A mechanic recently told me to steer clear of earlier model 206s with the 12 volt system. Evidently due to the size of the flaps the 12 volt system struggled to lower them....
Anyway, is anyone familiar with this or at least heard about it? I can't find anything.
Also, does anyone know what year Cessna ungraded to the 24 volt system?

Any input is appreciated.

Regards,
Scott

Operated 12 volt C206's for over 20 yrs Only had one flap motor failure in thousands of hours on both A/C. Never noticed any problem with flaps straining to come down. If u are looking at buying a C206 u will be very happy with it performance wise. Cost is a different problem In 1975 bought a C206 on floats from the factory brand new for $ 56,000 Wish I still had them

Had 4 of the older 12 volt 206's, we put about 2500 hours a year on the 4 of them, as above only had 1 flap motor failure in 4 years! That aircraft if I remember was a 64 and had almost 5000 hrs on it.

Don't know the answer to your specific question, but my '79 U206G has a 24 volt system.

The 1978 U206 and 207'were the first models with 28 volt systems according to the model history on CPA. Specifically, 1978 model U206G serial numbers starting with U20604075.

Thanks for the replies fellas. No experience with it myself obviously and some google searches didn't turn up anything. Have to track the mechanic down and quiz him a bit more I guess.

The plane that prompted the question is a '77 U206 that VanBortel has and it apparently has the 12 volt system. Guess they changed in '78 or '79 then...?

UH-60andC-180 wrote:The 1978 U206 and 207'were the first models with 28 volt systems according to the model history on CPA. Specifically, 1978 model U206G serial numbers starting with U20604075.

I was typing my response above when you submitted this.
Thanks for clearing it up!!!

"64" with 4789.6 hrs and no problems

No problems with 12 volt. The 206's have been flying for 50 years that way. and 207's for 45 years.

Almost every mechanic, even the really good ones, has some bullshit theory like this one. Most of these seem to have been instilled by a mentor. And, you will never dissuade them of one of these beliefs.

Now, pilots of course NEVER put out such bullshit......

In any case, 12 volt 206s work just fine, in my experience.....though our Maintenance chief said they were worthless. I flew one for five or six years in northern Alaska, including winters....nary a problem.

MTV

Way easier to jump start 12V system when found in a pinch. Not too many 24V cars running around.

mtv wrote:In any case, 12 volt 206s work just fine, in my experience.....though our Maintenance chief said they were worthless. I flew one for five or six years in northern Alaska, including winters....nary a problem.

MTV

So apparently my mechanic isn't the only one propagating this myth?!
Thanks for the info MTV. I'm no longer "afraid" of 12 volt 206s.

gbflyer wrote:Way easier to jump start 12V system when found in a pinch. Not too many 24V cars running around.

This is a very good point!

Sierra Victor wrote:

gbflyer wrote:Way easier to jump start 12V system when found in a pinch. Not too many 24V cars running around.

This is a very good point!

And when your battery takes a dump, 12 is cheaper than 24.
Instruments and avionics are cheaper in the 12v range also, and easier to find.

Scott Stop trying to get flaps down at excessive speed(above white line on airspeed indicator ) lube jackscrew in right wing, check good wire and electrical connections .Having owned a flown a worked on 12+ 206's, 10 + 210's and several 205s I think you "mech" should be washing cars rather than wrenching on peoples airplanes.

The only real reason that all the manufacturers went to 24v is that they can run a lot lighter wiring, reduce weight, and presumably save money. It's a lot like when all the car manufacturers went to 12v from 6v systems. Except with so many older airplanes still on the line, there are many 12v models still very active. But if the systems are designed to run on 12v, they will run just fine. Of course, if your mechanic installed a 24v flap motor in a 12v airplane, for sure there would be a struggle to lower the flaps!

The upside to having a 12v airplane is that jumping it is easy--any car or truck built after about 1956 can be used. The downside is that sometimes a rampie will assume that a certain airplane is one voltage when it's actually the other. Not a big deal if a 12v APU is used to try to start a 24v airplane--it just won't turn over or turns over so sluggishly that you will immediately realize the problem. But if a 24v APU is used on a 12v system, it can fry things really quickly, but fortunately what fries is the master solenoid, and if everything else is turned off, that'll be the extent of the damage.

I had that exact experience, with the 231 Mooney I used to fly. I had taken the owner and his wife up to Riverton, thinking I would come right back to Laramie. Instead, they wanted to show me their ranch, so the airplane sat out on the line in really frigid weather well into the night. When they brought me back, it had been sitting for several hours and was cold soaked. When it wouldn't start, Ol' Dummy here should have had it pulled into a hangar or otherwise pre-heated, but instead I asked the rampie to use the APU. He assumed it was a 24v model, he didn't ask me and I didn't think to tell him. That master solenoid fried so quickly it would make your head swim! Fortunately, the FBO had a proper replacement available, their mechanic came out after hours and replaced it after first dragging the airplane inside, and by the time he was done, the airplane was warm enough that it started easily. The FBO accepted responsibility, although honestly I was as guilty as their employee was.

Lesson learned.

FWIW, I carry a set of aviation jumper cables in my airplane at all times, and I've had to use them twice in 10 years, plus an APU start (very carefully reminding the rampie that it was a 12v airplane!). With the current battery (AGM Concord), it's not been an issue, but with the old Gill, it became a problem long before it was time to replace the darned thing--just didn't have the cranking power if the engine was balky.

Cary

We had two 206s one twelve and one twenty four, the flaps worked way better on the newer one. the twelve volt ones didn't want to come down unless you chopped the power. It also had trouble cranking the 550 engine.
It was not a mater of how fast you are going but how much power you are carrying anyway.

River rat wrote:We had two 206s one twelve and one twenty four, the flaps worked way better on the newer one. the twelve volt ones didn't want to come down unless you chopped the power. It also had trouble cranking the 550 engine.
It was not a mater of how fast you are going but how much power you are carrying anyway.

Sounds like maybe a 24v motor in the 12v 206??