Got some good work done on the bird today.  (And I finally got to go fly her!)

We got the Rosen visors in today.  If you havent done the install, its really damn easy.  Two holes in each side, rivnut, and your off.  Truth be told, whats really hard is holding myself back from ripping everything out.  In peeling the headliner back I got a good peek at all the fiberglass insulation and the glue underneath.  Ugh… What I really wanted to do is just toss it all, but I have to try to show some restraint so I can fly it for a while.

Also was able to swap the map lights with LED’s.  Basically you pull the torpedo light apart, add the LED bulb, then fab a PVC shroud for the snout.  There is a good post on the International 170 board on this mod.  Works really well and is damn bright.

Also got a chance to add some fire extinguishers to the seats.  These are pretty light and real easy to get to in the cockpit.

Finally I added some “NO PUSH” stickers on the horiz and vert stabs.  Gotta keep those line guys away from reefing on those surfaces…

We started in on the Cessna Seat Stop kit this AM.  If you own an applicable Cessna and haven’t done this, you really should.  Aside from preventing the famous “Cessna Slide,” the biggest incentive of the install is that ITS FREE!

You can bring it into any shop and they will take care of it, or, like we did, just order it from Yingling, install it, send them a copy of the log book entry and they not only reimburse you for the cost, but pay you for the labor.

First step is to drill and rivet the backing plate to the floor.  Tomorrow we’ll add the inertia reel.

When I bought the airplane in L.A., it was sold with a “fresh” annual.  It was implied that all was in tip top shape and everything was good to go.  Over the past 30 days, we have been taking a good look and soaking it all in trying to get a good punch list going, and it is simply amazing at all the half-assed, corner cutting slacker AP nonsense that’s in this airplane.

It seems to me that there are two kinds of aircraft owners.  The first (I like to think I am in this category) is the kind of guy that just wants it done right.  They may not be wealthy, but overall, near perfect is the goal, and nothing “cheap” is installed nor corners cut.

The second is the the damn cheap skate.  They hack their way around making home-made Rube Goldberg contraptions and cut corners with “good enough” efforts.

To give you an idea of where my airplane came from, there are more documents in my aircraft logs that were made with recycled paper than I can count.  When I mean recycled paper, I mean that the guy printed 337’s out on scrap paper…. meaning the backsides have google map directions on them…. Really?  Couldn’t afford new sheets of paper for the logs?

Now to be fair, my C180 is generally solid and is definitely be a great platform to build it back up.  During the intense pre-buy I understood what I was dealing with and made the offer based on exactly what was being sold.  Its a rocking 180, and I am pumped… There will be just a ton of extra nickles needed to redo a lot of hacks and neglects.

Which brings me to the post.  With a “fresh” annual done just before sale, I would not expect surprises like the one that was found when the TW was pulled apart.  A good annul would have found a cracked washer like the one we found.

At any rate… A proper rebuild kit was ordered from Alaskan Bushwheel, and it was rebuilt as new.  (BTW… One of the great things about ABW [besides their gear] is the peanuts)

I should also quickly talk about the mains for the C180.

Back when I bought the C170, I was hell bend on the idea of “going big or going home.” I was convinced that I wanted at least 29’s, or even 31’s. I think the best help I have gotten in this whole airplane thing has been from Wup at ABW. He could have sold me all the bells and whistles that I was asking for, but instead, talked me down from foolishness and set me up with a set-up that has been (for my particular need) perfect.

So much so that I was able to transfer it all right over to the C180.

For the mains, I am running 8.5×10 Airhawks on ABW 10″ wheels. The brakes are Cleveland 199-62 “double puck” with custom SS brake lines from Sacramento Sky Ranch. So far on the C170 they have performed flawlessly, and I am looking forward to the ride on the C180.

(note: its not all gravy and pie. The 8.5×10’s are heavy. Each tire, tube and wheel is 42.5lbs. For reference, the 6.00x6s that were removed were 16lbs each.)

For what its worth… ABW has the cheapest price around for Cleveland’s. I think I paid somewhere around $250 under Spruce for the kit. The best part about buying the kit was that I also have a set of 600 wheels for 8.5×6’s (for skis – another post)

Also thought this might be interesting… an 8.5×10 vs/ an 8.5×6

Started in on the TW today.

The C180 came with an XP Mods 10″ TW, but after the flight from LA to Boston and comparing the performance between that and the Alaskan Bushwheel TW I had on the C170, it was an easy decision. Originally had hoped that I was going to be able to use the C170 TW fork on the C180, but of course I wasn’t going to be that lucky. A quick call to Wup had a 3400 TW fork kit on its way.

I also thought that I would be able to re-use the innards of my TW, but once it was disassembled, it was obvious that it was going to need a full rebuild.

For what its worth.. as most of my flying will be on pavement, I have chosen to run the 4.00×4 tire that was on my C170 in the 3400 TW fork. If I get a bit crazier with my flying, I will swap over the Babybush.

These photos are a bit interesting… Here are some shots comparing the XP Mods 10″ vs/ the ABW 3400, the 10″ tire vs/ a 4.00×4, and a 4.00×4 vs/ the Babybushwheel.

As I mentioned, there were some “bush” goodies that easily transferred over from the C170 to the C180.

