Can’t wait to see some flying pictures.

Just as an FYI, if you are having a shop adjust your fuel flow, make sure they actually know what they are doing.

I had a fairly known shop repair my fuel servo. To do that, they had to pull the air box and while doing that the linkage got all buggered up. Lotta bullshit later and it was time to set idle speed and idle mixture and all the hoopla. After about twenty minutes of tinkering they buttoned it all back up and said “I guess your MT prop is keeping you from getting your 600rmp idle. 1000 is the best you are going to get now.” all I’m saying is be careful who you let work on your baby.

So I got to fly yesterday,
My instructor and I got the wagon out and started figuring things out. Man she is a good bird! Fly's straight, and is an honest plane. I wish I already had the bas shoulder harnesses, its like not wearing a harness at all you have to loosen the fixed ones so much. We figured out where she likes to cruise, and some other power settings. Auto pilot works well and we even did a coupled approach. This thing is everything I could dream of and more!

This is my first and hopefully my last airplane and I can say that it has been an awesome experience so far. NO buyers remorse! I am grinning from ear to ear!

Landings, where a little rusty but feel very comfortable and almost exactly like the 180. Although she is going to take some getting used to. Yesterday was not a calm day so we where dealing with 5-10 knot cross winds which made me feel a little bit better about the rusty landings. Time and practice, and lots of fuel!

I re-read barnstormers post about his new purchase last year and I think I am going to follow suit and brake away the flap gap seals.

Well that is all for now, I am hoping to get around 20 hours under my belt in her and then go see contact since he is a stone's throw away!

Good for you Gypsy!

Enjoy it.

Part of a good checkout in a 185 (and a lot of other airplanes) should be some “working” the airplane at or close to gross weight. Figure out how to get a load in the plane, and you may notice the difference between the 185 and 180.

MTV

Look what came in the mail today!!!








So I chose the 26" with extra tread for 2 reasons. Weight and speed. I want to maintain speed for when I travel to colorado and keep the weight down for my extra cheese burger gut!!!!

Wow! $$$

LET THE MODS BEGIN.

Since I could do it myself, the first mod was the vent replacement. It took some minor finagling but I got them in. Here are some pics. A&P has BAS harnesses and should be going in the plane next week as well as putting on new 26's. Then 100LL......



old vents out!



I tried putting in the new vents but they just would not budge into the tube. Read the directions stupid! Brillow pad supplied and inside smoothed out!



Evidently there was a fair amount of debris that needed to be cleaned out.



Dont forget the lubricant for sliding the vent in as well as keeping a good seal with the O-rings.



All done. They work great, sealed well, direct the air very well. Kept us cool in 90 degree arkansas heat!

More mods to come.

gypsywagon wrote:...... Then 100LL......

100 low led.....

fly fly fly and fly some more, burn gas like everyone says. Do not waist a lot of time and money on modifications before flying, go fly! Or at least that is the massive sense I get from everyone. I do not want a hangar queen, I want a machine I know very well and fly very well.

Gypsy

gypsywagon wrote:LET THE MODS BEGIN.

Since I could do it myself, the first mod was the vent replacement. It took some minor finagling but I got them in. Here are some pics. A&P has BAS harnesses and should be going in the plane next week as well as putting on new 26's. Then 100LL......



old vents out!



I tried putting in the new vents but they just would not budge into the tube. Read the directions stupid! Brillow pad supplied and inside smoothed out!



Evidently there was a fair amount of debris that needed to be cleaned out.



Dont forget the lubricant for sliding the vent in as well as keeping a good seal with the O-rings.



All done. They work great, sealed well, direct the air very well. Kept us cool in 90 degree arkansas heat!

More mods to come.

I knew you would like them. About the best $450 one could spend on a Cessna mod! They are great for pax on those hot days when they are feeling a bit queasy, easy to direct good amount of airflow right on them if needed.

Kurt

I also have those vents, they work great.

Also, this inexpensive kit helps to move air through the cabin. Two inspection cover sized vents go in the rear baggage wall, one screened vent replaces the aft most inspection cover on the belly.

