For the first time in nearly 30 years, my old 180 swapped out the floats for wheel gear. Almost forgot how much fun these things are on wheels.

There are those of us whose float time is so minimal that we tend to forget how much fun they are on floats! Sort of the grass is greener on the other side of the fence situation, right?

Cary

Wow, those are some big tailwheel tires you are running on the mains.

G44 wrote:Wow, those are some big tailwheel tires you are running on the mains.

Lol yes I'd like to have a set of BW's on it instead of the shopping cart tires. I need something versatile though, I will be on pavement this winter. 850's would look better, 31" BW's would look really good......

Cary wrote:There are those of us whose float time is so minimal that we tend to forget how much fun they are on floats! Sort of the grass is greener on the other side of the fence situation, right?

Cary

I guess you're right Cary. I suppose we take it for granted up here.

Yep, that is a beautiful 180! I bet its fast on those tires! Although Bushwheels would be fantastic, 8:50's are a great all around tire for that airplane.

850s would be a great transition to a good back country tire. You could then decide if your flying profile would warrant converting to 29" bush wheels. Course if your looking for cool (and why not) then go for the bushies. But you really have to get off of those hockey pucks...

From one whose logged SES time still slightly exceeds his SEL time, I got a kick out of your post! I was in Kodiak for eight years, and at least one of the planes stayed on floats (amphib) all year.

I remember taking the amphib Beaver to Anchorage one winters day for some avionics work. Running out across Shelikof Straight past the Barren Islands, i kept getting this feeling something wasn't right. As I passed Homer, I realized that this was the first time in a year or more that I'd flown an airplane without wearing hip boots..... .

Beautiful airplane there....those early Cessnas with some polished metal and some painted trim have always been my favorite color schemes.

Enjoy the SEL experience while it lasts. I've always enjoyed the break between gear configurations.

MTV

Nice plane!

If you're like me, each fall and spring is a dilemma. Those calm days when most of the tourists are gone and the hardwood leaves have turned are some of the best float flying. But then, Kevin sets the date for the High Sierra Fly In and that dictates my switch. I just have too much fun there on wheels! And my buddies in the Mallard and Seabee still allowed me to camp in the "Seaplane Ghetto".

In the spring, before the temps rise, one last run down to Chicken Strip in Death Valley, then the region's waters start calling . . .

As my son reminds me, that's pretty much a first world "dilemma"!

Pierre