Anyone out there flying a husky with big tires 29-31". I'm wondering what the cruise speed and fuel burn is at 7000'? Compared to a cub with the same set up? Not quite as interested in what it can do at max but more realistic comfortable cruise.
Blu

Blu wrote:Anyone out there flying a husky with big tires 29-31". I'm wondering what the cruise speed and fuel burn is at 7000'? Compared to a cub with the same set up? Not quite as interested in what it can do at max but more realistic comfortable cruise.
Blu

Thinking of another bush plane Blu? The Carbon Cub probably doesn't have much to talk about with the Cirrus while they are sitting in the hangar.

Cheers...Rob

I've got a Husky here for sale, but it doesn't have big tires, 180hp version. So basically I'm posting to say I can't answer your question

Tadpole wrote:I've got a Husky here for sale, but it doesn't have big tires, 180hp version. So basically I'm posting to say I can't answer your question

well... that makes two of us

Rob I would like another plane.... And due to my insightful profession choice (building new fences around residential homes in new subdivisions) I expect to be able to afford two or three new RC planes over the next few years ...... If I budget carefully

Last summer I flew formation with a husky A1B from Utah all the way to western alaska and back. We put on nearly 7000 miles in 10 days. The Husky had 31" bushwheels with the baby bush tailwheel and an MT prop. I was in my skywagon on 29" bushwheels with the throttle pulled back to "sip mode" flying off the wing of the husky the entire flight. Our AVERAGE ground speed for the entire trip was 118MPH. My plane burned less than 8GPH at that power setting and the Husky burned 8.5 - 9GPH. In my experience, a husky with 31's cruises at a solid 120MPH.

A Husky on big tires will cruise as noted in the previous post.....OR, pull the rpm back to 1950 rpm and throttle back to around 20 inches, and you'll go just a little slower, but your fuel burn will drop to 7 gph or less, depending on altitude. Cruise speed at that power setting will be more like 115 mph, but really economical.

In my experience, the Husky cruises roughly 20 mph faster than a Super Cub (assuming a more or less stock Cub) with identical undercarriage on each airplane. So, 31 inch tires on both, the Husky will run around 20 mph faster than a SC. Wipline floats on both, the Husky will be about 20 mph faster. And, at those speeds, fuel burn will be very similar.

Again, though, the advantage of the Husky is that you can pull that power back to wherever you want it, and loiter all day if you want, or push some power and go reasonably fast for this category of airplane.

With 50 gallons of useable fuel, that translates to a lot of seat time on one fill up. I've spent six hours in the saddle on one load of gas, and had gas to spare when I arrived, doing survey work at low power settings.

MTV

I have the 31s and BBW on my Husky. I haven't noticed much of a speed loss with this arrangement, but my wheel skis (with 8.50s) do give a bit more speed penalty. on Wheels, I generally fly at a low power setting (20/2000) and see an airspeed of 95 mph (cub speed?), and a fuel burn of 6.5 gph or less. I can get 5.5 gph when sight seeing at low elevations and 17/1900 power setting, but then my air speed is down to 80 mph. I also have a belly pod on my dog, but once again it doesn't seem to impart much of a speed loss. If I crank the power up to 23/2300, I can get pretty good air speed and a fuel burn of about 9 gph. All of these speeds and power settings are when flying at gross weight.

I have an '05 Husky with 26" Goodyears (I have to taxi on pavement a lot and they wear better than the Bushwheels I'd rather have). Also have the MT prop and PowerFlow exhaust and find the exhaust saves as much as .8 gph in cruise. 20" and 1950 rpm (the big prop likes turning slow) nets around 105 knots in smooth air at 5.8 to 6 gph. Expect a little slower with larger tires and a bit less without the PF exhaust.

I really have to throttle back to stay with a Super Cub - - that, and burn way less for the same speed. Gripes my SC friend to no end! But, he can get into a slightly shorter strip. But, if the Husky can get in, it can always get out.

BTW, Aviat's spec of 50 gallons is conservative . . . mine holds 54.

bumper

bumper wrote:
BTW, Aviat's spec of 50 gallons is conservative . . . mine holds 54.

bumper

Bumper

Is that 54 gal usable? I think Aviat says that the airplane holds 52 gal total, but only 50 usable.

Eric

Nizina, If you don't get an answer, I might find out? My buddy bought the black and white one that was at OSH last year (2010). It came with 31's, but at my fly-in last fall he bought 35's for it. Before I got to fly it, he took it out to Utah and left it near his coal mine somewhere. If I ever get out there, I was told to get it and fly where ever I want. I might take him up on that! jg

patrol guy wrote:Nizina, If you don't get an answer, I might find out? My buddy bought the black and white one that was at OSH last year (2010). It came with 31's, but at my fly-in last fall he bought 35's for it. jg

JG Thanks.

