Phase One Mods Flight Review:

Yesterday was the first flight with the Phase One mods. Lasted about two hours, included an off-airport landing and a stop at Llano. Flew between 2,000 and 2,500 feet.

Removing approximately 45 pounds from the extended baggage area changed my takeoff/cruise elevator trim setting by about 1/2".

The plane flew 2 to 3 miles per hour faster then before. Was it the removal of the beacon/strobe? Or perhaps the addition of the strut cuffs? Or perhaps the change in stabilizer position? Perhaps it's a combination of all of these.

The new starter/battery configuration is working much better then the old configuration, and that is a pleasant surprise.

The weight, the drag, the strut cuffs... not bad for 2-3 mph! Phase 1 is a success! What/When phase 2?

gunny

Phase 2 was going to be the install of the GTN650 sitting on the floor next to my feet. But the "obstacles" for the Texas STOL Roundup cost me $4,000 so I need to replenish my war chest. Phase 2 will now be the Sportsman STOL/WingX mod scheduled for March. The GTN650 install will become Phase 3 and move to maybe June.

Re: speed increase

I just removed the strobe from our fin, and also saw a 3 MPH increase.

https://www.backcountrypilot.org/commun ... view-16669

I'm very curious/excited to see what these "obstacles" are. Congrats on the speed increase. Most mods on this forum make airplanes slower....

Oh man! of course there will be further phases to go;) Sorry to hear that the obstacles cost you out of pocket. Maybe you could setup a collection/ paypal donation button or something to help defray those costs nd put it on the website.

I'd donate.

gunny

Gunny wrote:Oh man! of course there will be further phases to go;) Sorry to hear that the obstacles cost you out of pocket. Maybe you could setup a collection/ paypal donation button or something to help defray those costs nd put it on the website.

I'd donate.

gunny

Thanks Gunny, I really appreciate that.

As some of you may already have read in another thread I started, the Hartzell M-Drive starter I put on the 185 was a bad idea. Just wanted to post here as well so no one will put one on their plane. Here is the link in case you haven't already read it.
https://www.backcountrypilot.org/community/forum/latest/hartzell-m-drive-starters-junk-16937

Tomorrow morning it's off to Polson Montana to leave the 185 with Stene Aviation so he can install the Sportsman STOL and the WingX wing extensions. On the way I'll drop in at the Backcountry Supercub factory, get a tour, and take a bunch of photos to post here at BCP.

Phase two mods are underway. Sportsman STOL leading edge, WingX extensions, and new wingtips. I'm sitting here in the hotel room after dropping the 185 at Stene Aviation. Their facility is at the south end of Flathead Lake in Montana, and the view flying in is spectacular, so much so that I forgot to take any pictures. Willie Stene gave me a tour of his place and I forgot to take pictures again. Promise I'll get both in a couple of weeks when I pick up the finished product.

The trip up saw me stopping for the night in Douglas Wyoming, home of BackCountry SuperCubs. I spent the remainder of the day and evening with Bruce Reed, the owner. Toured his facility and did take pictures, plus spent some time talking about where BackCountry SuperCubs has been and where they are going. I'll post this in a different thread.

Here are a few pics from the trip up. These first two are from Texas. Seems I found a couple of new playgrounds for the SQ-2.




For those of you that have never been to Colorado before, don't believe all the talk about mountains and such. That John Denver is full of shit. This is what Colorado looks like from the Oklahoma border to the Wyoming border, bottom to top.



I was very happy when I reached Wyoming and got a change of scenery.



Ah, Montana. Finally some mountains and snow.

Removing approximately 45 pounds from the extended baggage area changed my takeoff/cruise elevator trim setting by about 1/2".

The plane flew 2 to 3 miles per hour faster then before. Was it the removal of the beacon/strobe? Or perhaps the addition of the strut cuffs? Or perhaps the change in stabilizer position? Perhaps it's a combination of all of these.

The speed gain was probably from the first two. As far as the trim/C.G change, the plane will be the fastest when the center of gravity is at the center of lift of the wing. In this condition, the tail is not producing any lift/down force and therefore has zero induced drag. This would be an aft C.G. since the C.G. is normally in front of the center of lift for stability purposes. Moving the C.G. forward from the removal of 45 lbs in the extended baggage should slow the plane down in theory, although the difference may not be noticeable. From personal experience, I have gained 2-3 knots from the change in C.G. when my wife (130 lbs) moved from the right seat to the aft cabin in our 180.

If you like cool old stuff and history, take a few extra hours and drive a few miles to the " Miracle of America Museum" there in Polson. It is very impressive for a private collection and well worth taking time to see it when you go back.

Awesome, Barnstormer! Polson is a beautiful area. A bit early for the backcountry strips around there, but lots of scenery to admire.
I bet your 185 will be a real monster with those mods!

Oregon180 wrote:Awesome, Barnstormer! Polson is a beautiful area. A bit early for the backcountry strips around there, but lots of scenery to admire.
I bet your 185 will be a real monster with those mods!

Surprisingly there was no snow on the ground anywhere along my trip, just on the mountain tops. And about half the streams/rivers are running clear while the others are muddy. Of course they could still get snow. I'm excited to get back up there and have Willie Stene show me around his backcountry playground, hopefully (ok I'm selfish) there won't be any more snow and we can play, not just look. Excited to fly her.

Now folks will confuse her with a Fairchild. (You'd be surprised how many people at airports ask me "what kind of plane is that?" They'll really be confused now.)

There certainly is no rust on Willie Stene and Stene Aviation. I hadn't been home for more then an hour after my United flight down from Montana when he called to let me know the blocks were on the wings and they will start skinning tomorrow. Very cool. I asked him to take photos of the steps which he is doing, I'll share them once I get em. Can't wait to see the finished product.

Willie Stene sent me some pics last night of the progress. The 185 will be done end of next week but that's cutting it too close to the Texas STOL Roundup for me to go pick her up until after the event. Although I would love to have her here for the event, the delay does mean I can flyfish my way home from Montana - cool.

Looks good, Phil. I'm curious about the placement of your VGs, I thought they were supposed to be installed on top of the cuff.

Rob, the VG's on my 185 are ATS, (aka BLR, aka Robertson depending on the year) - not Micro VGs. Another notable difference is no vertical VG's either, instead a pair of Delta Wings that Willie is currently re-profiling to fit the Sportsman - when he gets them mounted I'll post a pic.

He just sent me this showing the new vertical cap. The old one originally had a beacon which I removed and blanked off. Figured I'd let him change it out so it'd be even more aerodynamic.

Phil-

Looking very good!

gunny

She's almost done. Helio-Couriers watch out.

Heading to Montana Sunday night to pick her up and bring her home, with a little fly-fishing along the way.

Now all I need to do is find a good, trustworthy painter.

Are those the Whelen Orion series strobes?

No...AEROLeds
http://aeroleds.com

My friends tell me they are super bright, even on a clear, sunshine day.