CFI scared of 152s.

[Airway]

I'm a little anxious about flying 152s, and let's not b.s. each other, pretty much every 152 out there is a pile of sh*t. They're old, they're often not well maintained, and you're not going to make it out alive if you bounce too hard.

As a CFI, I've never been afraid of flying anything that's well maintained. I just have trouble getting into the 152s. I feel unsafe. There is nothing I can do about that. I know the risks of flying, and I know what me and the airplane are capable of. But when I close the cardboard door of that thing, I feel unprotected and exposed. The lawnmower engine doesn't help, either.

Anyways, any way to quell these fears or am I the only one on here that feels this way.

 

[gkrangers]

Ummm...to be honest, I've never flown one, but I don't think I would have a problem with it. It is generally the CFIs bread and butter airplane....

You could always try to find a school that has only 172s and/or Warriors...

 

[Stealthh21]

I have to admit, I have never heard of this before. With the hundreds and hundreds of these airplanes, and a long history of the airplane, I would say that it is very reliable. As far as a lawnmower engine, i dont know what to tell you. There are smaller engines, and larger ones. Again, the type of engine on the 152 is a proven design. If you have to face flying an unairworthy airplane, you shouldn't be flying it. I have no idea what to tell you.

 

[skiandsurf]

I'm a little anxious about flying 152s, and let's not b.s. each other, pretty much every 152 out there is a pile of sh*t. They're old, they're often not well maintained, and you're not going to make it out alive if you bounce too hard.
.

The 152 is a great plane. Dont worry about that thing falling apart. I tell you a plane, trainer plane, that scares me is the Tomahawk. Go do stalls in a Tomahawk and look back at the tail shaking. You will go right back to the airport to land, and then run away from that pos.

 

[EatSleepFly]

Just tell any potential flight school owners what you just told us. I'm sure they'll be understanding and not make you fly the evil little 152.







...not.

Not sure what to tell you. As I see it your options are:

1.) Suck it up (probably the most viable option).
2.) Find a place that doesn't have any (limits opportunities since it's a popular trainer).
3.) Get a job at a flight school that has them, and promptly gain enough weight so that you can't realistically fly the thing with students anyways (could cause unwanted health-related side effects).

 

[ReportCanoa]

I didn't care for the 172 after flying the 152. It's (the 152) a better training platform for a student and doesn't drive like a truck.

 

[imacdog]

I only did a little instruction in a 150 but it was a nice airplane. Yes, it was a little tight with two average size people but it was very economical to fly and it did just fine for maneuvers and spin training. If the engine failed you could land very slow and could probably safely land it in just about any open field.

 

[Tram]

You could do what I did.. Grow to 6'3" and 250lbs and no one will ever expect you to get into a 152..

 

[meyers9163]

I dont know what to say from an instructors point of view but being a student in a 152 I must say there has yet to be a time where I have felt unsafe in it. I would agree they are a little ugly because they are older but where I fly out of there is a routine MX every 50 hours. I also konw if it werent for the 152 I would not have started my PPL up due to cost. I can get into this for 74 an hour compared to 114 an hour. Any ways my instructor has been flying in this for 15 years as a job and he has no complaints about the plane. I think there is nothing to worry about when it comes to the 152 as opposed to fying a 172, Warrior, etc...... As you said always a risk when you take a plane up. No guranatees in any plane

 

[SilverFlyer]

152s can grow on you. It's a plane that you don't just step in, you wear it, but it does have that certain charm. I think eventually pilots will fondly look back at flying the 152s like older pilots do Piper Cubs.

 

[Amish RakeFight]

The fact that the doors occasionally pop open and dont close/lock very well made me feel the same way about them. I only did some spin training in it so I dont know what its like on a regular basis.

 

[timeoff]

I learned to fly in a 152. I've also had doors pop open on the takeoff roll. Should have seen my wife's face when her door came open

I remember reading something a while back about metal fatigue in the empenage which made me think twice about slipping one ever again. Something about straps to reinforce the vert stabilizer??

 

[User546]

Could it possibly be that your a little bit claustrophobic? I'm typically not, but when I get inside of a 152, I start getting very anxious, and feel to packed in like a sardine. Gives me an unsafe feeling, and like you said the cardboard door and lawnmower engine doesn't make you feel any better.

All I can say is you just have to trust the proven history and track record of these aircraft and just bite the bullet and do it! If you feel completely unsafe in them, then stay away from them. You shouldn' tbe flying airplanes you don't have complete confidence about their safety or maintenance.

