Falco

re the above incident link:

The brakes on this aircraft were operated by a single, heel operated, pedal which applied both wheel brakes together

Yep, series III and older had this awkward to use single, between the rudder pedals, floor mounted pedal. Mighty difficult to steer whilst braking. That for sure was a strange arrangement…

There is a project at Enstone, G-PDGG, which seems to be reasonably straightforward. Haven’t seen it for a couple of years but hopefully it gets resurrected soon.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f58dcb3d3bf7f72306ab5cc/Falco_F8L_Series_3__Modified__G-PDGG_01-19.pdf

One thing I forgot to mention (thought about it during my nights’s sleep ), is that although some performance is lost due to the weight difference between both designs, another loss must be the unfavorable CG of the Falco.

I mentioned the prototype‘s configuration above. Well, when the later changes in the construction of the Falco took place, its basic dimensions remained. But as the engine went from 90hp to 160hp, and the prop from FP to CSP, the CG moved forward…
What we have today is that probably all flying Falcos are nose heavy. And this might also explain that the Falco, whilst sure being no slouch, usually looses in the top speed dept against the RV…

@Dan, that’s wonderful info for a Falco-fancier like me.

I’d like to follow Alfred Scott’s path someday. I know what he owned and flew before he started with Falcos, that aligns with my own experience and a Falco would be an interesting next step for me. I might end up with an RV instead (it is the rational choice and they are amazing designs) but if the right Falco comes along, at the right price…

The CAFE Foundation test Falco I mentioned in Post 25 above never did sell, the price was a bit more than the market wanted to pay. Then when it didn’t sell the owner went in the opposite direction and upgraded the panel dramatically. He now says it would be very expensive to buy the plane. But I am patient

@Silvaire, my views absolutely mirror those of your friend. As a reference, I have a grand total of 660+ hours on 2 different Falcos, and 1’550+ (and counting) hours on different RVs.

All the stuff anyone will read in the following post are of my own experience, and not necessarily what other people think, or experience. And I say again, the F8L is the sexiest aircraft alive

Not sure I’ve mentioned this already in some other thread, but here goes… for the non-Falco inducted amongst us, here some history (all in direct brain download, no accuracy guarantee given): the prototype F8L Falco first flew 1957, powered by a 90HP engine, and a fixed pitch prop. The performance must have been rather… sedate…
Following the first few prototypes, the Falco was improved thru the different series. The wing rubber bladder tanks moved into aluminum tanks in the fuselage fore and aft, the control surfaces went from cotton and wood to metal, and the engine grew bigger and stronger. The last factory version, built by Laverda (yep, the same guys that built motorcycles), called Series IV, sports a 160hp Lyco.
At the time, the aircraft was touted as “the first high performance single”, and as such was recorded as being the first able to fly at the same speed as its horsepower. As in 160kts on 160hp.
Now all this stuff relates to factory built Falcos. Years later, an American gentleman by the name of Alfred P. Scott got interested in the design, made contact with Stelio Frati the designer of the Falco, and bought the rights for the plans. He then founded Seqair, adapted the plans and the construction for the amateur builder, and started selling plans and kits (yes, I simplified the story somewhat here). Alfred has since retired, and the plans for the Falco are now public domain, and can be downloaded here.

Ok, now back to comparing a typical 160hp Falco, either homebuilt or factory built, and a typical Van’s say an RV-7… let the shootout start

• Performance, speed, ROC/ROD: pedal to the metal, the RV will win. Equal power (160/160hp), the RV will still win. How come? Them thick wings flying faster than them razor blades? Well, a few pointers: aspect ratio, badly faired retracts agains well faired fixed gear, and weight. Those are the main factors affecting take-off/landing distance, climb/descent, top speed, and ceiling.
• Performance, field requirements: the RV can roughly operate on fields half the length of those necessary for the Falco. Also, the Falco is generally shy of grass.
• Control harmony: a slight win for the Falco. The RV has delicious light controls, but the harmony is not as good as on the Falco. Harmony? Responsiveness, force ratio roll-pitch-yaw. The pitch forces on the RV almost equal those of the roll axis, but the Falco is definitely more like it should be, as in lighter in roll than in pitch.
• Speed gradient: again a win for the Falco. As the speed increases, the stick forces should increase. The feedback is stronger on the Falco, a win for safety.
• Stability: another win for the Falco. Positive stability all round, the RV displaying neutral stability at best.
• Stall behaviour: a definite RV win here. Not a lot of warning, but stalls on an RV are generally of the non-event variant. Falco stalls can be interesting… as I used to say, it either flies, or doesn’t… also very little to no warning at all if not equipped with stall strips.
• Manoeuvrability: RV wins. Bigger control surfaces, lighter forces, lighter in weight, easier to manoeuvre around.

The list is certainly not comprehensive, but will hopefully give you guys some soft data

Dan wrote:

For me the F8L is still the sexiest (wifey screaming in the background: “how can a d..mn airplane be sexy, beats me”), aircraft alive, period. Looked at my ex (…) a couple of weeks ago, and man, those razor sharp wings, stabiliser surfaces, slender body, woah, as in WHOA

@Dan a friend with a great deal of relevant experience (more than anybody else I know) mentioned to me yesterday that the Falco does not have as much performance as one might assume given its retractable gear, small cabin and slightly unforgiving nature – “about the same as an RV”. I countered that the RV would likely have more power (180 versus 160 HP) and he replied that a 160 HP Falco would not perform like a 180 HP RV, more like a 160 HP RV. What’s your experience? Thanks

Stickandrudderman wrote:

I flew mine for the first time in 5 years this week

Well done! Pics please!

Also interested to hear more about your Falco @Stickandrudderman

Definitely a bucket list plane to own

Thanks Dan,
I’ll get a few hours under my belt and write a few words & pictures.
I’m particularly interested to see if the shiny new repaint as against the terrible aerosol job that went before has any effect on numbers.

hey @Stickandrudderman, sincere congrats! So the mythical Falco ( ) is fact, and finally flies, again, cool.
Happy for you, and the community. How about a report on SPFF, I’m sure everyone would be interested…

For me the F8L is still the sexiest (wifey screaming in the background: “how can a d..mn airplane be sexy, beats me”), aircraft alive, period. Looked at my ex (…) a couple of weeks ago, and man, those razor sharp wings, stabiliser surfaces, slender body, woah, as in WHOA

Hope you’ll find time to enjoy her now, and wer’e all waiting for eye watering pictures now…