Sportsman Pirep from Rob…

Robw56 Posted this over on the C170 board and I though it was worth sharing…  Thanks Rob!

“I know the topic of STOL kits gets brought up here every once and a while so here is a review of the Sportsman STOL Kit. I know there are strong opinions here on wether or not one should get a STOL kit for there 170. Some love the idea and others think it is a waste. I hope this doesn’t turn into a big debate I just wanted to share my results. For ME, I’m glad I put the kit on for the type of flying I lke to do. Hopefully this can help others in deciding for themselves if a STOL kit is worth it or not.

I got my Stol Kit installed at Q-Aeromotivet in California City. I picked up my plane yesterday and flew it home. First I went up for a little bit with glidergeek in the right seat and we did some slow flight and a few stalls and only one landing back at Cal City before flying back to Rio Vista. Today I went out by myself to see what it could do and I was even more impressed with the kit, I think having less weight and not as mush of a forward CG changed the feel a little from the first flight test. First I did some slow flight with 20 degrees of flaps and power, I could keep it level at about 35mph and start to get a slight buffet. Next I tried 40 degrees with power… this time I was flying with the ASI below 30mph. At this point you could take the yoke all the way back put in full power the ASI is fluttering back and forth between 0 and 20 and it still doesn’t really want to stall. Power off stalls with 40 degrees of flaps are impossible, it would just decend at about 600fpm at 40mph indicated. You can make turns back and forth at this speed with no problem. Next I went and shot a few landings at Rio Vista on the grass next to the taxi way. Yesterday when I flew I just approached at 60mph and it felt like it used to at 70mph. Today I was flying approaches at 45mph indicated and carrying power. WOW before there was no way I could do this. Before if I got a little below 60 you could feel the plane want to drop out from under you. Not anymore, 45mph carrying power into the flair and I would plop down on the grass nice and soft and stop in about 100 feet or less… I also had about a 15mph head wind. I felt like I was flying a helicopter on approach. Taking off with 20 degrees of flaps I’m airborne at 35 mph and climbing out nicely at 45mph. Stene’s site lists VX at 48mph and VY at 75mph at gross. Also on the flight back from Cal City I noticed no loss in cruise speed. Overall I’m very happy with the kit and glad I got it. I’m looking forward to seeing what it can do in the backcountry this year. I hope this review can help anyone that’s interested in installing the kit on their Cessna.”

ROBW56