Backcountry Pilot • Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

I flew that area and west for Brenco. Where is your route? Which lines and gathering?
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

Rob wrote:I've never understood the fear of a go-around in a 18X series airplane. I've also never understood the instructor mentality to cobb the throttle in a go-around. If there was an STC to add a 1000hp engine to the 18X airframe would these instructors still light the afterburners?

Unless you're landing in a one way strip carved in 200' spruce trees with the end coming quick, all you really need the airplane to do is start flying again. And the above scenario is probably not somewhere a 10hr pilot needs to find himself in.

If you land as Contact suggests (and if you are not flying a glider, I'd highly agree with his techniques) you will arrive at the go-around point almost flying (it actually will be flying with the aid of ground effect). Just make it fly again.

Every emergency procedure I have ever visited always begins with aviate, that means fly.... that's it.... just make the thing fly, no need for a grand tail stand aiming for the moon, no need to compete for the highest VSI reading, just fly.

Easy on the throttle will be kinder to your engine, kinder to your airframe, and kinder to your arms. You can always add more if you're not at the stop, and you can do it as you clean the thing up. Somebody's probably going to mention the carb enrichment circuit for cooling on the go around... what ever... that's because they have failed to realize that if you haven't cobbed the throttle and let the nose point itself at the moon, you really haven't created a bunch of heat :wink:

Don't invent boogey men, to come up with scenarios that have you training in ways that leave more risk, than the returned benefit. As an example I see we've offered deer as a reason to unleash every inch of horsepower or mighty beast can muster #-o . Deer? Landing in the sticks for a living, I can't even begin to guess at the times I've turned the lights on to find deer, javelina, coyotes, and the odd mountain lion, crossing in front of me. I've probably had to go around once or twice in all those events, usually a minor blip of the throttle, a nudge on the stick, we play leap frog, and life goes on... This is in a TW airplane that weighs 5000 lbs, and has a 'few' more ponies than a 18X. I am not Bob Hoover, but it seems to me that giving a P-51 all she has in a go around is just trading one hazard for another. Just make it fly.

I'd train for the go around. I'd train for it at full flaps and full power, because that's where you'll be in an inadvertent runaway trim (not terribly uncommon in the 18X series planes) and then I'd learn what the airplane really needs to get the job done, in the real world go-arounds.

I'd give up the touch and goes...In fact if I were king for the day, I'd ban them. Why rush training? you get more of what you need with full stops, at speeds that are going to do less damage if you lose it. Incidentally, the slow speeds are more likely to be where you ground loop, so why not practice there?

I am of the opinion that 'balls to the wall' stems from training with an A65 J3, and then advancing to an overweight bomber etc... Outside of aerobatics, very few are the incidents that control inputs on the machines such as the OP's need to be like light switches... far more are the scenarios that prefer smooth, linear inputs.

Training like this, you will discover soon enough that even if you need to go 'balls to the wall' in the 18X, it really is going to be a non event. Regardless of where the trim is... you just need to burn some gas (safely) to get to that point.

Take care, Rob
Not an instructor


As is often the case, you can read a lot of unintended things into what's written, especially on the internet.

Rob brings up some good points regarding go-arounds....they MAY not need to require full power, they MAY not involve full nose up trim, etc.

The salient point is, however, that more than one pilot of these things (only ones I know about were 185s, not 180s) has killed himself in this go around scenario. Deer/Cow/Horse/Pickup truck, makes no difference...if it moves or you can jump over it, fine.

BUT, every person I check out in a 185 is GOING to get set up for the full power go around. It's really easy to sit there and say "Just use partial power for go around". In a tight situation, it can be a little bit of a challenge to find "just the right amount of power", and right, wrong or indifferent, the loud control MAY get shoved to the stop.

That's why I insist on giving them the experience of what it's like to apply full power, full flaps and with trim aft. So they KNOW, not that they've heard: They KNOW how ugly that can get.

And, THEN they will be motivated to mitigate the possibility that they'll paint themselves into that corner.....either by applying some nose down trim to reduce the pitch up, or use partial power.

That said, I'm not a fan of partial power go arounds in these kinds of airplanes. The problem is that the scenarios where a go around MAY be needed are virtually endless.....high density altitude is VERY close to my heart. Load up a 185, put it on floats, and try your partial power go around on a nice hot, high day. And, wheels isn't much better. You may in fact, need almost every one of those horses to accomplish the task at hand.

So, my point was, to me this experience (full power, full flaps and trim set to glide hands off) NEEDS to be experienced, so that the result is imprinted on that wagon driver's mind.

Then, he/she can do whatever they choose.

I've checked out three very petite women in 185s. Not one of them would win the contest of trim, even with somewhat reduced power....they just didn't have the upper body/arm strength to make it work. So, with them, we trained MANY times with reduced power, nose down trim, etc, etc. But, each of them got the "full meal deal" once, to see just how ugly that scenario can be.

And, no, the 185 is not a raging beast that's out to kill any pilot who's silly enough to saddle up. It just requires a bit of training and exposure to the nastier corners. With that exposure, it's a hell of a horse.