I've found that it helps the airflow, and also helps move the heat rearward in winter. It makes a lot of sense.

https://planeplastics.com/airflow-enhancement-kit/

Tires are on and I know have over 20 hours in the 185. I am so in love with this plane! Travel to Colorado and then on to Idaho for a fly fishing trip in September. I can't wait! Enjoy the pics.



New tire on, old tire next to it.



New tire on, old tire on the other side.



Daddy's got a new pair of shoes!!!!
Grass strips have become so much fun!

I also have 2 questions for you guys who know these birds inside and out........

1. I want to play with the long distance power settings. I have an IO550 and I have been cruising at 24/24 getting 140 indicated and ground speed with no wind burning 15.5 ROP. Anything I can do to increase/ decrease that playing with power settings?

2. I have a shimmy when tail comes down while moving too fast and has shaken the tailwheel cable off the spring 2 times on the passenger side of the tailwheel up in the tailcone, It still tracks straight and is easy enough to put back on but still a pain in the ass, anyone know how I can block the cable attachment from coming off the spring? I was thinking of clamping the spring down but I do not know if that is allowed or I dont know if I can get something in there to clamp it to begin with. I know fixing the shimmy may be the best bet but I really only have a shimmy every know and then and if I keep the tail up long enough there is no issue to begin with. PS She has a new baby bushwheel on the stinger that was on the plane when we bought her.
Thanks,
Gypsy

Number 2 first: Read this : http://www.pierceaero.net/tws.php

That will tell you how to fix tailwheel shimmy. So, fix it. Shimmy can be very destructive. And it’s not rocket science. Fix it.

Number 1: first, what model IO 550 do you have. There are VERY different flavors of IO 550. My only experience with 550s was with D models. With those engines, 24 squared as you described would be a shitload of power, like 80% plus. Read the instructions that came with your engine/modification. Some of these engines prohibit leaning at greater than 70% power. So, figure out what percent power is limiting, THEN start figuring out power settings.

I ran 2300 and 21 inches or so, and leaned LOP. Put 1300 hours on that engine. Another pilot borrowed the plane, put 25 hours on it, running 24 squared and running LOP. He fried three cylinders in less than a week.

Read your operators manual, and call Continental tech services.

MTV

gypsywagon wrote:I also have 2 questions for you guys who know these birds inside and out........

1. I want to play with the long distance power settings. I have an IO550 and I have been cruising at 24/24 getting 140 indicated and ground speed with no wind burning 15.5 ROP. Anything I can do to increase/ decrease that playing with power settings?
.....
Gypsy

Not sure what model IO550 you have, my experience is about 600 hours with -B and -F working for an air taxi, 4 F's and 2 B's. No experience with them in a personal plane. They all have EDM930 engine monitors.I had never operated one before this summer.

We run them at 24/2400 all day. Everything wide open for takeoff, clear the trees go to 25/2500, level off go to 24/2400. I think this is because it's easy to train pilots.

15.5gph seems low. 100deg ROP at 24/2400 gives us 17.9-18.2 gph all the time on all the engines. This is like almost exactly 75% power I believe. Running 23/2400 burns 1-1.5gph less gas, with nearly negligible speed loss. I wouldn't dare lower the RPM though because I get paid tach time + 0.1 for each landing. Lowering the RPM is like me paying to work.

Speed gains at the high end of power settings are negligible. Power is hardly a match for the parasitic drag. I'd say 24/2400 is the top end of what you'd ever want to cruise at if you care about economy, so start experimenting to see what the speed losses are at different power settings lower than 24/2400. I'd bet you lose less than 5 kts lowering your MP 1". If that saves you 1gph, you've just increased your economy by almost 10%. Remember to lean to find peak each new power setting you try - peak temps can be different.

I am a huge fan of 550's. They seem to do excellent lean of peak too. MTV probably has 20x more experience with them that I do so let his inevitable answers take precedent...

