Geoffrey

I finally found something more interesting and technical than racing - airplanes. I went to North Carolina on Friday to pick up a Cessna 182 I bought and flew it home with a friend on Sunday.

Here is a picture taken today of me with my new 230hp 6 cylinder air cooled engine. My friend and I flew it from my house to Martha's Vinyard, to Nantucket, to Bar Harbor Maine for lunch, then back home. Nice 5 hr loop to test it out.

Enjoy

68CGPlt

Wow that's fantastic Geoffrey. Is the aircraft outfitted for IFR? Fly safe!

I can't view any of the pictures you posted.

DAVISRILEY

Refresh the page, and the pics will come up fine. For some reason this alays happens with Geoffrey's pictures. Nice plane Geoffrey, have fun with it!

hawk911

cool. My grandpa flew a 172 years ago.

race911

Lycoming or Continental? My old machinist was into experimental aircraft (damned if he didn't get killed in one), and once he started doing my 911 heads he was intrigued with what we could do with a 911 engine. (The Mooney-Porsche had just been built and killed off, so it wouldn't have been like completely reinventing the wheel.)

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

182's all had a Continental O-520 except for the 182RG's which used the O-540 Lycoming due to limited space for the nose gear.

All very good airplanes,..

jimq

I wonder if that is the same Continental engine maker as in my old Ferguson tractor?

Indycam

A two blade ?
You need to upgrade asap .
Can you say scimitar ?
Have you looked up the Continental O-520 stc
http://www.rajayparts.com/rajaystc.htm

http://www.aopa.org/pilot/features/skylane0012.html

J richard

Geoffery, woa! Given your tendencies with the racecar I can't wait to see what you do with it... If you think porsches are a slippery slope you just stepped off a cliff my friend... congrats!

Are you just starting or do you have your rating(s) already? Buying is a good move to build time...(I'm s&mel, ifr, rotor/Heli, glider&tailwheel) So many guys that race fly,so many similarities and technical focus, I've found it hard to serve too many masters... And unfortunately unlike a car, if you don't stay current you just aren't slow, you can get in some serious trouble...

Too bad Porsche pulled back all the Porsche mooneys that would have been perfect for you! Just got the pic loaded, looks nice, what's with the vg's? does it have a STOL kit on it? How's the stack?

darth

As in the car I drive I like the engine in the rear and "pusher" planes of the Ratan design. And boat too

elbeee964

Mmmmm... leading edge vg's. Tasty.

Geoffrey

I just started lessons in August and am just about ready for my check ride, so I'm only a student pilot but am going to work on my Instrument rating as soon as I am done. I got tired of renting broken down crappy planes and knew I was going to buy one anyway so when this one popped up, I bought it. It is a very low TT time and engine time IFR plane with a 2 axis S-TEC 55x autopilot with alt preselect and electric trim coupled to a Garmin WAAS GPS, HSI, PS Engineering audio panel, fuel flow computer, EGT and CYL head temp computer, and a bunch of other stuff. Fortunately, I don't want or need to put any money into it. As far as the 2 blade prop, it works just fine, upgrading to a 3 blade will just slow the plane down due to the increased drag from the extra blade. It would only buy you climb performance and ground clearance. I believe that in 1982 with the R model and at least by 1996 with the S model they came with fuel injected Lycoming 520 engines at 235hp with no additional performance and at the expense of a higher fuel burn rate. I wanted a P or a Q model and got a P - 1976.

When I was first looking at them I wanted one with a Horton STOL kit because of the area I fly and my intentions for mountain flying into grass strips. This one has vortex generators and it has slightly better slow speed control and performance than my friend's with a Horton STOL.

I've seen the engine upgrades you can do, but avoided those planes as I really just wanted a stock plane.

I did not want a Mooney because, while they are fast, they don't fit my flight profile and don't carry enough. Porsche really screwed the Mooney owners when they stopped producing engine parts and you have to replace the engines with a supplimental type certificate back to the standard engine.

ilko

Congrats Geoffrey! Now you need Mobil 1 livery

J richard

Yea the it's gotten better over time but some of the deathtraps that come off the local FBO leasebacks are downright scary, having the consistency and understanding of your own gear is really important as you build time. Nothing like being out over rough terrain and get that nagging feeling that the engine doesnt sound quite right...

Thats a perfect plane for an IFR platform, nice and stable, easy to fly and relatively fast for a fixed leg. I flew a 182 with a lopresi kit, landing in a 25 knot headwind was like comming down in an elevator and it had about 10kts on a standard 182. Agree on the mods, other than easy aero I don't like messing with the factory bits, just watch your CHT/shock cooling, that seems to be the biggest issue with the longevity of the continental, nice silky motor tho.

I learned on steam guages, when RNAV was about the most amazing thing you could get in the stack, GPS has changed everything, having the 2axis slaved to the garmin is great for IFR. With your meticulous nature you'll love IFR, and with your location it's a must...

Yea the porsche/mooney deal was a bust, but when you look at the basics of the motor, the porsche is so much more advanced, it's too bad they didn't stay with it.

Anyway nice ride and good luck with the Checkride, I'm sure you'll do fine...

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Hi Geoffrey,

JMHO, but for short strips with obstacles to clear, that 3-bladed prop is just the ticket, especially at higher gross weights or density altitude.

Further, ground clearance is VERY critical at grass or otherwise unimproved airstrips. I've witnessed a fair number of 182's suffer ground strikes taxiing over bumps & holes.

Just some words from someone who has been doing this for a long time.