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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

As with any that size and smaller airplane, getting slowed down on short final really offers more options than a round out at 1.3 Vso. Rob and I have a lot of hours and have had very little problem with things on a runway we will use little of anyway. The safety of a helicopter is that we can approach shaking slow and sort most anything out on the way down. 180 series is big and heavy, but those big flaps, when fully used, tame the runaway beast part. The beast will land amazingly slow with power/pitch deceleration coming into ground effect. Not that, on long runways, we have to land slow. It makes a big difference when unexpected things show up, however. Getting up and away from the unoccupied and useful parts of the airdrome is not always the best choice. Lots of options are rejected with high approach airspeed such that go around is the only option. Land over, land short, land over there in the grass, etc. We need to teach airplane control such that options are available. Default go around gives go around bad fatality statistics.

And yes, the crop duster way will lead to more incidents and accidents. Just fewer fatalities.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

The full power, full flap, go around we’ve been talking about would be not much different to a pponked or other modified 182/180 right? Or does the 185 much hard to handle because of the already heavy controls? Vs 180/182.?
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

ington6 wrote:The full power, full flap, go around we’ve been talking about would be not much different to a pponked or other modified 182/180 right? Or does the 185 much hard to handle because of the already heavy controls? Vs 180/182.?


Nah, if you want to get rocket surgery precision analytics, well they're all different. If you want to use real world common sense, you've already been there, done that and got the tee shirt. Congrats and have fun with what I consider one of the best personal airplanes a person can own.

And FWIW, I am not an advocate of any one single method for a go around, in fact I don't factor that mentality in to much of my flying. If it requires full power, so be it. The litmus test to that should require zero thought... after all, you were just flying. Did it require full power to do so?

Take care, Rob
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

I agree with ROB and CONTACT and MIKE. While I prefer and advise every to just use enough power to stop decent, adjust for climb, then climb, A very safe and simple procedure. It takes time and training to do this. Getting pilots to pay for CFI GOOD CFI time is very hard and if you only have a limited time to teach them it should start with a full power go around because in a panic situation that is what the reflex will be. The problem with new pilots is they are just trying not to die on every landing. Teaching pilots that on a go around or takeoff all you need to do is miss what is ahead of you by one inch go's against pretty much all initial pilot training and a lot of the advanced training. Bottom line it is just like wheel vs 3 point landings. Know how to do both because you might need it one day. DENNY
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

When I got my float rating in a Cessna 180, we did splash and dash from Moline Il to Keokuk Iowa in the Mississippi. If you could find a road like this that goes by my farm, you could do slow flight just above the ground and touch and goes where you just lift off a little with power and then descend. There is a quarter mile behind me and more than two ahead. Not much traffic most of the time.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

ington6 wrote:The full power, full flap, go around we’ve been talking about would be not much different to a pponked or other modified 182/180 right? Or does the 185 much hard to handle because of the already heavy controls? Vs 180/182.?
It's similar to 180s and early 182s. The later trim tab 182s don't get nearly the same kind of trim forces that the early stab trim models get.
I got into my 180 with 400hrs of Citabria time. Insurance company didn't even require a checkout. I picked it up, did a couple touch and goes on a 100' wide grass strip then flew home and landed on the 20' wide gravel County road. Never looked back. The thing I found the hardest was learning how to run the CS prop as I had no time with them previous. Respect it a bit and it'll be a real sweetheart. And knowing Greg has been through it and ensured it is square and straight will make things even easier.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

ington6 wrote:The full power, full flap, go around we’ve been talking about would be not much different to a pponked or other modified 182/180 right? Or does the 185 much hard to handle because of the already heavy controls? Vs 180/182.?


Late 182s have a trim tab instead of trimmable stabilizer…..very different system.

The “big engines” that are typically installed in 180/182 are typically 260 to 280 hp.

185 is 300. So, the answer to your question is yes and no. Same effect, with some more force applied by 185. More thrust equals more pressure on that big stabilizer.

I’ve spent quite a bit of time hauling loads in 185s. I’m not discussing 180s here. With a big load, a go around is relatively easy, because that trim will be considerably far nose down with weight in back.

As to touch and goes, the ONLY touch and goes I do with folks new to these planes is one wheel landings. That is a confidence builder, more than anything. But, touch and goes have little use in training, frankly. There are good reasons that full stop landings are required for currency. Frankly, most ground loops start at lower speeds than most T & G ever get. Ie: touch and goes don’t give you the full experience.

