Are there more ways to get a Sportsman kit? They are not replying from Stene Aviation.
Also, would you recommend VG installation? Package cost, installation time/cost are unkown to me

I have a Sportsman on my 1956 182. No VG's. Plane can fly pretty well at 45 mph indicated.

I bought a Sportsmans kit from Sea Planes North in Anchorage a few years ago for my 175. They had it in stock. Maybe give them a call?

I have Sportsman and VGs, get crisp controls all the way prior to the stall.
I recommend to add the Vgs.

Are there more ways to get a Sportsman kit? They are not replying from Stene Aviation.
Also, would you recommend VG installation? Package cost, installation time/cost are unkown to me

Willie wrote the book on customer service. There must be a glitch. Contact him direct at [email protected]

Absolutely keep trying to get in touch with Will Stene. Understand that he’s a backcountry pilot and a family man, so he may be out of pocket for a few days.

Buy the kit from him, or preferably, buy it and have him install it. You won’t regret it.

I’ve flown a number of Cessnas with the Sportsman kit, a couple before and after, and it’s the one STOL kit that I would absolutely put on my next plane.

But, get with Will, he’ll treat you right.

MTV

I was in Montana last summer and stopped by his shop. He was nice enough to give me a small tour, show off his 185's and products, future products, etc, and answer my Dad's uneducated airplane questions with no illusion that I'd be buying anything from him. At the time the only people in the shop were him and his son packing up sportsman kits to ship. Very cool guy.

Sportsman yes. VG kit with Sportsman...not for me. I’ve done it. Wouldn’t invest the time and money again. Any gains realized were beyond my ability to justify or easily recognize. And it makes the use of wing covers a bit more of a pain.

My personal experience, this topic tends to illicit some emotion from time to time[emoji1]

Must be a glitch in contacting Stene.

They typically offer the best customer service in the industry.

VGs on that wing will give you another 3mph on the bottom end not to mention there're also on the tail. Someone a lot smarter than me invented them and they work, no question.

Willie is the man. Check the number you have

AKT

aktahoe1 wrote:VGs on that wing will give you another 3mph on the bottom end not to mention there're also on the tail. Someone a lot smarter than me invented them and they work, no question.

Willie is the man. Check the number you have

AKT

In your experience on your 180 with a Sportsman and VG's, when it finally stalls or "quits flying" how does it behave? Hard break? Good warning before the break? Is there even a break? What VG's do you have on your 180?

Kurt

G44 wrote:

aktahoe1 wrote:VGs on that wing will give you another 3mph on the bottom end not to mention there're also on the tail. Someone a lot smarter than me invented them and they work, no question.

Willie is the man. Check the number you have

AKT

In your experience on your 180 with a Sportsman and VG's, when it finally stalls or "quits flying" how does it behave? Hard break? Good warning before the break? Is there even a break? What VG's do you have on your 180?

Kurt

Micro VGs

It's a very subtle break. Not a subtle break without VGs.

If you guys remember I had a Horton, no wingX but had stall fences and VGs. Removed the VGs and did not like it.

Took the Horton off and put on the Sportsman. Flew without VGs. It was good. VGs brought better control. Added the wingX and slowed my roll rate significantly. At first thought oh know what have I done. For STOL performance I love it.

Here's a catch. The Horton gives you a flap gap seal. That's a big no no with the Sportsman. Stall was unpredictable and I was truly never comfortable with it. I explained my scenario and what was happening to my buddy Joe Dory Jr. He said it's my gap seal.... It was. I removed them and suddenly the Sportsman without the gap seal was predictable and rock solid.

Long story short, VGs help IMO. They allow for a steeper AOA in turn allowing you to get a touch slower.

AKT

aktahoe1 wrote:

G44 wrote:

aktahoe1 wrote:VGs on that wing will give you another 3mph on the bottom end not to mention there're also on the tail. Someone a lot smarter than me invented them and they work, no question.

Willie is the man. Check the number you have

AKT

In your experience on your 180 with a Sportsman and VG's, when it finally stalls or "quits flying" how does it behave? Hard break? Good warning before the break? Is there even a break? What VG's do you have on your 180?

Kurt

Micro VGs

It's a very subtle break. Not a subtle break without VGs.

If you guys remember I had a Horton, no wingX but had stall fences and VGs. Removed the VGs and did not like it.

Took the Horton off and put on the Sportsman. Flew without VGs. It was good. VGs brought better control. Added the wingX and slowed my roll rate significantly. At first thought oh know what have I done. For STOL performance I love it.

Here's a catch. The Horton gives you a flap gap seal. That's a big no no with the Sportsman. Stall was unpredictable and I was truly never comfortable with it. I explained my scenario and what was happening to my buddy Joe Dory Jr. He said it's my gap seal.... It was. I removed them and suddenly the Sportsman without the gap seal was predictable and rock solid.

Long story short, VGs help IMO. They allow for a steeper AOA in turn allowing you to get a touch slower.

AKT

Thanks for the PIREP!

Kurt

Thank you all for the very helpful information. I'll try to contact Will on his email given. Whatever I get I'd have ti get it shipped to Chile anyway and installed locally.

Where do you recommend to get my VG kit from? Is it too expensive?

Canalguna wrote:Thank you all for the very helpful information. I'll try to contact Will on his email given. Whatever I get I'd have ti get it shipped to Chile anyway and installed locally.

Where do you recommend to get my VG kit from? Is it too expensive?

https://microaero.com/vgkit/206-series/
Very reasonable price and easy install.

[/quote]https://microaero.com/vgkit/206-series/
Very reasonable price and easy install.[/quote]

Thanks I'll give it a try.

Will replied in a couple of minutes. Definitely a glitch on the contact email in his website then. Thanks for the email and I'll keep you posted.

On my '63 182F I have the Sportsman and wing extensions and have been mulling VGs. Right now stall is sort of a mushy sink, hardly any break.

To those that have wandered this path before me, would you put VGs on the wings only, or some on the tail also?

Also, but unrelated, what flap setting do you take off with for the shortest ground run? I seem to recall Motoadve saying 30 but on floats that feels pretty draggy.

For a certified airplane without a field approval, I don't think you have a choice about whether to put them on wings and/or the tail. The STC'd kit you buy spells it out. Having said that, I'd do the tail too. On my 205 they made a significant difference in flare power, and got rid of the mushy, wallowing feeling in pitch and roll when slow.

jcadwell wrote:For a certified airplane without a field approval, I don't think you have a choice about whether to put them on wings and/or the tail. The STC'd kit you buy spells it out. Having said that, I'd do the tail too. On my 205 they made a significant difference in flare power, and got rid of the mushy, wallowing feeling in pitch and roll when slow.

Thanks, I went to the Microaero site after posting the question and the kit includes material for the tail too.

albravo wrote:

jcadwell wrote:For a certified airplane without a field approval, I don't think you have a choice about whether to put them on wings and/or the tail. The STC'd kit you buy spells it out. Having said that, I'd do the tail too. On my 205 they made a significant difference in flare power, and got rid of the mushy, wallowing feeling in pitch and roll when slow.

Thanks, I went to the Microaero site after posting the question and the kit includes material for the tail too.

Ya cadwell is correct, per the STC you have to install the whole kit. Be pretty hard to get approval for something else up here.