[Split from Landing on Roads]

Ed, not to change the subject, but how does your 140 do with that 125 horse Lyc? That must make it a right nice performing little bushplane.

Eric (stock 170)

Zero.One.Victor:
A super cub I used to fly took about one heart beat to get in to the air. The C-140 takes about 2-3 heart beats to do the same. On a high density altitude day you get around 1500 fpm climb. On a cold day you get around 2000 fpm climb. Airspeed will redline (140 mph) in level flight which is one of my worrys as I have a son that flys it as much as he can. After one of his flights I checked the GPS's max speed function and found that somewhere he had a 154 mph ground speed (calm winds on surface 10-15 mph winds aloft). I reminded him again not to run any faster than 125 mph indicated (smooth air only) and in rough air keep it down to 110 mph indicated.

Ed C-140 0-290-D

Some C140s can be found for less than $20K. The gems though are the '49 and newer models, the 140A. They have aluminum covered wings, with squared off wingtips, like the 170A/B. Anybody know what available engine STC's there are for the 140? I'm pretty sure some exist, because there was a guy at Powers State a few years back with a rocketship* 140 that someone said had a 150 HP motor in it.

Zane

*This word is used relative to the Cessna 140 stock 85 HP motor.

Zane:
There are several engine conversions for C-140's. The 0-200 is popular and you will find several 0-290-D's and 0-290-D-2's flying. I have even heard of an 0-320 in a 140, but have not seen one personally. With the 0-290-D you have to watch your weight as with full fuel and two people you will be over gross by about 100#'s. I can get out of any strip around, but getting in is the trick as the 140's flaps are just about worthless and I really don't like hanging on the prop on short final to a short field. I guess I've been spoiled by the hundreds of hours I flew a 53 C-180 and 56 C-182's with Horton STOL kits. You could take those planes anywhere and land anywhere with or without a runway. We used them as "Ranch Pickups" hauling anything you could get in the door and even had a Cube feeder in the 180 to feed out of.

Ed

Ed, that is hilarious! As far as STC's, do any of those provide a gross weight increase? If not I wonder why more STC's don't include that, it must be a very difficult design change to get approved, since so much data is based on the gross weight of the original TC.

As far as I know, the 140A model has Fowler flaps like a 170B or more modern Cessnas. Would make a nice airplane for fun flying if all you took was your girlfriend and your hat. My grandfather had one, and according to my dad, it had castoring main wheels. I have a great photo of the old man hanging on the wall in front of that 140.

Z

Zane, the 140A flaps are hinged, just like the 170A, not "barndoors" like the 170B & later Cessna's. The 170A flaps are bigger than the 170 ragwing flaps, so I imagine the same is true of the 140A versus 140 ragwing. Seems like a "140B"-- a straight-tail 150 taildragger--would be a good performer even with the stock O-200 if you could keep it real light. I think the big flaps would make steep slow approaches a little easier than in the 140A. Plus the tailwheel conversion makes them look like a baby 180, if you like that look.
Not a Supercub Maule Husky or Skywagon, but not in their price range either!
The castoring MLG wheels on your grandpa's 140A were "crosswind gear", available on tailwheel Cessna's years ago. Not too common nowadays, I've only seen one set, on a 195.

Eric

From http://www.airbum.com/pireps/ClassicComp120140.html

The "A" model was introduced in 1949, presumably in an attempt to jump-start flagging sales. An estimated 525 were built, including a small number of "Patroller" versions with Plexiglas doors, 42 gallon tanks (!) and a message tube though the floor. The fuselage remained the same, but the wings were completely redesigned for the 140A. The blunt, rounded planform disappeared to be replaced by an even more "modern" appearing semi-tapered shape. When Fowler flaps were later added, these were the wings which would be used on the still-to-come 150s. The C-85 was replaced with a C-90 in the 140A.

That last sentence is kinda ambiguous, and after reading this I assumed the last few years of the 140A had Fowlers(slotted and hinged.) But, given that the 170B(Fowlers introduced) was not introduced until 1952, I think you're right.

What the heck is a message tube?


Z

Far as I know, the 140A was really only produced for a year or maybe year and a half (1949 into 1950). I think the 140A has the "piano key" style panel, like the 47 & 48 140 and the 48-52 170/A/B. But it's interesting that when Cessna introduced the 150 in 1959, it had the same style panel as the 1946 140. Using up some leftover parts, maybe?
I imagine that a "message tube" is for ejecting small stuff (messages, parts, paychecks, etc) from the aircraft in-flight, like to a pumping station or line shack on the pipeline or fenceline being patrolled.
Regarding the fowler or barndoor flaps, these actually first appeared on the L19 Birddog (Cessna/Ector 305) I believe about 1950. They proved so effective that Cessna then put them on the 170B, introduced in 1952.

Eric

Jr.CubBuilder:
You are correct! The passenger door was removed and a hay cube dispenser was bolted down where the passenger seat used to be. Jim Franklin (Jet Waco) built up quite a bit of time "bombing" those cows with hay cubes. When they fed out of pickups those cows would chase any pickup that came across the ranch. When they fed out of the C-180, those cows would run toward anything that sounded like a plane! We used the C-180 like any cowboy would use his pickup. Valerie Franklin showed me a picture once that she had taken of me standing on the passenger step dropping T-posts out of the plane (passenger door was removed). I had an extension of the seat belt wraped around my waist for saftey so I could "hang" out on the step to drop supplies in rugged country. I asked her never to show that photo to my wife or my flying days were over!
Those were the good old days!!

Ed

Let's get that photo up here, Ed

Z

THANKS for the info on cessna-140 Ithink i will go for the prebuy and maybe i will be flying my first aircraft i bought.
KEEP IT GREASE SIDE DOWN BEAGEL.


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Guy,s, You probably won,t believe this but about 15 years ago I bought a Cessna 140 that had the engine and prop combo out of a old wood wing Mooney. The 150 horse Lycombing had the high compression pistons making it a 160 horsepower and was mated to a hartzell CSP. The old boy in Mulino Or. had spent 11 years and thousands of hours to get it flying. I bought it from him when he lost his medical and I never regretted it. It flew beautifully, that old boy had done his homework. The problem I had was that I,am 6'5" tall and my legs hurt bad after flying over a hour. If you ever run into any of the old Evergreen Wa. crowd ask them if they remember the C 140 with Junior Mulligan on the cowling. Roy

I fly a '47 140 with the continental C-85 in it - it's a little underpowered but a lot of fun to fly. We've looked into the stc's available for the 0-290 engine, and the only problem (besides money) is keeping it under the gross weight, like Ed said. I can get the 140 into just about anything, but getting back out is a different story! Would be nice with a little more power up front!

I fly a '47 Luscombe 8E, which is very much like a 140, with a C-85/0-200 crank. Looked into changing to a 0-360 but then I wouldn'tbe able to keep it under gross. Besides I like the 3.8 gph fuel burn and she'll get up quick enough, 500 ft ground roll.