Luscombe 8

Lou Vanden Bosch, e-mail, 28.02.2011 20:52 The 8A was the pilot training plane at Western Michigan Univ during the time I spent in the aviation school there - 1952 /1956. The plane was very basic, wood prop, no radio, no starter. I learned to fly in that plane instructed by an old navy pilot who insisted that we land touching the tail wheel first. Every landing was a carrier landing, consequently when you were down you stayed down. reply

Ray Bolger, e-mail, 25.02.2011 20:54 I had an 8A rag wing, N71985 in 1954-1956. Parked it at Whitman Airpark in Pacomia CA. We loved that Airplane. After I sold it I had many regrets. reply

Gerald Robinson, e-mail, 24.02.2011 22:48 The first time I saw her I fell in love and I had to have her. She was born in 1948 and was one of a kind, she was beautiful and the men in her life had treated her with respect but had left her for others which they must have regretted. For a while she was mine. When ever I was depressed or frustrated and needed to find solace she was always there for me. When I was with her we became one and we would leave the earth and soar over the ocean, mountains and desert. She responded to my demands and never complained but always let me know when I pushed too hard. But, alas, I had to let her go and it broke my heart when she flew away with another man. I found out later that she died on a mountain side when she was treated with disrespect . Maybe some day we will meet again where we can soar the heavens and be happy again. They knew her as 1215Bravo but I knew her as 'MY PASSION'. reply

Gary Jentoft, e-mail, 21.02.2011 02:29 My father and I purchased Luscombe 8A 2073K on January 28th 1958 and sold it on a sad day in 1966. It was our pride and joy for more than 1200 hours. I dropped skydivers at Snohomish, WA on Saturdays and Sundays for five years and made my first three jump from it as well. A student pilot put it into the ground some years later ... carbuerator ice during practice. It was my favorite airplane ... and, our family has many happy memories. reply

Bill Yuschalk, e-mail, 14.02.2011 04:32 Oh yea the love of my life,I was the owner of N28627 , a 1939 8A with no starter so I got bit once while cranking it to start in Newport,Oregon 1 day in late Nov.of 1959 but I still had to get back to the military base @ Monterey,Ca.where I was stationed.Oh man what a fantastic plane,does anyone know of it's whereabouts I'd love to know reply

John Karlovich, e-mail, 27.01.2011 21:10 In 1989 I read in John Swick "The Luscombe Story" and Stanley Thomas "The Luscombes" that the model 50 (8A) was designed to accept a 'round' engine. I installed a 85 HP Ken Royce in a 1946 8A N45707. Looks great -- flies great -- a real attention getter. reply

Harold Grinnell, e-mail, 09.01.2011 19:34 i bought a Luscombe 8A in Nov. 1953. Certificate # 71778. Earned my private certificate in July 1954. Sold it in Oct. 1954. 65 HP, no electric start, no radio. Great airplane. Would like know if it is still in service. Any information would be appreciated. reply

Barry Perkins, e-mail, 20.12.2010 08:05 Mr. Prichard, I"m the current custodian of N1458B, based in Marina CA, near Monterey. I love the plane, got back into flying after a 28 year break when I was a starving student pilot, soloed in the Luscombe and took my check ride in her. She is a great bird and keeps me safe. I can send some pics of you'd enjoy them. Let me know if you're in calif some time, all the best! reply

R.E.Prichard, e-mail, 15.12.2010 21:20 In the late 60s /early 70s I had the great pleasure of owning an 8F # N 1458 B----Flew it all over Cal---had to sell when we were transferred back to New York---Last saw it At Gnoss Field,Novato,Cal-1972 reply

Ron Darcey, e-mail, 03.12.2010 04:07 I purchased my Luscombe (8E 1003K) in 1967, still own and fly it and my wife and I had one of our first dates with a lunch flight to Columbia, CA in 1970. When I purchased mine I was building a homebuilt (and still own and fly it) and when completed in 1975, took the Luscombe apart for a restoration, that finished in 1976. Lots of comments on how difficult the airplane is on the ground but in my 180o+ hours have never come close to that event. Probably because I acquired my first 13 hours in a Aeronca 7 /11 Champ, that I feel was and remains the finest primary trainer ever designed in the US with an instructor that instructed in them in the Civilian Pilots Program during the war. He taught me never to taxi faster than one could run and always straddle the centerline before bringing up the power and then, do so gradually. Another of his techniques was if you haven't landed in the first third of the runway, go around. The Luscombe is indeed a pilot's airplane and once mastered, you become a much better pilot. I am a pilot in the Coast Guard Auxiliary and use the airplane on Coast Guard operations in the SF Bay Area, doing so since 2005. It is the perfect platform for the mission particularly due to the extrodinary visiblity from the cockpit - especially for air to surface photos. I'm an alumni of the Continental Luscome Association and regularly attend our yearly Gathering of Luscombes, also in Columbia, CA. Cheers, Ron reply