We’ve pretty much got everything over thus far with today’s project being the Great Lakes Aero 4″ bubble windows and BAS Harnesses.

The windows were pretty easy with the hardest part being drilling out the rivets.  The bigger pain was the removal and then re-install of the BAS harness.

As with all the vendors we have been dealing with, Jim at BAS was super cool with the transfer of the STC from the C170 to the C180.  He just supplied us with a “permission letter” to use the P/N in the new airplane.  He also sent along new brackets in case the rivets in the carry-thru did not match up.  Of course they didn’t, so we were real glad he had the foresight to send em along.  I’ll keep the old ones with the Cessna 170 and give them to the new owner to make it that much easier in case they want to put them back in.

Every time bubble windows get mentioned, all sorts of folks chime in with their opinions.  For me, I think they are awesome and couldn’t imagine having the new C180 w/out them.  It was an easy decision and worth the time swapping them over.

Since I like to have both a tach and a Hobbs, we quickly popped one in as well.

Finally got a decent look at what I had to deal with as a baseline spending some “quality” time under the panel just soaking it all in trying to make sense of 46 years of lazy, corner cutting wiring.  There has to be a good 40lbs+ or crap under there that can get tossed.

I also got a good look at the interior by pulling out the seats and carpet.  I had to laugh after it was out.  I had a “spec sheet” the old owner handed to me during the pre-buy.  Down near the bottom the had listed, “Interior Refurbished (8 rated.)”   I’m not sure what he was smoking, but the “refurbished” Home Depot carpet sure wasn’t going to cut it.  I didn’t care at all or make a stink as I knew it was going to all end up in the garbage.  All I cared about was a solid unadulterated platform to work with.  So far this is shaping up just fine!

One of the things that I really am interested in is keeping the weight down.  The W&B on this plane is paper only and the last time it was on scales was when it left Cessna.

When I left L.A. we were supposedly 1720lbs.  (my bet is a good 100lbs over that anyway)  I am going to try to get it on the scales for a good pre-op weight, but for now, I am keeping a detailed record of anything that gets removed.  The carpet above came in at 10.3lbs if you can believe it…

Next step will be to get on the squawk list so I can get her back in the air and get to do some flying…

One of the reasons that I went ahead and jumped on the C180 was the fact that lots of the goodies that I had purchased for the C170 would transfer right over to the C180, and first on the list were the tires…

Fortunately Alaska Bushwheels allowed the transfer of the STC so it was quick and easy work to install the 8.5×10 wheels and tires.  Of course while the airplane was on the hoist, we took the time to upgrade the brakes with new Cleveland double pucks and HD Axles.

The upgraded brakes on the C170 sure made all the difference, and now with a much heavier airplane and larger tires, these are a must!

The flight home from L.A. to Boston was pretty damn cool, especially when you consider the longest flight I had ever done was just a couple of hours.  This trip was to span +3000 miles and have to cross the Rockies at +11,500′.

I flew commercial into LAX where Mike S. (previous owner) met me with the Skywagon at KHHR (Hawthorne.)

We headed north back to his home base of KSMX to close the deal, spend the night and then blasted off for home the next morning.

The plan was to make three legs.  KSMX to KFNL was first.   Mike would fly with me over the hump and into Denver.  We would spend the time together with me picking his brain and learning all the quirks of the new bird.  Once in CO, I would spend a couple of days training with tail wheel legend Dave Younkin (970.556.4581,) and then fly back over the plains in two.

As I expected, the most visually exhilarating part of the journey was the first day flying over the Grand Canyon, Moab, Bryce Canyon, Zion, the Colorado and Green Rivers, and then Loveland Pass.

Training with Dave was intense and well worth it, and by the end of the week, was ready to hit the road.

My friend and fellow tail wheel nut Dick C. met me in CO and we headed east for home.  The first day we made it from KFNL to KCAK (Ackron-Canton) where it was a hoot flying in behind some 737s.  There are of course a lot of differences between my C170 and the C180, but the biggest (and most enjoyable is the speed.)  It was no big deal keeping the speed up on final and I felt very comfortable being up there with the much larger jetliners.

Of course there were some bumps along the way uncovering a small squawk list, but in the end, we made it home safe and sound back to my home base of KPYM.

Here are some photos of the new C180 shot during the initial test flight prior to closing.  The airplane was solid and flew nice and true.

The prior owner was very proud of the certain things like his sheep skin seats, his 80’s navigation, and his “8 rated” interior.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him that it would all soon be getting tossed.

Denial ain’t always the best ingredient for longevity.

I have these on my C170, but in going thru the logs on the C180, I could not find any mention of an axle upgrade. The previous owner mentioned he had done lots of Idaho and Baja work, so I assumed he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to run stock axles the past 34 years of his ownership, but when I got into upgrading the tires and brakes on the C180, I was really surprised to see what was underneath the hood…

I know it comes down to cash, and at $380 per side it ain’t no joke. But after inspecting what I had, and comparing them to the HD parts, there was no question the stock ones had to go.  Sold at Spruce.

Anyways… food for thought.

After a two year search, I think I found her.  She’s a 1966 Cessna 180H who has spent most of her life in California.

Gonna head out soon to pick her up and fly her home!