Wow -- 35s on a Husky. We have had a lot of Husky pilots come through the Wrangells this summer and none of them are flying 35s -- mostly 31s. On the other hand, most of the Cubby guys up here really covet the 35s. Don't know if its phallic insecurity, or just the fact that the 35s can't slow the cub down on the top end any more than it already is. But those cubs with the 35 booties can sure get in short.

George Mandes tried a set of the 35s on his Husky shortly after they got STCd for the Husky, but he reported back that the airplane just felt too lethargic with the 35s so he switched back to the 31s. I'd like to try a set of the 35s on my Husky here in the Wrangell Mountains, but not sure I want to sacrifice my cruse speed.

At any rate you should have fun flying your buddy's Husky in Utah.

Have a blast,
Nizina

Blu you need a Ma Maa Mall

Eric,

When we picked up the last Husky I flew for uncle, it had to be weighed. They weighed it with full fuel, then subtracted unuseable fuel, as given in the POH. The weight came out a good bit heavier than Aviat claimed. Hmmmm. I called Mark Heiner, who told me that the tanks are hand made, and therefore all a LITTLE different, so the approach was to make SURE they hold AT LEAST 50 gallons useable. Turns out most of those tanks are a little bigger than advertised. We drained all useable fuel from that airplane, and re-weighed it. Then I filled it from a metered source. Tanks took a bit over 53 gallons, nearly 54 gallons. That is above unuseable.

MTV

OregonMaule wrote:Blu you need a Ma Maa Mall

I thought about getting one ...... But sometimes I like to land on short strips

Blu wrote:

OregonMaule wrote:Blu you need a Ma Maa Mall

I thought about getting one ...... But sometimes I like to land on short strips

Blu wrote:
I thought about getting one ...... But sometimes I like to land on short strips

I would certainly agree if all you want to do is land a Cub short, but beyond that, you can't beat the Husky for pure back country fun.

Paul Clause had told my Husky flying buddy about a stretch of beach next to the glacier that pumps most of the ice burgs into Icy Bay. Said it was short but that we should be able to do it with the Huskys. So yesterday we flew from McCarthy to the coast and after fishing at the Tsiu River for Silvers, we flew up to Icy Bay and found that beach that Paul was talking about. Definitely Cub size, but we took a crack at it any way. My partner made a beautiful landing. I was pumped, but nailed it just fine and only used half the beach. I later paced it off and the total length of the beach was 550 feet. Can't disagree that a Cub could have done a better job, but the ability of the Husky to cover as much terrain as we did that day with multiple landings made me appreciate my choice to buy the Husky rather than that short landing Cub. We had a ball and were exhausted at the end of the day. But otherwise, I do like Cub's ability to land short.

mtv wrote:Eric,

Turns out most of those tanks are a little bigger than advertised. We drained all useable fuel from that airplane, and re-weighed it. Then I filled it from a metered source. Tanks took a bit over 53 gallons, nearly 54 gallons. That is above unuseable.

MTV

Mike

Very interesting. Now some of these Husky guys will probably start pushing it even more ...

Eric

Actually, the REAL difference in landing performance between the Cub and the Husky is pretty small.

The difference is that the Husky will make you work a little harder to get there than the Cub will.

It's like the old argument for steel shot for waterfowl: Lead shot tends to throw a sort of doughnut shaped pattern, with a LIGHTER pattern in the center, caused by the deformation of the lead.

Steel shot on the other hand, is hard, doesn't deform, and therefore provides a more consistent pattern.

Soooo, if you are REALLY accurate, and put your patterns dead center on every bird, you'll kill more birds with steel than with lead.

That's the theory at least.

But, seriously, the Husky is a little harder to fly into very short spots. It will do just about as well as the Cub, but the Cub will be easier to put into that short spot. Maintain your proficiency, and either one will work just fine, unless you're working the VERY thin edge all the time.

In that case, either one will get wrecked in time.

MTV

Nizina
Is that beach on the east side just around the corner looking North, We used to fly Kyakers in there with the 206 and 185's
sounds about the right length.
GT

M6RV6 wrote:Nizina
Is that beach on the east side just around the corner looking North, We used to fly Kyakers in there with the 206 and 185's
sounds about the right length.
GT

GT

The location sounds about right, but the area is totally chalked full of ice burgs and there is no way to even set a kayak in the water. As the glacier would calve, our Huskys would have been washed away by the resulting tsunami except for the muting action of the ice burgs in the water. In fact you could not even see the water from the air -- but hundreds of sea lions on the ice flow. The beach is to the far east side of Icy Bay. But having been there, you know how beautiful that area is.