Skalywag wrote:Have a friend in Llano that has one on his 205. He lost no speed, said he may have even gained a little in cruise I think. Hasn't noticed any significant reduction in climb either, he's had it a few years now. IO-470 on this 205.

I believe he did the cowl flap mod and has the exhaust extension. Never heard any complaints about cooling, have picked his brain on it as I'm interested in putting one on the wagon.

I can PM you his phone number if you like. Don't take my word on anything, going off memory from last conversation bout it a couple years ago haha.

I'd really appreciate that. And thanks for chiming in. It's a lot of money to throw down to not be happy with the result.


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PM sent

That's pretty funny

Woa . Disappearing post by zzz . That is even more funnier

As in more smarter

Skalywag wrote:PM sent

Cool. Thanks!


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Do it and don't look back. I've never heard any regrets from people buying pods except why didn't I get one sooner.

If you want some specifics concerning pod use, feel free to PM me.

Awesome. Thanks. I'll do that.


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Ran 2 tu206's with tsio-520 one with pod and One with out. No cooling issues, no speed penalty, and no climb penalty, would run neck and neck. 300 lb wt limit. You have to reach in from the left side to sump the header tanks and you will get a little oil seeping back into it so it's best to put stuff that can handle getting a little dirty in it.

Smith wrote:Ran 2 tu206's with tsio-520 one with pod and One with out. No cooling issues, no speed penalty, and no climb penalty, would run neck and neck. 300 lb wt limit. You have to reach in from the left side to sump the header tanks and you will get a little oil seeping back into it so it's best to put stuff that can handle getting a little dirty in it.

Thanks Smith for the input. And for the advice! The more I can hear from those that have ran them the better. I really appreciate it.


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I have flown PA-18, PA-12, C180, 185, 206, 336, 337 with pods. 18, 12, 180 & 185 before and after same aircraft. The cubs you don't notice much except the extra room. The 185 was only in winter on wheel skis and so slow anyways there was not a noticeable difference in cooling or speed. The 180 is on wheels and I have the most time in it so can give the best report. Operated the aircraft for 6 years without one, now about 6 months with a pod. It is the Firman pod, installed under a field approval. Same design as the Cessna pod but 4in shallower, so no cowl flap mod required for the approval. I extended the cowl flaps anyways and still saw higher CHTs. Probably 10deg hotter on average, just enough to make the CHTs and oil temp a bit on the hot side on a warm summer day (65F). Installed louvers to help, but they didn't seem to do much. Also, lost about 7-8mph.

That said, I'll live with the speed loss and keep working on keeping it cool. Its getting wintery now so don't have to worry about it for a while. Pods are one of the best mods you can do to a plane if you are trying to haul stuff. Lots more room, keeps CG forward, plus dirty, stinky, hazardous stuff doesn't need to go in your plane anymore. Wish I had done it sooner. Worst down side is that passengers and bystanders will think your plane has sprung a leak. Little bit of oil blowby makes a big mess on a pod.

I'm sure your plane will be different, they all are. Did not have any trouble keeping the 206 with a pod that I flew cool, and speed seemed fine. I would extend your cowl flaps a bit, easy to do and most likely will be needed. I'm sure you will not want to remove the pod once it's on. Not that big of a chore really, but hard to imagine not having one once you get used to it.

Thanks North River. I really appreciate all that detailed info. It seems like the overriding theme is 1) on speed and cooling, you won't know what you got until you get it on and your results will likely vary...but it's manageable. And 2) you'll love the pod. It's also sounding like most of the 205/206 owners I've talked to haven't seen a difference in speed or climb performance and cooling hasn't been an issue. And I think you're probably right. I think once it's on it is probably unlikely that will come off very often.

Thanks again everyone for the insight. We are going to talk it over and see if this is something we want to do.


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I have flown 10 hours since the installation of an Aerocet cargo pod on our T206. This thread helped push me to make the decision to install one and so far, I am glad I did. I have not experienced slower speeds and the temperatures are definitely not higher. I think the extended cowl flaps may actually help my number one cylinder stay cooler. Time will tell.

All the stuff I kept in hat shelf area is now down below. This helps w&b as well as makes more room available for gear.

As someone previously stated, my only regret is that I didn't install the pod a long time ago.

Thanks for the input. I’ve started thinking about this again a bit.

Trying to figure out if Firman pod has an STC for the 185. Thanks.

atypicalguy wrote:Trying to figure out if Firman pod has an STC for the 185. Thanks.

U.S. STC search via FAA site revealed:
" 1-4 of 4 results for ' 3A24 AND cargo AND pod' "

SA00064DE Installation of external cargo pod. [Aeropod]
SA220NW Installation of a Sorensen 151 Gallon Spray Pod (less spray equipment) for use as either a cargo or...
SA02179AK Fabrication and installation of an Alaskan SkyPod, P/N SP1-100, cargo belly pod.
SA780NW Installation of Edo 628-2960 seaplane floats (Cessna pod referred to)

Call Bob Piatt in Wasilla AK. He should be able to answer most of your questions concerning cargo pod installations on 185/180's.