"Pop - Drop - and Land" they say

What's the skinny on these things? $6k + 25-35hrs for installation is mucho coin for something that isn't usually the limiting factor for how short of a strip you can get into.

https://www.preciseflight.com/general-aviation/shop/product/speedbrakes-cessna-180-series/

Had set on my S-model Machen Bo with the TIO-540, worked wonderful for keeping a little power on and falling out of the sky getting into some airport where the controller keeps you fast and high for way to long.
Can't imagine where you would use them with a 185 or 206??

Those are for fast descents, not sure they would do anything for landing short? I've seen them on some sky diving planes but that's it.

I'd like for her to come back - and tell us what really did happen. Clearly she was tied down to something. Even the claw on the tailwheel was ripped out.

soyAnarchisto wrote:I'd like for her to come back - and tell us what really did happen. Clearly she was tied down to something. Even the claw on the tailwheel was ripped out.

I think you're in the wrong thread!

i don't know why a guy would spend a bunch of cash adding weight and complexity to a plane that is easy so easy to slow down in the first place. Spend that cash on fuel and T-bone steaks and you'll be much happier.

Ditto. 40 degree flaps will bring a 180 down like a brick anyway. On a turbo 210.....maybe.

MTV

*2

robw56 wrote:

soyAnarchisto wrote:I'd like for her to come back - and tell us what really did happen. Clearly she was tied down to something. Even the claw on the tailwheel was ripped out.

I think you're in the wrong thread!

You'd be correct, sir!

I test flew a Mooney Ovation with those speed brakes, and in that airplane, they were marvelous. Slowing a Mooney whilst going downhill is really difficult, but with those things deployed, piece of cake. I can also see that they'd be useful on a 210, because they don't have the massive barn-door flaps of 180s, 185s, 206s, and earlier 172s.

But because those others have barn-door flaps, I'd be hard pressed to see what speed brakes would do that would benefit any of them.

Cary

Friend of mind has a 185 and it has a Skyote Gap Flap System. Cant find any info online about it but its a hydraulic speed brake in front of the flap. he says it works great to slow you down


Tom

SA5263NM is the stc for 180/182

Skydiving Cessna operators swear by these brakes for rapid decents without shock cooling.

cliff wrote:Skydiving Cessna operators swear by these brakes for rapid decents without shock cooling.

I'm sure they would be very beneficial, but at $6k PLUS 25~35 hours installation time and nine extra pounds...I just can't visualize a skydive company actually paying for them. Every bodybomber I worked for only flew pistons if they couldn't afford anything else, and the long time-to-climb made the descent time somewhat irrelevant.

Never saw a outfit that would spend ten cents on an airplane unless they absolutely had to...near as I can tell skydivers don't even like airplanes and would much rather step out of an elevator if it was possible. I tried to convince one company to install CHT probes so we could actually verify what descent profiles we could get away with, and they were indignant at the idea. A couple thousand dollars to safeguard the engine? Laughable!

Looks like a solution in search of a problem to me.

Hammer, Sorry you flew for such fucking assholes. You probably shouldn't have flown for them for more than one day, sounds like bad judgement on your part to fly such a piece of shit airplane for such greedy ass hats. On the other hand their are plenty of reputable DZ operators out there that keep their aircraft in excellent mechanical condition. I know dozens of DZ operators who have engine upgrades, wing extensions, VG's, dive brakes, and much more done to their Cessnas to make them as efficient and safe as possible. I hate when a whole industry is judged by a few examples.

Oh boy! Here we go, wait while I grab my popcorn[emoji897]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

One possible advantage of these spoilers is that they might allow you to slow a Cessna down WITHOUT over-using the flaps as speed brakes at high speeds.

Flaps are not automatically OK to be used as speed brakes.They were designed to safely make a lot of drag at APPROACH speeds, and give you that famous Cessna steep glide angle. But I believe they were NEVER designed for people to just yank them out at the top of the white arc every fl;ight, just because they were too !(#*$ lazy to plan thei descent properly.

Of course people have used flaps to slow the Cessnas down from cruise speed for many years, but for many years there have also been issues with wear on the flap tracks, crinkling the trailing edges (fixed with the new flap "bulb" exstrusion), and wear on all the cables and pulleys.

Just because the Cessnas were FAA certified to PERMIT use of the flaps up to 100 MPH doesn't mean it's good the the airplane over time. It means it will not break the airplane any time soon. Meaning soon in 1953 or 1956. The FAA certification also does not include much concern for long-term wear. That is a maintenance issue for the factory, mechanics, and customers to worry about, again circa 1956.

If you told the Cessna engineers and FAA certification people that this same 1953 or 56 Cessna would be out there dogging around 50 and 60 years later, with the original flap tracks and original trailing edges, they would shit in their graves and the white arc would have been at 70 miles an hour, not 100. If you pay for the maintenance on your airplane, or if you give a shit about not wearing it out prematurely, you should operate the airplane in a more conservative manner.r.

EZFlap wrote:One possible advantage of these spoilers is that they might allow you to slow a Cessna down WITHOUT over-using the flaps as speed brakes at high speeds.

Flaps are not automatically OK to be used as speed brakes.They were designed to safely make a lot of drag at APPROACH speeds, and give you that famous Cessna steep glide angle. But I believe they were NEVER designed for people to just yank them out at the top of the white arc every fl;ight, just because they were too !(#*$ lazy to plan thei descent properly.

Of course people have used flaps to slow the Cessnas down from cruise speed for many years, but for many years there have also been issues with wear on the flap tracks, crinkling the trailing edges (fixed with the new flap "bulb" exstrusion), and wear on all the cables and pulleys.

Just because the Cessnas were FAA certified to PERMIT use of the flaps up to 100 MPH doesn't mean it's good the the airplane over time. It means it will not break the airplane any time soon. Meaning soon in 1953 or 1956. The FAA certification also does not include much concern for long-term wear. That is a maintenance issue for the factory, mechanics, and customers to worry about, again circa 1956.

If you told the Cessna engineers and FAA certification people that this same 1953 or 56 Cessna would be out there dogging around 50 and 60 years later, with the original flap tracks and original trailing edges, they would shit in their graves and the white arc would have been at 70 miles an hour, not 100. If you pay for the maintenance on your airplane, or if you give a shit about not wearing it out prematurely, you should operate the airplane in a more conservative manner.r.

I've had to have two flap skins fixed, one a skin segment and one a whole skin. Both had cracked--fortunately caught the one before it took out the whole skin again. After the first which took out the whole skin, I asked my IA if it was a common problem; he said it was, and it is caused by too high an airspeed on deployment. So I have made it a point not to pull the handle until the IAS is below 85 mph, although Vfe on my airplane is 100 mph. Why the second crack happened is anyone's guess, since it was actually to the newer skin.

I don't think that there's any question that higher speed flap deployment is hard on the airframe, whether it's skins, tracks, rollers, or what have you. Fortunately with Cessnas, they're a draggy enough airframe that slowing them down to a safe flap extension speed isn't all that difficult.

Cary

Do you think they'd help to prevent ground loops?

Goose wrote:Do you think they'd help to prevent ground loops?

How would they do that?