Hi all,

I’m currently looking to sell my 182 and transition into a 206. My 182 may sell quite quickly given the current market and I’m worried about being plane-less for an extended period of time. For a discerning buyer looking for a specific combination of features in a narrow range of model years, do you guys have any recommendations of how I can track down a 206 that fits my criteria? Is it worthwhile to pay a broker to go find one? Spam letters out based on the FAA registry? I’m sure I’m not the only one on the hunt for a rare-ish bird so I was hoping to hear what has worked for others.

Thanks!

There are a LOT of 206s out there. They are mostly working though, so maybe few for sale.

The features I like best:

Seaplane tail.

Big fuel tanks. Biggest stock were on the G and later, but there are several mods.

P Model for co-pilot door ( which means forget 1 and 2 above )

Mods:

Anything that adds fuel options.

IO-550 !!!

Wing extensions.

GW increase to 3800.

Sportsman kit.

WIPLINE CO-pilot door. On U-206

MTV

Can you afford to carry two airplanes for a while? You might be better served being patient in your search, then selling your 182. That lets you take your time and find the right airplane, as opposed to having the pressure to buy to get back in the air. I searched for over a year for six seats and ended up with a 205. I'm glad I held onto my 180HP 172 until I bought the 205.

I lived on Barnstormers, Trade A Plane, Controller, Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist Aviation, nearly daily.

What are your parameters for a 206? Wont hurt to put them on here,,,,
John

C model SN 914 and above have the larger horizontal Stab that increases the CG range.

C through part of F model have the old leading edge and are lightest. Part way through F is the camber cuff wing and the wing is riveted together better. Put a sportsman on them anyway.

My G model has the Wet Wing, it is sturdy but the whole plane is heavier. The wet wing has increased fuel capacity and you will notice factory Cherry rivets inboard of the strut on the bottom of the leading edge.

Factory Float Kit solves a bunch of issues if you push a 206 hard.

Mods
IO-550, 6 point engine mount, Engine Monitor w/ FF totalizer and modern prop

Sportsman and Flints on the wings. My turbine G model amphib needed the Flint GW increase and fuel increase. Wing-X if you dont need the GW increase. My turbine Skydiving C models are light enough that I gross out and cube out at the same time so the lighter wing x works better.

The nice thing about a 206 is so many Factory Options in the IPC "approved data". Lots of good STCs that cover wide models / SN groups. If you cant find the exact plane you want you can always build up a roller to meet your needs. Add V brace, float plane firewall reinforcements to stiffen nose gear attachment.

Bad thing is, Used 206 inventory is low, asking prices are high.

The Wipline IO 550 conversion significantly stiffens the firewall are, AND offers 3800 pound GW with or without wing extensions.

MTV

The IO-550 upgrade
From Wipaires site
This modification teamed with the Wipline 3450 float provide a 200 lb gross weight increase on most F and G model 206 aircraft.

The 3450 STC paperwork gives a 200 lb GW increase for TU206, Soloy. If you had an IO-520 plane U206 you didnt get the increase. If you upgraded the U206 to the IO-550 you get the increase GW on the U206. My G model was originally a U206G so I had to put on the Flints for the GW increase even though Im Turbine. My Turbine is not listed in there paperwork.

Skydive206 wrote:The IO-550 upgrade
From Wipaires site
This modification teamed with the Wipline 3450 float provide a 200 lb gross weight increase on most F and G model 206 aircraft.

The 3450 STC paperwork gives a 200 lb GW increase for TU206, Soloy. If you had an IO-520 plane U206 you didnt get the increase. If you upgraded the U206 to the IO-550 you get the increase GW on the U206. My G model was originally a U206G so I had to put on the Flints for the GW increase even though Im Turbine. My Turbine is not listed in there paperwork.

That’s pretty confusing, and I’m not sure what your point is. There are a couple IO-550 conversions. The one I’m referring to applies to U206 F and G that I’m aware of. It IS intended for floats, and provides for better float attach geometry, by providing a large X brace on the firewall.

That STC provides the 3800 pound GW on floats OR wheels on equipped airplanes.

I’m glad to hear that Flint or someone finally got the tip tanks approved with a turbine engine. Lack of aux fuel options was a major show stopper with the early Soloy conversions.

MTV

Thanks guys, really appreciate the feedback from folks who have way more experience than me.

The only preference I have that differs from the consensus here is on the engine. I intend to go with the turbo engine because I want the increased high DA performance. Even though the operating costs are higher I feel like it's a good tradeoff as I consider that performance to be extra safety margin. So specifically I'm looking for a TU206G.

I had been pretty set on looking for a P model, but I want the newer airframe and features of the G variant which is only offered in the U model. Plus, we camp a lot and the clamshell makes a lot more sense once I got to thinking about it... plus the wife said she's ok with scooting across the front seats so that's all the endorsement I need

The only thing that might help me a little on finding one is I have zero expectations for paint, interior, or avionics. All I care about is the variant and the engine (frankly even the engine can be timed out). I'd rather not pay a premium for someone else's upgrades that I'll likely redo anyways. Ideal for me would be a super solid airframe with no damage history and OG 1980s paint, interior, and panel.

I did get hooked up with a couple of different brokers this week which will help me find a 206, both of which made it clear that it may take quite a while to find one. I have a full price cash offer on my 182 which I'm in the process of accepting, I'm not thrilled about being planeless for a while but I will focus on training in the mean time. I will get my IR and TW rating in the interrum.