 

[81Horse]

Airway, in halcyon bygone days, instructors and students alike flew beautiful new airplanes -- airplanes fresh from Wichita, Lock Haven, Vero Beach, clean of carpet and seat, shiny of paint, sparkling-spinnered and wheel-panted and tight of cable, smooth of engine.

Those days are gone.

Still, the airplanes soldier on. Remember this: if it's been flying safely for twenty-five years, odds are in your favor that it will continue to do so. I like the 150/152.

I wouldn't spin a Tomahawk, though. Piper's ad campaign: Can 10,000 Flight Instructors Be Wrong? Answer: Yes -- yes, they can.

 

[Nindiri]

I like the Tomahawk. I just don't look back at the tail during stalls or spins. My motto: what I can't see won't hurt me.

 

[81Horse]

How many turns do you let it go?

I liked the Skipper better.

 

[Kream926]

grow a pair dude!

the fitee-duece is a great trainer. takes a lickin' and jeeps askin for more as far as hard landings. had a cfi get fired for now wanting to fly one. i would be nice thou to pick and chose which planes i wanna fly as a cfi.

the engine is small but its been the same design for how many years? besides once you "master" a 52 you can put that thing down on the infield of a baseball field.

once again, grow a pair and good luck demanding what planes you will fly as a cfi

 

[PHX767]

I remember when I thought the 172 was a truck too...

Our flight school had 152's, 172's, warriors, and the usual assortment of retractables and twins. I have 3 times as much dual given in the 172 than the 152. The program students were all in the 152 because it was cheaper for the school to get them the hours. The part 61 students generally chose the warrior or the 172 for a bunch of reasons, comfort being primary.

I like the 152. I have... err.. outgrown flying with another person in one except maybe my grandkids. They are light on the controls and feel like a little sports car. Really fun to putt around and use so little fuel. Put full flaps down and here that beer can action from the tail... they have been doing that for a long time and I have yet to hear of a tail falling off. If the engine stops, plop it down in a parking lot and have room to spare.

If the original poster decides to not fly in them, there may be deeper issues. He is limiting his time building ability artificially. And isnt't that why you are there?

 

[NuGuy]

I didn't care for the 172 after flying the 152. It's (the 152) a better training platform for a student and doesn't drive like a truck.

RP,

I couldn't agree more. Compared to a 150/152, a 172 handles like a truck with front end problems.

I wouldn't worry about the O-235 in the 152, either. It has a TBO of 2400 hours, a fair bit above the O-320 in most 172s. The damn things will run almost forever, and burn less gas to boot.

The 150/152's biggest problem is that it was designed in an era when not everyone was a complete LARD A$$.

Sounds like this kid did his training at a pilot mill, and is afraid of anything outside his little box. I hate to see him confronted with anything REALLY "exotic", like a Cub, Maule, or goodness sakes, a 177.

And whats with the complaining? Back in the day, you took the job, learned something about the plane, and did the work without bitching to everyone. Grow up already.

Nu

 

[Airway]

grow a pair dude!

the fitee-duece is a great trainer. takes a lickin' and jeeps askin for more as far as hard landings. had a cfi get fired for now wanting to fly one. i would be nice thou to pick and chose which planes i wanna fly as a cfi.

the engine is small but its been the same design for how many years? besides once you "master" a 52 you can put that thing down on the infield of a baseball field.

once again, grow a pair and good luck demanding what planes you will fly as a cfi

Well, to be sure, this has nothing to do with a lack of balls. Ironically enough, I have a fair amount of 152 time (not much, maybe 20 hours). I suppose as someone mentioned above that it might be the claustrophobic aspect. I feel like I'm trapped and squeezed in the thing. It's just very uncomfortable, and to top it off, whether or not it was bright and gleaming when it was new, they're all piles of sh*t now (I've never seen one maintained in new/fresh condition or redone--wouldn't really be worth the cost), you can't convince me otherwise. I feel like they're being flown to death, and its only until they crash are they going to be replaced.

Sure, they've been flying forever, which is one reason they can be considered safe. But that's more reason for me to worry. It's just a matter of time till an "o-ring" or whatever stuff that always fails in those accident reports happens to me.

Maybe it's just been a rough week. I don't know. I'll keep flying them because it's my job, just trying to figure out how to quell the discomfort.