Tony, e-mail, 26.11.2010 08:24 years ago, i had a very nice 8E or D?? It was a 1960 I think. What a great plane. I had a 160 in it, also made the gear much wider. I had tipped it while sitting still in the wind? Once I did that it was as good as it gets. Land and take-off anywhere. didn`t need a run-way.I have had a bunch of planes, but this is the best! One very tough cookie. Someone should be making them today for the Sport Class? Wouldn`t take much to get the weight down today. reply

Ron, e-mail, 17.11.2010 03:46 The very first aircraft I learned to fly in was an 85hp Luscombe single engine seaplane out of Commodore Aviation in Sausalito, California. A tricky plane to learn to fly in. We used the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge for targets when practicing 90 degree and 180 degree turns. We practiced stalls over the bay It took me 17 hours of dual instruction till the thumbs up for solo came. I was to mud taxi out to the take off location. Take off and fly around the pattern once and land. Drum roll please!.. So I did and that was in 1959. Commodore Aviation had quite a good flight program going there for several years into the early 60's which attracted people that wanted to fly seaplanes. reply

Dwight Morgan, e-mail, 10.11.2010 07:51 My Dad had a Luscombe 8-A Serial #1144 License /Registration #NC25239 Manufactured 1-24-40 and his log book shows his first flight in it as 1-28-40. The log book indicates it had a Continental A-65-8 engine and a Sensenich Propeller Pitch 3'10" Diameter 6'4". I am looking for something similar in Southern California that I might get a flight in since I never saw this one but I know he loved it. He flew it from New Orlans, LA to Fullerton, CA and back between 9-21-40 and 10-5-40. Apparently it burned in a hangar fire while he was in Burma during WWII. reply

doris gayle, e-mail, 30.10.2010 07:08 we bought a used 1939 Luscombec in 1941. i got my private liscence in 1942 in that wonderful airplane. reply

Andrzej Kurek, e-mail, 27.10.2010 01:21 Silvaire has lately reintroduced it back to the production. I have flown it and made in-air pictures in April 2010 for Przeglad Lotniczy - polish aviation monthly. there are plans to assembly these planes in Poland. Available also with truly radial engine! reply

Dick Rake, e-mail, 06.10.2010 20:45 I own N41965 SN 1923, an 8D. The last Luscombe built in Trenton NJ. in Jan 1942. reply

Bill Walker, e-mail, 30.09.2010 17:12 Right after our marriage in 1962, a polished 8E was our first purchase. $2,000 total price. No Radio, we flew it all over the east for two years until she was so pregnant that full travel on the yoke was no longer possible. Sold it for $2,200, made money, the buyer rolled it up in a ball the next week but walked away. Hated to see that beauty hauled off to the bone yard. reply

Dean Engelhardt, e-mail, 26.09.2010 21:20 When I was in high school in the 1950s. I wanted to buy a motorcycle. Folks said they wouldn't sign for it (I was 16). Then I campaigned for a car - they wouldn't sign for that, either. Then I discovered that I didn't need parental signatures to buy an airplane. So I put the money on a 16-year-old 1941 Luscombe 8C. I neglected to inform my folks. They found out about it two weeks later when my mom, snooping in my mail, discovered the registration and the insurance policy! The were NOT happy! The biggest immediate problem was that the right-hand door hinge was broken. Since the leading edge of the door dove-tailed into the door frame when closed, I only had to hold the door for my instructor and then close it behind him. Two months later, the family decided to see this THING. When we got out of the car, my 10-year-old sister asked excitedly, "Which one is it?" I pointed it out. She ran through the gate and up to the airplane, grabbing the right hand door handle! Before I could stop her, she pulled the door open and- being unprepared for the broken hinge, it twisted down and snapped off the bottom hinge. This was mom and dad's first view of my airplane! I was banned from taking Ann up with me "because we don't want to lose both kids at once." Neither Ann nor dad ever went up with me in it. Mom did (ONCE) after dad died because "I have nothing more to live for." She really had confidence in me! The Luscombe demanded good flying skills. I'm glad it was my first airplane - it taught me a lot! reply

Chris Buckner, e-mail, 04.08.2010 20:48 My late and dear friend, Jack Cantrell, Sr owned a Model 8-A. No electric start, no radio, 5 instruments, a stick and rudders. I loved to go flying with him in that beautiful tail-dragger. As an LSU graduate after the war, and with me heading to LSU in the fall of '66, Jack & I went flying on New Years' Day in '66, listening to LSU play Arkansas in the Cotten Bowl on the transistor radio. When LSU made the go-ahead touchdown to win 14-7, we did a couple or really neat aileron rolls. Will never forget that day, or Jack! reply

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