I am casually shopping for a cessna 180/85. Looking for an early model as I want to keep the empty weight down. Seems that many airplanes of this vintage have high TT. Just came across a 61' 185 that has 8300TT and 700 SFRM on the IO470. What are some specifics to look for? I am aware there are a lot of factors that go into the condition of an airplane.....But when do the rivets just warble and fall out. One Oregon HPatrol plane has 13000TT

my last bird came from skywagons.com, they are very good in cessna game, and fair. dan and mark and jo usually stock some good stuff. way good on 180/182/185/206 stuff...good place to shop...

I know of a former CHP 180 that is flying in Oregon with over 20,000 hrs (22,000 I think). I have no idea of the airframe life expectancy, but you would think any state or federally owned plane would have been well maintained.

I flew a couple of the California Medfly program C206's when they were being surplused. They were flown low level at light weights and had about 8000 hours tt. They both felt like they were squirming in flight. I was once told that the CA highway patrol rebuilt their C185's at 10,000 hrs tt.
jeremy

Panama Jack30th December 2007, 06:08
A Cessna 172 manufactured in 1982 which has flown about 4 hours daily for Tropic Air in Belize has been retired from the airline with more than 30,000 hours flight time, with a few of it's factory-original components and in perfect flying condition.

It is probable that it be the highest-time Cessna 172 in the world. About 60% of it's components have been replaced since 1982, including various replacements of the wings, the tail, landing gear, and of course the engine which has been replaced over 12 times.

According to the airline, the decision to retire the aircraft came from the decision to aquire a new Cessna 172, this time, with a diesel engine.

The aircraft in questions is V3-HDN

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4852/cessnayc8.jpg

patrol guy wrote:Panama Jack30th December 2007, 06:08
A Cessna 172 manufactured in 1982 which has flown about 4 hours daily for Tropic Air in Belize has been retired from the airline with more than 30,000 hours flight time, with a few of it's factory-original components and in perfect flying condition.

It is probable that it be the highest-time Cessna 172 in the world. About 60% of it's components have been replaced since 1982, including various replacements of the wings, the tail, landing gear, and of course the engine which has been replaced over 12 times.

According to the airline, the decision to retire the aircraft came from the decision to aquire a new Cessna 172, this time, with a diesel engine.

The aircraft in questions is V3-HDN

http://img518.imageshack.us/img518/4852/cessnayc8.jpg

That's crazy!! Most pilots who have been flying for 27 years don't have 30,000 hrs. I wonder how many takeoff's and landing's it has done? Be kinda neat to know.

Lots of variables on this. I once owned a 66 H model 180 with over 6000 hours on it, mostly at low level, which means turbulence. BUT, that airplane had been really badly ground looped at about 5,000 hours, and before I got it. It was a government plane, and the maintenance logs read like, "removed and replaced left wing assembly with Cessna wing part number XXX", etc. The gearbox was new, one wing was replaced, the horizontal and both elevators had been replaced, new control surfaces on the other wing. In other words, it really was no longer a high time airframe. Some old parts, but...

Many of that vintage airplane will have been used commercially, so I'd expect to see 4,000 to 6,000 hours, and as long as the thing was well cared for, and properly maintained, I wouldn't be afraid of that.

Paint cost is huge now, as is engine cost. But, look carefully, and you'll find some really nice airplanes out there for pretty reasonable prices, considering what you get.

MTV

Brent,

The 180 that has been sitting at our place is for sale, the guy that owned it died and his widow is trying to get 55K out of it. It is a 54 with P-Ponk engine conversion and a Sportsman Stoll cuff. Need lots of TLC but could be made into a great bush machine. Call me if you want more info.

Brian

A friend of mine has a nice 54 model for sale. Has the J engine with about 5-600 hours on the bottom (about the same on the prop) and maybe 100 on new TCM cylinders. No TLC required -- just $71K or so. PM or email me for more info.


Eric

I wouldn't be afraid of a Cessna with 8300 hours. I would more search for damage history and check how well the repairs were done. If it flies right and doesn't show signs of abuse, I'd say it's good. One thing with a plane with that many hours is that likely a lot of wear parts have already been replaced. Check things like aileron hinges, flap tracks, seat tracks, etc.

Ward Air in Juneau, AK has a C185 with 25,000 hours on it, an air taxi ship with most of that time on floats in the saltwater, no BS. It has of course been gone through very well a time or two, and they have full time mechanics. It is flown daily in the summertime, and is still a good airplane.

Pretty hard to find any of the older ones under 5000 hours these days. But, that can be OK, means somebody liked it enough to fly it.

With regards to Stancil's place in CA, I have walked away from 2 airplanes there over the years. I take that back, I ran away from the second. Not to say they don't get some good ones, because they do, but don't expect everything they have to be perfect. I agree that Mark is a straight shooter and will tell you what he knows about the airplane, which sometimes isn't all that much. Joe is pretty sharp on the 180's and 185's, but he spends all his time in AK these days and isn't in the office much. Dan should stick with used cars, in my opinion.

Get a real 180/185 mechanic if you don't know them yourself, don't bother with the run of the mill A&P that works on King Airs. Don't rule out Alaska airplanes, either. The ones that have spent most of their lives in the Interior are often times very clean corrosion wise, and there are some excellent mechanics up there. You'll find a good one if you are patient.

I like those old 185's, too. Flew a stock '61 once that was a rocket ship. Like a hot rod 180.

gb

Guys,
Thanks for the advice and keep it coming........Going to look at a 54' 180 tomorrow that is said to be rough but has a p-ponk 520 on it which is what I really want.

If you want to have any useful load, stick with a 185. I have a 54 180 and it will haul what you put it, but it doesn't have much legal load with full fuel. If the W&B is old, I wouldn't believe it. Chances are it is in the 1650 range if it has any interior and a basic panel, that will leave you with 540 lbs to play with when full of fuel(2550gw-1650ew-360fuel). If you have a big hanger, the wing-x extensions can up your gross wt from 2550 to 2950, which would be a big help.

That being said, ours is a blast to fly, and the only thing I ould trade it for is a 185

Highroad,

Good luck in your Skywagon search. I lucked out and found a great 1953 with only 4000 TTAF. I haven't seen anything of concern with age on it. Heck, ADFs are great for listening to AM music . They are awesome planes and a ton of fun to fly.

Bill

oldtech wrote:I wouldn't be afraid of a Cessna with 8300 hours. I would more search for damage history and check how well the repairs were done. If it flies right and doesn't show signs of abuse, I'd say it's good. One thing with a plane with that many hours is that likely a lot of wear parts have already been replaced. Check things like aileron hinges, flap tracks, seat tracks, etc.

Hey AC, good to see you around these parts...