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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

Oh man. You could probably eat breakfast out of the belly of this thing. It is a solid bird but there are always things to find. Now it has a new trim wheel, immaculately cleaned trim chain, etc etc. The list is extensive. He is solid.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

Mike, I had students who actually made themselves believe that if they landed fast, they would not encounter the slower very uncomfortable speed range. They academically accepted that they would encounter that eventually after a long hold off when they were looking at the far end of the runway and having to use lots of rudder movement to keep it straight. They had trouble internalizing it. Dynamic proactive doesn't care how much, just that it is dynamic bracketing that keeps the target between our legs. With high time students who have landed fast for years, it is hard to convince them it is easier to deal with slow airspeed and gross control movement early rather than late. They so value the level of control they have zinging down the runway in ground effect that they have a hard time with deceleration on short final.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

I did the wagon transition maybe 6 years ago from several hundred hours in a cub. I've now owned 2 different 180s and flown a dozen others. I've flown 3-4 185's and I'll say all of these planes are not the same. Make sure they are rigged properly and I'm sure BigRenna did that with you. If rigged properly they are great planes and very controllable - just stay ahead of them. I've flown a couple that were pretty dang scary. My initial transition was a lot of slow flight and 1-wheel landings on alternating sides. I think low approaches at minimum controllable airspeed and full flaps at 1 ft over the runway really help dial in the sight picture at touchdown - another good practice tool. Start in light headwinds with a low personal minimum for crosswinds till you really get it down. Practice taxiing in all kinds of wind before adding in crosswind landings. Go slow and raise your personal mimimums carefully. And of course start first and foremost with basic transition dual - but you're gonna really find out what you go when you are solo. Have fun!
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

First thing, put it on grease plates and check for proper gear/wheel alignment. The procedure is spelled out in the maintenance manual.

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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

For sure. We actually already sent out the gears to be overhauled and it will be dead on when they are installed. I wonder how many ground loops are caused by poorly handling planes in the first place? I looked at a few before buying and it seems like a majority of these planes have been shimmed up in one way or another and the average buyer doesn’t really ever check those things.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

ington6 wrote:For sure. We actually already sent out the gears to be overhauled and it will be dead on when they are installed. I wonder how many ground loops are caused by poorly handling planes in the first place? I looked at a few before buying and it seems like a majority of these planes have been shimmed up in one way or another and the average buyer doesn’t really ever check those things.


Even with overhauled gear legs you are not done. You must insure that the wheel alignment is spot on. I have never seen a pair of axles bolt on to a set of gear legs and be within spec without shims. It may be possible for one or the other and maybe even both but I have never seen it. So when you reassemble everything do another grease plate inspection to insure alignment is within spec which is called out in the maintenance manual.

I agree with your statement about how many were ground looped with out of spec alignment. I have flown a few that were absolute monsters, after a grease plate inspection it was discovered they were out of alignment, its almost impossible to tell if not on grease plates unless its waaaayyy out of spec.

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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

ington6 wrote:For sure. We actually already sent out the gears to be overhauled and it will be dead on when they are installed. I wonder how many ground loops are caused by poorly handling planes in the first place? I looked at a few before buying and it seems like a majority of these planes have been shimmed up in one way or another and the average buyer doesn’t really ever check those things.


EVERY one of the gear legs on these things has shims…..it’s required. The key is whether the gear were properly aligned.

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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

. I’ll rephrase. I meant “Excessive shimming”. As in they’re trying to fix a problem that might originate with a bent gear.
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

Lots of good advice here.

One thing not mentioned (frequently too much focus on rudder in tw discussions) is don't forget the effectiveness of aileron input especially until you're slower. It'll save your excursion off the side one day and makes alignment so much easier.

Don't just put the input in on a direct crosswind. Use it always, which means unless you have wind straight down the runway, your aileron input is going in through flare/touchdown/rollout. Do it every time.

The heavier tailwheels have a LOT of inertia, don't let it get to the point where inertia wins.

Have fun!!
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

3 years later wondering how the OP made out with the transition to his p-ponked 180?
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Re: Any tips for first time 180/185 pilot?

Oh funny. This is an old post. Guess you’re wondering about me. With proper instruction initially, it was no issue jumping into the 185. Another thought of mine is that flying has always been a finesse game in the past. Supercubs, lighter Cessnas, etc. With the 185F, it’s more physical.. like a wrestling match. As long as you show the plane who is boss, who is the Alpha, it behaves fine. And sometimes it does use all of your physical strength, full rudder, and brakes. So doing touch and goes for an hour + can be supplement any gym sessions for that week.

As with lots of things, I feel like you need to respect the bird and pay your dues. After a few hundred hours in a short time, you begin to wear the plane. I’ve flown across the country multiple times and spent a month in Mexico. I haven’t encountered any wind event that has given me real anxiety in the landing phase. (Not to say that all landings are always pretty and smooth). I’ve pushed it into 25kts at 70 degrees and it was completely manageable and controlled, although a little sporty. She is getting a 550 from Willie S right now and the hope is to go to Alaska end of the summer. So… all is good. I love this plane and plan on keeping it the rest of my flying life. As for people transitioning, it’s not the scary beast that it is sometimes portrayed as. But just understand that it requires some real focus on year 1 to become proficient and it’s probably not the plane for someone that flies 20-40hours per year. Once you pay your dues and train your 185 to know you’re the boss in this relationship , it’s one of the best GA airplanes ever made.
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