Matt,

Yes, those baffle seals are butt ugly, and it's past time to replace them.

There's a relatively new baffle seal material available that's supposedly the cat's ass for baffle seals. From the guys I've talked to, that's the way to go, as opposed to the red colored stuff that's been used generally in the last few years. I'm sure any mechanic can tell you the name of the stuff, or Spruce. The local mechanic is using this stuff now for all his baffle seals and is a believer. I think this is the stuff: http://www.chiefaircraft.com/aircraft/w ... saver.html

I forgot to mention in the landing discussions that I also find it MUCH harder to get a nice landing with full 40 degree flaps than with 30 degrees. Play around with different flap settings. I think you'll find it's easier to predict performance with 30 flaps, and for most landings that's plenty of flap anyway.

MTV

Thanks for the advice MTV. I'll Google around on the cowl saver baffle material and see what the best price is.

MM

I'm not sure what the material is, but I just put in some new baffle seals on the 170 during my annual in November. I bought 10 feet of this stuff for $4 a foot, plus some black rivits and small washers from Sac Skyranch. It took me a few hours to remove the old crap and install the new seals.

Nice looking install and good looking material ....

Thanks Rob, those pictures are worth 1000 words.

Hey Matt,

Glad to hear the landings are settling in. The 180 is a wonderful plane...

Tom

Just a quick update.

My window frames were pretty ugly, so I sanded them down, repainted, and added a new Cessna window seal.







The baffle seals came out pretty good, getting the old staples out took some work. Lowered my CHT's by a good 10-15°.

Looks good Matt, getting the staples out was the worse part when I replaced my seals.

Looks great!

Very nice work.

Thanks guys.

I'll post up more pictures soon.

Project Retro Wagon got a little attitude and altitude recently. Write up coming soon.

Woooo!

Sweeet!

mountainmatt wrote:Project Retro Wagon got a little attitude and altitude recently. Write up coming soon.

Are they 29s or 31s? I have heard that 29s are preferable on skywagons, is there any truth to that? Any reason?

Thinking about installing bushwheels on my 180, but I operate on paved surfaces too often to justify.

mountainmatt wrote:Project Retro Wagon got a little attitude and altitude recently. Write up coming soon.

Are you expecting high water out there on your strip that you need the high clearance?

Instantly cooler

Big difference (literally) between the wagon then and now. I added the 31" Alaskan Bushwheels, Cleveland double pucks (199-62) and a 88" McCauley seaplane prop (2A34C66/90AT-2). I lost a few lbs off the nose as this hub is a fair amount smaller than my old hub (perhaps the original hub/prop).

First impressions were intimidating. Just crawling into this plane is a chore, but a fun one. The new prop has a fair amount more pull (butt test) than the old 82" McCauley that came off. With the addition of the tires, the climb has remained about the same. Takeoff has decrease by about 20%.

It's good to be back on bushwheels, but my sight picture has been altered. Taxiing isn't too bad, but landing will take some getting use to. The spring gear on the Cessna does make the sidewall flex a little more than the Stinson, but after a few poor landings, I'm confident that this will be no issue. From what I can tell taxiing has not been effected. In gusty/turbulent conditions, I do feel the tires moving in the air while flying, but nothing extreme. I lost approx 7-8mph in cruise (20mp/2200rpm) and 11 mph in 75% cruise. Prop clearance went from 27" with the old 82", to 24" with the 88" seaplane prop (8.00's), to 33" with the 88" prop and 31's in a 3pt attitude.

The new brakes are a must, and no wagon should be without them in my opinion. With the heavy tail, I can really apply the pressure, but I haven't tested them to hard as I'm just getting use to this setup.

I already had the 31's laying around from the Stinson, so for the cost of the STC, I'm going to play around and see what I think. I was enjoying the nice speed the wagon brings, but I plan to have 8.00s to swap out for the longer flights. If I don't like how the 31's handle in crosswinds and taxiing, I might try to find someone wanting to swap out 29's. But not just yet....









Let me know if you have any questions.

BADA$$!

Looking awesome Matt, psyched for you!