned her sport pilot certificate. Born without arms, Cox flew her trusty Ercoupe using only her feet.
The story of this unique airplane begins in the early 1930s with Fred Weick, an engineer for the National Advisory Committee for Aviation (NACA). Weick had advanced the field of propeller efficiency and designed and managed the first full-scale propeller wind tunnel at what is now NASA Langley. In 1929, he earned the Collier Trophy as the designer of the efficient NACA cowl for radial engines that graced so many of the air racers, airliners, fighters, and bombers that followed.
During this golden age of aircraft development, government and industry were looking for ways to make aviation safer and less expensive. Weick and his team were tasked with developing a safer light aircraft that would neither stall nor spin. His first design, the NACA W-1, a high-wing prototype, featured the first steerable tricycle landing gear and proved the no-stall/spin concept. Moving to the private sector at the Engineering and Research Co. (ERCO), Weick refined the design into the low-wing, twin-tailed beauty whose distinctive looks are unmistakable.
The Ercoupe design featured an interconnect between the full-span ailerons, rudder, and steerable nosewheel. The control wheel actuated all three, negating the need for rudder pedals and ensuring coordinated flight with just a yoke. Push and pull for pitch. Turn for roll and to steer the nosewheel. Additionally, Weick limited the upward deflection of the elevator to avoid the stall. At minimum speed, the Ercoupe tended to mush rather than provoke itself into a more developed stall.
The combination of these two control features rendered the Ercoupe virtually spin- and stall-proof. So much so that later versions of the aircraft, including the final Mooney M10 Cadet variant, had to be extensively modified so that students could be taught stalls and spins.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA, predecessor to the FAA) recognized the benefits of the Ercoupe’s two-control system—but also the limitations its training presented for conventional aircraft—and created a unique pilot certificate for pilots who had never used the rudder pedals. They were, of course, limited to flying only two-control aircraft of which there was exactly one at the time: the Ercoupe.
The main landing gear featured a swiveling trailing link design to allow landings in a crab, a simple version of the crosswind crab system in the mighty B-52 Stratofortress. In a crosswind, you fly an Ercoupe down the runway with whatever crab angle you need to track the centerline and let the gear figure it out upon touchdown.
The ERCO Ercoupe was an immediate success. The first flight took place in 1937, production began in 1939, and the company produced and sold 112 Ercoupes before the start of World War II. However, production ended in mid-1941 due to the War Department’s need for strategic materials. Once the war ended, Weick and ERCO believed they were in the right place at the right time with the right airplane for the thousands of pilots returning home. In 1946, the factory, located near the historic College Park Airport (KCGS) in Maryland, produced more than 4,000 Ercoupes. Unfortunately, the boom turned to bust, the expected market failed to materialize, and initial production of the ERCO Ercoupe ended in 1947. Ercoupe fans shouldn’t feel slighted as this collapse happened across postwar general aviation.
The Ercoupe was down but not out. Production continued off and on for the next 30 years. The name Ercoupe applies to the original ERCO-produced models, a few more produced by Univair, and an additional 200 or so created by Sanders Aviation. Forney Aircraft Co. acquired the type certificate and produced an additional 138 aircraft, now dubbed the Aircoupe. These included an F-1A model that featured conventional flight controls and rudder pedals. In the late 1960s, two former Beechcraft executives formed the Alon Co., a play on their last names, Allen and Higdon, and produced the Alon Aircoupe. This model featured the sliding canopy, rudder pedals, and an upgraded Continental C-90 engine, giving the airplane a big power boost from the original 65 hp Continental A-65. The buyer could specify the original rudderless control system, but few did.
The final chapter of the Ercoupe story began with great promise. It was the late 1960s and GA was in a boom period. Cessna and Piper featured complete aircraft lines from two-seat trainers to multiple twin-engine offerings. Major aerospace companies like North American were acquiring out-of-production, piston-single type certificates to create their own GA line. Meanwhile, down in Kerrville, Texas, Mooney decided to follow suit and get into the two-seat trainer market to supplement its line of low-wing, retractable-gear traveling airplanes. Thus was born the Mooney Cadet.
Mooney took the Alon Aircoupe design, including a fighter-like sliding canopy, and added a modified tail section with large windows and a single vertical tail. The goals of this design change were increased visibility and the ability to spin and stall to meet FAA pilot certification requirements. While the company was at it, why not sweep the trailing edge of the tail forward, like the rest of the Mooney line? While the tail feathers mimicked the Mooney style, they did not share the hinged vertical and horizontal tail assembly of the legendary M20, settling for fixed vertical and horizontal surfaces, the latter with a conventional trim tab.
This final iteration of the Ercoupe line, the Mooney M10 Cadet, was striking, though I suspect some Ercoupe aficionados might disagree. Alas, within a year, Mooney had once again fallen into financial distress. Butler Aviation, the new owners of the Mooney type certificate, had no place for the diminutive Cadet in its newly retitled Aerostar lineup. This would truly be the end of the line for Weick’s safety-first masterpiece.
Today, an active Ercoupe Owners Club (EOC) provides product support, advice, and camaraderie for the nearly one-third of the original 5,600 Ercoupe variants still flying. The College Park Aviation Museum, located at the historic College Park Airport, features a complete history of the little Ercoupe. (If you’re in the Washington, D.C., area, College Park is an easy Metro ride out.)
And how about the flying experience? Once the new Ercoupe pilot gets over taxiing the airplane by steering with the control wheel like a car, it is simply delightful. With the canopy open, the wind in your hair, and the leisurely 80-knot cruise, it is flying at its most basic best. Many of the Univair 415C models qualify as light sport aircraft (LSA).
This brings us full circle to Jessica Cox and her trusty Ercoupe, enjoying her 60-year-old stall-and-spin-proof light sport airplane, and reminding all of us of the joy of flight. This alone may qualify the little Ercoupe as an incredible plane.
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