OK, call me what u want, but after a couple of 182's, piled up the first one, not sure i can afford tail-dragger insurance with my history...! i've found the newer 182, 1982 fixed gear with the turbo-normalized 540 out of the RG, works OK for what i'm doing in the frank...only have 2 in there i havent landed yet, and though u have to be a little cautious with the nose wheel, it seems tough enough. tons of load carrying ability too. i mostly run the 8.50's off of a 185, and can still get decent cruise. nice to be somewhere when u turn up the power. what i need is another bird like a husky/cub to play in also...YOW!

Buy a C-140/luscumb/kitfox/etc. for 20K and keep the 182; same cost, two planes.
Or, get an O-470 and prop and swap it, sell the 182, and get a 180 with tired engine and put your pponk on it.
Just some ideas besides going under the knife.

182 STOL driver wrote:
George Thomas old 59 Float Plane is first in line for T/W conversion from Bill Berle. I've got to repair firewall and stringers .Bill Berle is trying hard to keep it more simplified and accessible.It just so happens that this candidate is mine and needing work on front end.

Clarification: George's '59 that 182 STOL driver is talking about is a 182, per the subject of this thread. That will be the installation test and certification article for the straight tail 182 conversion. There are two 172's and one 175 "in line" for the current 172 conversion before I get to the 182 (and it's different tailwheel support structure).

And thanks to my friend and mentor 182 STOL driver... and the nice gentleman from Colorado with the 175... for your kind words after seeing my progress.

Francis » Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:26 pm

Buy a C-140/luscumb/kitfox/etc. for 20K and keep the 182; same cost, two planes.
Or, get an O-470 and prop and swap it, sell the 182, and get a 180 with tired engine and put your pponk on it.
Just some ideas besides going under the knife.
Francis
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 2:01 pm
Location: Yuma, AZ
Private message

Good points and yes I have looked into just buying a cheaper "2nd airplane" taildragger to have fun and play around a bit. I found a really nice Pacer that was set up just the way I wanted w/ a mid-time 0-320 (150 HP) and some great mods for $32k. It sold fast but it could have been a ton of fun. The con to that philosophy is a second airplane or another airplane that does quite meet my mission statement instead of one that meets 95% of my requirements. I weigh about 230 lbs and live about 10 miles east of the continental divide. DA and managing the associated useful load is always a huge concern. That really eliminates anything less than 150 Hp and by some measures 180 Hp.

I am still in the research mode and verified my insurance w/ the TW conversion would jump from $803/year to $1397/year. That was actually cheaper than I expected but still a consideration.

DBI,

Your posts show you at Stevensville, Mt. Are you still in the area. I work at Aircraft Structural Repair in Stevensville. We are currently gathering parts to do a 182-180 conversion. Stop in and see us if you are in the area, or give us a call.

Richpiney Yes, I am new to the area and just relocated from Idaho Falls, ID to Stevensville, Montana. I do have a hangar at the airport but have not made the rounds. Interested in your thoughts and previous experience. I just PM'd you.

Thanks- Dave

Aircraft structural repair is top notch for sheet metal work. If you were going to do the conversion they would be an excellent place for a job well done. They've rebuilt a few things for us and it has all been excellent.

Bump

EZ-flap, what's the latest estimate for completion of your kit?

Before the 185 I have now, I owned a '61 converted 182. It was a Baer conversion, which included changing out the vertical stabilizer. I loved the plane and it performed really well. I agree with the comments regarding the looks, feel and flying a taildragger being "romantic". I wanted to mention that I joined the 180/185 club with that plane and never got any questions. My father, who owns a 185 now, owned a '59 converted 182 also at the time and was a very well known, respected member of the club. He joined with the conversion. You should have no problems. I know there are some who claim to be purists about membership but most know a converted 182 belongs in the club.

Terry

EZFlap wrote:

182 STOL driver wrote:
George Thomas old 59 Float Plane is first in line for T/W conversion from Bill Berle. I've got to repair firewall and stringers .Bill Berle is trying hard to keep it more simplified and accessible.It just so happens that this candidate is mine and needing work on front end.

Clarification: George's '59 that 182 STOL driver is talking about is a 182, per the subject of this thread. That will be the installation test and certification article for the straight tail 182 conversion. There are two 172's and one 175 "in line" for the current 172 conversion before I get to the 182 (and it's different tailwheel support structure).

And thanks to my friend and mentor 182 STOL driver... and the nice gentleman from Colorado with the 175... for your kind words after seeing my progress.

We modeled our Fixture tool after the Sills aviation tool - much more beefy ,Thank you Soloman Buck for your welding and steel. Wish I could post pictures here of what it looks like . It breaks down to be carried on a 16 ft. Trailer /car hauler . Has plug in supports for main spars / firewall and 230 bulkhead (aft end of tail cone ) . Weighs about a half a ton .We also have 2 wing fixtures for trueing up bent birds .

Halestorm wrote:Bump

EZ-flap, what's the latest estimate for completion of your kit?

Oh Jeez, I wish I could, but I can't give you an honest answer. I had to switch 9-5 "day jobs" and take a new one in downtown $(!*$ Los Angeles, with 3 hours worth of commuter trains, subways, and walking every day. This means I have exactly one day a week to work on this project (Sunday is non-aviation "family day"). Progress is slow.

The first set of aluminum main gear is finally in manufacture. This is a fit check and destructive drop test set I will never be able to fly.

