There is Cessna 185 out there that had its 15 minutes of fame over the weekend when it went up for sale for $110,000. It looks like the ads have been taken down now but it was notable for a reason: it had the Cargomore STC installed. And unlike the stretcher door mod (factory?) this one does not disqualify it for use on floats. It does disqualify it from looking good since it makes the windows look wonky.

Curious if anyone has ever used one of these in a Skywagon and if the airframe creaked.

That would sure be nice. The small baggage door is the worst thing about the airplane.

Ross4289 wrote:That would sure be nice. The small baggage door is the worst thing about the airplane.

It would be nice, squeezing things through the mini baggage door does tend to suck a bit.
In my experience though the worst thing about the airplane tends to be the pilot(at least when I'm flying ).

Leaning in on tippy toes from the floats with your whole torso in there is not fun. If you have a helper it is better.

Last weekend was a full load (like almost every weekend for me) and i had a dog crate with a dog in it, and a new air conditioner in the aft baggage, a car seat with my 2 year old in the 4th seat, a giant cooler full of food that was just a little too big for the baggage door, and a play pen that was also too big for the baggage door and a bunch of other crap jammed in.

Float lockers were also full and are about an inch too narrow for the average gear. (Aerocets would solve this)

It’s like a puzzle to load a 185 because it can haul a lot of weight but nothing fits anywhere.

It’s just barely enough airplane to do a weekend family trip on floats.

The solution to your problem was build by Cessna — it is called a Cessna 206

There is a straight tail C182 that lives at Johnson Creek during the summer with one of these doors installed.

That is the extent of what I know about this modification.

Fairly confident that is the same aircraft that was at Chena Marina in Fairbanks at least 17 years ago. Steve (seller) said it was formerly in Fairbanks. I looked at it then and it appeared as any other working class 185 (rough) excepting the unique door modification. I would surely thoroughly validate the engineering used for the basis of approval. I am curious as to how much weight is added due to required strengthening of the door "bay", as well as the door itself. In most cases it is typically best just to get the right tool for the mission to begin with (Beaver )

TR

I think a guy I know used to own that airplane, or one with a similar door.
What's the tail number?
I can't quite make it or the s/n out on the door-mounted decal.

That would be my 185 I just bought and made the senility mistake of listing for sale while I wait to have it transported for rebuild. If anyone has anymore info on the Cargomore Door it would be much appreciated. I tried tracking down then STC IP holder but the company is no longer in business in TX. Yes this plane spent a large amount of its life in Fairbanks on and off Floats every season until ending up on Wheels in TX.

I have a friend who owned a 1958 C180 that was originally from ALCOR with the Cargomore door installed that I believe was purchased from the Healy Mortuary in Salinas. Unfortunately it was substantially damaged at China Hot Springs approximately 42 miles northeast of Fairbanks, AK. I have the documentation and correspondence from the 1960's between the ALCOR Aviation Inc., in San Antonio and the mortuary including brochures. The basic kit was $1467.00 in 1965. One or two windows installed in the kit were optional. I will get these scanned and post. Steve, I would be happy to mail you the originals as you may appreciate them, they have been in a folder for almost 20 years. PM me your address. Bruce