CParker wrote:I had been pretty set on looking for a P model, but I want the newer airframe and features of the G variant which is only offered in the U model. Plus, we camp a lot and the clamshell makes a lot more sense once I got to thinking about it... plus the wife said she's ok with scooting across the front seats so that's all the endorsement I need

Re the seat scooting...

Once you get used to it, especially flying with nonpilots, it's so much easier than the copilot having their own door. In a U206 the copilot seat really never moves. Only the pilot seat ever needs to move for loading so the copilot seat tracks don't get shitty like every other cessna. No explaining how to properly slide seats, close doors, etc. Everyone loads on left, cargo on right (until you start running 5-6 people).

Take the copilot yoke and pedals out, and that seat can be at the far forward limit and still provide mucho legroom for them and the back seat.

206's are amazing airplanes.

Unless you plan on operating REALLY heavy a lot and in high DA, or at oxygen altitudes in cruise, I'd still stick with the IO-550. The fuel flow differences alone are significant. Those "T" models really, really guzzle the gas.

And, a good strong IO-550 will probably actually make as much or more power than a TSIO-520, until you get pretty high.

Finally, the maintenance history of the TSIO-520 isn't great. Run very carefully, and run a LOT of gas through them, and they MAY make it to TBO without a lot of maintenance costs.

The IO-550 seems to be just bomb proof, and really powerful. I ran them at just over 13 gph in 206s. Push more fuel, go faster.

But, there are times and places where a turbo is handy. Like if you want to operate at 17000 feet.....

MTV

You've got my attention

Back when this came up a few months ago (in an earlier post where I was soliciting feedback on 206s) I went out seeking performance data on both engines. I came up empty-handed. I sure wish I could get my hands on some empirical data that shows an apples to apples comparison of climb performance or HP at different DAs with each engine. Seems local 135 operators have differing opinions as well.

If there truly is no power difference up to, say, 14k DA then that changes the calculus

I’m running a 66’p206... io-550 ..... Field elevation 5900ft . ...5 skydivers and pilot up to 15k or more . Climbs just fine . Will go much higher but starts to take awhile . Flown the turbo 206’s a lot as well turbo. Good when someone else paying fuel bill and maint . ..I hands down like the 550 better .

I'm not sure what the critical altitude is for the TSIO-520, but assuming it's over 14k feet this is what the deltas look like assuming a 3% loss per thousand feet for a normally aspirated engine.

Now, I realize reality and spreadsheets don't match all that closely, and I also recognize that real world experience trumps this but I wanted to share this in case anyone was curious.

Sounds like you want a turbo . If you have the $$ . Why not ? Find one with the 350hp turbo .

CParker wrote:I'm not sure what the critical altitude is for the TSIO-520, but assuming it's over 14k feet this is what the deltas look like assuming a 3% loss per thousand feet for a normally aspirated engine.

Now, I realize reality and spreadsheets don't match all that closely, and I also recognize that real world experience trumps this but I wanted to share this in case anyone was curious.

But, that assumes that TSIO 520 actually MAKES rated power. Under the certification that engine was certificated under, it could legally, brand new make 5% less than “rated power”. That standard called for + or - 5% of rated power.

The Certification standard the IO-550 was certificated under requires those engines to produce no less than rated power. That standard is + 5%, - 0% of rated power.

Low Rider, the only 350 hp rated engine in a 206 is the Turbo Tech conversion, which uses a Lycoming TIO-540 engine. That is a VERY expensive conversion and I’m not sure it’s still available.

But the TU-206H model airplanes use a Lycoming engine, but not the 350 hp version.

I think if I really felt like I needed turbo in a 206 I’d take a hard look at the H model. Has the advantages of the G, but, frankly, a much better engine. The H does tend to be heavy, though.

MTV
MTV

I appreciate the discussion, and to be clear I did not share that spreadsheet in an attempt to defend the turbo engine I was just sharing my analysis. Frankly, if the IO550 is indeed the better fit for my mission profile I will change my tune.

MTV - interesting you say that because I've heard quite the opposite about the turbo Lycoming in the H model. I've heard it runs rougher, burns more fuel, and is quite a bit more expensive to maintain. I have zero personal experience with them.

EDIT: updated spreadsheet to account for 5% penalty on TSIO-520, and again there are many variables here and this is simply a math exercise.

I don’t have a lot of accumulated knowledge since my 206 is the first I have flown but I will share my experience thus far:

I had the same thought you did in considering a turbo 206 since I fly out of Flagstaff which is often near 10,000 foot density altitude in the summer. After looking for a couple years I found a 1969 normally aspirated D model with a float kit and Robertson STOL. It has the stock 520 with a older two blade 86 inch seaplane prop. I have put about 50 hours on this summer and have noticed no issues with the altitude. I am not operating at full gross though, Often full tanks and about 500 pounds cargo and myself, The climb feel strong to me.… Flew to Seattle in August, with portable O2 spent a bit of time around 14K with no issues. My useful load is above 1600 pounds, - one consideration with the turbos is the extra weight of the plane.

For my mission the engine combination is fine, but when I purchased the plane it had been 40 hours since an overhaul and the bank required me to put money aside for a new overhaul. Since the original crank would need to be replaced it wasn’t much more to go with a factory remanufactured engine, at that point it was $6000 more to get and IO 550 F, after looking at the different options I chose to work with Donna at Davis aviation, and cannot say enough about her great knowledge and customer service. I considered an MT prop but the newly STC’d voyager three blade. from Hartzell looks pretty good and was more than $6000 less, so I went that route.

I hope to receive the engine in December and will keep everyone posted on the performance difference

There is a 67’ Tu 206 at Stancil in placerville for 149,000 $

Prolly gone by now . Around 450hrs on the motor if I recall .