After her successful solo flight last May, Jessica Cox proved the sky is no limit when she earned her Sport Pilot license flying an Ercoupe plane with only her feet. Jessica was born without arms 25 years ago.
On October 10, FAA examiner Terry Brandt gave Jessica the thumbs-up on her check ride at the San Manuel Airport, just outside Tucson. “I showed him my best. After we got up in the air, the wind shifted and we hit some turbulence, but I flew through it just fine,” Said Jessica.
When Jessica did a particularly good job on a short field landing, the examiner complimented her, saying, “Nice Landing.”
Greeted with hugs from her Parents William and Inez Cox, and enthusiastic spectators as well as another FAA examiner, Jessica beamed, “I gave my best performance ever!”
Hmm, don’t have access to the video at work, but maybe the plane’s rigging is similar (or modified) like a Sundowner and the rudders and aileron are “interconnected” with a spring so she can use the yoke for coordinated flight?
That would work with in flight, but she would still need rudder pedals for steering on the ground. I don’t know of any plane that does not steer by rudder pedals for ground ops???
“Lacking rudder pedals, the Ercoupe was flown entirely using only a control wheel: a two-control system linked the rudder and aileron systems, which controlled yaw and roll, with the steerable nose wheel.”