You want publication X30605 from Continental. It gives explicit operating instructions. Free download on their website, but you have to register, and then find it. I have an IO-550 D27. My STC for installation of the 550 is from PPONK. I liked the price for the paperwork, but the performance data is very skinny. If your installation was under a different STC, I’d be interested in how much detail the Flight Manual Supplement contains.

What propeller are you using? Looks like a modern Hartzell in the photos. Similar performance and characteristics to mine. I have a MT which is said to be most efficient at lower RPM settings. I use 2300 because I’m always in a hurry, but 2100-2200 is probably the sweet spot. I run 23” MP also. Typically takes 15.5-16 GPH to run ROP and keep cruise CHT under 380. 5000’-7000’ typical.

Currently setting up the injection system according to TCM publication M-0, and hope to be able to run LOP after we get it dialled in. I have TCM balanced injectors, but expect I’ll need GAMI injectors to get it to run LOP the way I want. I’ve also ordered the Leading Edge Exhaust from Power Flow, so I’ll probably wait until it’s installed before I do a GAMI test and order them. Enough could change after the exhaust is installed to affect the fuel air distribution and what size variations I need on the GAMIs.

Should note that my cylinders also have the Lycon flow enhancements. Said to add 30 hp, so I have to add additional fuel flow for that difference also.

mtv wrote: Number 2 first: Read this : http://www.pierceaero.net/tws.php
That will tell you how to fix tailwheel shimmy. ….

That's a great article, however it addresses shimmy with the 3200 series tailwheel.
The 180/185 uses the 3400 t/w & mounts on a tubular tailspring (aka "stinger").
Re-arching or shimming the stinger is not a practical solution.

Here's my take on it:
First of all, if you're running a BBW, or 400x4 tire, I've heard they're prone to shimmy.
Ditto the 14" (500x5 tire) XP Mods t/w assembly, only even more so.
No matter which tire/wheel set-up you're running,
even if it's a standard 8" or 10", kingpin nut tension is critical.
It needs to be loose enough to steer smoothly & break out properly,
but tight enough to not shimmy-- a pretty narrow range of adjustment.
About the only way to get this set properly is trial and error.
Make sure the axle nut is adjusted properly & tire pressure is correct.

Tip on how to react to a shimmy-- it usually starts by landing 3 point with a lot of weight on the tail.
You can stop it by pushing the tail up a bit to unload the weight off the tail,
or push a bit more to finish off the landing by rolling out on the mains.

It is interesting how many people have found the tailwheel lock an unnecessary accessory. Of all the reasons I can think of for locking the tailwheel, preventing shimmy is probably the most common one for which I flip the lever and the most effective. When the winds are friendly and the plane is loaded in such a way that I know I can keep a load off the tailwheel, I don’t bother locking It. However, when I know I’m in a situation where I will want to land and immediately hold the tail down with full aft yoke, or when I’m heavy enough that I know the tail can’t be kept light as I’m decelerating, I always lock the tailwheel. I have a separate tailwheel assembly for skis, and the added weight of the tailski seemed to make that setup particularly susceptible to shimmy. That tailski setup didn’t have a collar to support locking the tailwheel. Well, I fixed that situation right away and converted it into a locking tailwheel. Problem solved.

I was out at the plane today and measured the caster angle. It looks dead on to me. So according to the article I should have no shimmy. I was really thinking it was going to be a "negative" angle. but it was not its straight on.
Intrestingly enough there is a line running down the stinger and appears to be an old tailwheel lock. I wander how hard it is to add the lock back. I do not see any instrument in the cabin that would be the tailwheel lock leaver. anyone know where I should be looking in the cabin and where to get the parts to do the tailwheel lock if I wish to go down that rout?

Have I said how much I love flying this plane? Its just so much damn fun. To much for one guy to endure on his own!

On the engine front, its an IO550D, I will go back and look in the operations manual and try and remember if it gave any info on power settings. Not sure it did.

Thanks,
Gypsy

Quick question about the vents. How much finagling are we talking about here? I’ve looked at pulling the old ones out and I don’t see how to do it without removing the struts. And I assume the new ones are shorter?