After five different configurations and probably 8 or 9 component re-designs on the tailwheel spring, we abandoned the cantilever leaf and went back to the double-action tail spring. This really reduced the loads on the OEM fuselage tailpost casting and its fasteners. That's not only a weak spot in the aircraft design, but a big deal to replace if you crack one. So as of now there is zero rotational force on that tailpost casting because the spring pivots freely (in the pitch axis) at that point. Same concept, and same reason, as a 180 spring. To save weight, that spring will be aluminum, with a different cross-seciton, than the 180 style steel tube. I'm praying that this will all balance out CG-wise. If it doesn't, I'll have to make the tail spring from carbon, which will be a big certification problem.

The only good news is that I think we have finally nailed the tailwheel spring attach bracket design, and (like the other main gear components) they will be easy to install without removing the tail or de-rigging the controls. We had to come up with a way to make a flat pad for a welded aluminum bracket to fit against the back of the tailpost casting, which is not flat at all. Grinding or machining that casting flat would not be do-able in the field by an installer. I had designed a clamp-on jig to machine the tail casting in situ, but we ultimately were not willing to remove any material from that part, and having a drill or air grinder vibrating against the casting was a huge risk. Supplying that fixture with the kit was going to turn into an expensive nightmare. I had to develop a really funky installation procedure that kept two bolt axes aligned over almost a three foot length, so that when the tail spring absorbed an impact it did not put off-axis loads on the hardware and bearings.

The real bitch was figuring out how to re-route the load path around the hole in the skin for the tailspring... a standard 43.13 style ring doubler was not enough, because we didn't want certain loads to be "thrown" somewhere else, resulting in the structure trying to move at the rivets holding the tail casting to the skins. We wanted something a lot stronger and longer-lasting than the 170/L-19 "alligator" fitting.

So although I'm almost done with figuring the last parts out, to answer your question I would not be able to say honestly that this will be certified in X weeks, or X months.I'm sorry about that. We're progressing, but things are slow due to limits on my time.

Yearly bump...


How's it going? Any pictures to share?

Yearly bump...


How's it going? Any pictures to share?

I put a lot of thought and effort into considering this conversion. In the end, I elected not to do it and put the money into a complete panel upgrade. The panel turned out great and it is really a dream. No regrets......

After all the research, I further decided if I ever needed a C-180 in the future, I would likely sell the C-182 and simply purchase a C-180.

Thanks-

The Cessna "181" conversion at Aircraft Structural Repair in Stevensville, Mt is finished and flying!
We had wanted to do a conversion for some time, and when an opportunity came up, the perfect candidate was created with the purchase of a local 1961 Cessna 182D.
With the coveted third window, it was a great aircraft to start with, and we couldn't be more pleased with the end result.



We considered leaving both sets of gear on the aircraft, for training purposes, but ultimately decided against it.






In every sense of the word, it is a 180. It looks like a 180, it walks like a 180 and it talks like a Cessna 180!
That's hard to top right? It is, and here is the attraction. We've worked on a lot of 180's, and 185's over the years.
It seems like they are beat to death. Of course there are exceptions, but they are becoming few.
Gearboxes hammered to death, oversize rivets, patched beyond recognition, oil between the skins,etc. We see it all.
With this "181", its all new. New firewall, new belly skins, new PPonk gear boxes. It's essentially new. New and beautiful.









But it's still a 182 right? What about resale? A valid point for sure, if that's what you plan on doing.
But what if it's something you want to keep, to own, to operate, and ultimately pass on to someone who shares your passion?
It's light and tight, a lean mean flying machine, with a Sportsman STOL and VG's.

A local 180 pilot, Alex Athens did the test flights and states that he would take it anywhere, it's ready to work.
That's saying a lot, coming from someone with his experience operating in and out of North Star Ranch in the Selway.

The good ones are fading away, but with a field of good solid 182's to choose from and convert, the Cessna 180 legacy will continue for years to come.


Bound For The Backcountry!


You can find a cheaper Cessna 180, but walk around it. Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone.
This conversion is not a lipstick airplane, it's pretty inside and out!

Man Rich, you're a great salesman!
Beautiful plane.

Rich,

Very cool!!! Would love to see more pics. Which conversion is it?

Looks like a much happier airplane now that the little wheel is on the right end.

Looks great! But I wish you guys wouldn't post stuff like this. I caught myself on barnstormers searching for a C180/182[emoji54]

Rich, That's a fine looking machine! Great job on the conversion, I don't even want to ask how many hours that took. On another note, I believe my 182 was the very next one off the line after yours.

The Cessna 180 conversion is the one advertised by Rod Rawson monthly in Trade-A-Plane (941) 776-1789
NEW STC TO CONVERT your 1956-61 182 to a 180 Skywagon using all Cessna parts.

Dustin Wood (Dusty), the owner of Aircraft Structural Repair looked at the aircraft Rod converted, as well as the Baer Conversion (Ronan) I believe I may have some pictures somewhere of the Baer conversion. I personally believe Rod's is much cleaner as it removes the nose casting stuff, whereas the Baer does not.

It was actually a blessing in disguise the aircraft we converted had had a hard landing. As a result we had access to much more than one normally would. The aircraft also ended up with a new firewall, RH forward fuselage skin, LH & RH cowl attach strips as well as the forward bottom skin. The 61 is a great one to convert as it no longer had the boatload of cowl attachment screws. This particular cowling is probably the easiest fitting Cessna cowl I have seen.

Dusty has a bunch of the in-process pictures, which I believe would be of interest here on the forum. I will get some from him on Monday and post them.

There are a few more, located here on the Trade-A-Plane listing.

http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail/air ... 63951.html