Ed_Wischmeyer
Well Known Member
Spinal fusion is in the near term, and that's the absolutely no fun back surgery. I won't meet with the doc for another three weeks to discuss the "magnitude" of the surgery, as his nurse put it, but the web suggests a few days in the hospital and six - eight weeks to heal (I just turned 65). Then, when I'm again able to do PT for my knees, each of them will get worked on arthroscopically, but the technology these days is good enough that the reasonable expectation is to walk out of each knee surgery without even needing crutches. I really don't know what these three surgeries, more or less back to back, will do to Humpty Dumpty's tailwheel skills, even though I plan to fly some between surgeries to minimize accumulated loss of flying skills.
So here's the deal -- I've got a really sweet RV-8 with O-320 and constant speed (N211JT if you want to find a gazillion pictures on the web), and I noticed when I got out of it this morning that I twist my torso a bit to get my hands on the canopy rails to get out. Don't know if that will be a problem post-surgery or not, or if there is some nifty way to lift myself up a little or what. This RV-8 absolutely does not wear the tires at all, and that alignment might be why it seems to like a little extra attention on rollout.
I've also got an immaculate straight tail Cessna with all the STCs that is so nice that it is hard to find a buyer for any reasonable price. It does anything you ask of it except cruise over 125 knots. I'd like to sell it and only lose one arm and one leg on the sale and then have an RV as my one and only airplane.
Questions and options:
* If anybody has had spinal fusion (L-3 ish area), how easy or hard is it to get in and out of an RV-7A, -8, or -9A? Those are the real questions. I haven't done a lot of aerobatics in the -8, so that's not a big issue.
* Does anybody have a feel for what these three surgeries might do to the coordination required for landing the RV-8? Landing a nose dragger post-surgery is not a concern.
Options:
1. Keep both planes, it won't be that big a deal to get back up to speed in the RV-8 post surgery.
2. Sell the RV-8 pre-surgery (immediately), enjoy having had this sweetheart, and move on.
3. Look for an RV-9A (slider & c/s, I'd do my own paint and panel) or RV-7A (second choice) because getting in and out won't be an issue
4. Downsize to just the Cessna
5. Something else
Thanks!
Ed
So here's the deal -- I've got a really sweet RV-8 with O-320 and constant speed (N211JT if you want to find a gazillion pictures on the web), and I noticed when I got out of it this morning that I twist my torso a bit to get my hands on the canopy rails to get out. Don't know if that will be a problem post-surgery or not, or if there is some nifty way to lift myself up a little or what. This RV-8 absolutely does not wear the tires at all, and that alignment might be why it seems to like a little extra attention on rollout.
I've also got an immaculate straight tail Cessna with all the STCs that is so nice that it is hard to find a buyer for any reasonable price. It does anything you ask of it except cruise over 125 knots. I'd like to sell it and only lose one arm and one leg on the sale and then have an RV as my one and only airplane.
Questions and options:
* If anybody has had spinal fusion (L-3 ish area), how easy or hard is it to get in and out of an RV-7A, -8, or -9A? Those are the real questions. I haven't done a lot of aerobatics in the -8, so that's not a big issue.
* Does anybody have a feel for what these three surgeries might do to the coordination required for landing the RV-8? Landing a nose dragger post-surgery is not a concern.
Options:
1. Keep both planes, it won't be that big a deal to get back up to speed in the RV-8 post surgery.
2. Sell the RV-8 pre-surgery (immediately), enjoy having had this sweetheart, and move on.
3. Look for an RV-9A (slider & c/s, I'd do my own paint and panel) or RV-7A (second choice) because getting in and out won't be an issue
4. Downsize to just the Cessna
5. Something else
Thanks!
Ed