Curious if anyone on BCP has experience flying behind one of these engines. I have read through a few threads where reference was made to the C185 IO550 TAT having little room in the cowling for the turbo normalization system. Hence, the engine is susceptible to running hot and eating cylinders. I have also heard there is a 10 year replacement of some parts that is mandated - intercooler/turbo/hoses. I think a bonanza guy told me it's about 6000 dollars every 10 years. I have some experience flying turbo charged airplanes. I used to fly a T210 in the late 90s and a Lancair IVP in the early 2000s. I enjoyed flying at higher altitudes having significantly faster true airspeeds. You don't see too many of C185s with this setup. When I upgraded my engine to the Texas Skyways O520 I did not think I would be topping any cylinders but in about 160 hours I will be replacing my perfectly running ECi titans due to the AD. Anyway, I am about to dump some more money into my airplane the next couple of years and before I do I want to consider some other options. Curious what type of true airspeeds you would see at higher altitudes along with ROP/LOP fuel burns.

My dad did the test flying on the kit before tornado all bought the STC. I rode along on a few of those rides and it was a heck of a performer. It was a later model 185 with the 403 mac 3 blade and it would average 1000 FPM all the way to FL250. I think their advertising called it 185 squared because it was true out around 185 kts.

They chased some cylinder cooling problems that initially were solved by a higher climb speed if I remember right, but later I think a bigger intercooler and better baffling straightened it out.

I'm a fan of the idea, but last time I talked to TAT it was 50K, which tempered my interest.

I have a friend that has a 185 on anfibs with that TN installation.
In his particular case it has been a huge expense. I am not sure of how much time the enginge had had when it had the turbo system installed. The last annual reviled it needed a total rebuild of the the exhaust system. Which became VERY expensive due to the fact it had to be all custom made from TA. There were other issues that seemed to stem from excessive heat. I have been giving him instruction in the plane and I tried along with the lead mechanic to convince the FBO owner to remove the TN system but he would not go along with it. The owner spent almost what a reman 10-550 would have cost by the time it was all said and done.

AEROPOD wrote:….. I think their advertising called it 185 squared because it was true out around 185 kts…...

I have an old issue of Plane & Pilot (JUne 1995) which has a pirep about the "185 squared" turbo kit.
It was sold at that time by FlightCraft Turbo in Pagosa Springs CO.
I can scan it & send it to you if you'd like, Dog.
It's kinda skimpy on tech stuff though.

There was a guy on my field who had a 185 amphib with (I believe) a FlightCraft turbo.
He cooked a piston on takeoff at sea level--
he wouldn't fess up but we all figured he overboosted it by accidently pushing in the turbo knob.
He ended up replacing the engine with a new factory reman,
but left the turbo off- mainly because he said they wouldn't warranty the engine with the turbo.

The Beech guys seem to love TAT systems.

Though after this thread, I think I’d tread carefully based on principle alone...

hotrod180 wrote:

AEROPOD wrote:….. I think their advertising called it 185 squared because it was true out around 185 kts…...

I have an old issue of Plane & Pilot (JUne 1995) which has a pirep about the "185 squared" turbo kit.
It was sold at that time by FlightCraft Turbo in Pagosa Springs CO.
I can scan it & send it to you if you'd like, Dog.
It's kinda skimpy on tech stuff though.

There was a guy on my field who had a 185 amphib with (I believe) a FlightCraft turbo.
He cooked a piston on takeoff at sea level--
he wouldn't fess up but we all figured he overboosted it by accidently pushing in the turbo knob.
He ended up replacing the engine with a new factory reman,
but left the turbo off- mainly because he said they wouldn't warranty the engine with the turbo.

That's my old man in the right seat so the magazine folks could fly it. I seem to remember him having to take the controls for some reason. I'll have to ask him again about that story...

AEROPOD wrote: That's my old man in the right seat so the magazine folks could fly it. I seem to remember him having to take the controls for some reason. I'll have to ask him again about that story...

A gal named Allyson Behr wrote the article, it would appear to be her sitting in the left seat in the cover photo.

hotrod180 wrote:

AEROPOD wrote: That's my old man in the right seat so the magazine folks could fly it. I seem to remember him having to take the controls for some reason. I'll have to ask him again about that story...

A gal named Allyson Behr wrote the article, it would appear to be her sitting in the left seat in the cover photo.

Yep, Dad's is sitting there in the right seat.

FWIW, I just re-read that 1995 article.....
even back then, Flight Craft priced that turbo kit at $28,950 installed.

Hotrod,

Send me the link if you have it available. Probably a fun read . I wonder how many TAT C185s have actually been done. I was hoping there were a few guys on BCP with experience with them. I read through the BT forums and those guys love them. Very few complaints about needing to top cylinders or having excessive costs. The simplicity of the O470 and O520 is what attracted me to the 180 from the beginning and for most of my flying/missions I wouldn't need a TAT C185. Of course having a turbo normalization system would just make you use the plane for a lot more long range trips.


Josh

I probably shouldn’t dirty this thread with this but there is a guy somewhat local to me that recently put a FAT supercharger on his C185. He’s posted a little on Facebook about it and it seems awesome. Maybe something to consider.

There was one of those running around in W. CO years ago. Telluride S and R I think? Anyway, the mechanics loved it. Not only was the power plant a perpetual source of billable hours, they also got to spend all sorts of time rebuilding the horizontal and broken up trim parts due to the violent shake the engine produced. Ever look at the tail on a 185 on a full power run up? Add some more power, and wow.

The FAT supercharger idea in theory sounds good but it seems like there aren't enough folks using them to get an idea of how much extra maintenance cost are involved. The Beechcraft guys have a lot of TAT 550s running with good data points for comparison. Many of them claim that their engines are making TBO without swapping cylinders. I think they have an advantage of the D-Shannon baffling system, a bigger cowl, and the added benefit of forward CG being beneficial. The TAT IO550 STC for the Bonanza also comes with a gross weight increase and I don't think that's true with the C185 STC. When I was shopping for 180/185s I considered the TAT option and turbo charged options. I came to the conclusion that it would be too expensive and I wanted simplicity. Well, I bought an old 180 with no serious damage history and an old motor. Fast forward to today - I've replaced a lot of parts and it has cost far more than anticipated. With that said I am probably in a sweet spot now (hopefully) with staying way ahead of a lot of maintenance items.


Josh

Not to change the subject on this thread, but if you want to stay simple but add some power and efficiency maybe the Vitatoe cylinders and induction are worth looking in to.

Dog is my Copilot wrote:Hotrod,

Send me the link if you have it available. Probably a fun read . I wonder how many TAT C185s have actually been done. I was hoping there were a few guys on BCP with experience with them. I read through the BT forums and those guys love them. Very few complaints about needing to top cylinders or having excessive costs. The simplicity of the O470 and O520 is what attracted me to the 180 from the beginning and for most of my flying/missions I wouldn't need a TAT C185. Of course having a turbo normalization system would just make you use the plane for a lot more long range trips.


Josh

I fly one (TAT) in an A36 at work, and an identical airframe with a straight IO550. I'd take the plain IO550 anyday. The weight on the nose is drastic. It requires a few minutes of cool down every shutdown. Maintenance regularly. Currently in the shop getting 6 new cylinders at 900 SMOH. Under the cowling looks like someone ate 30 feet of 3" tube then took a shit on top of the engine. If a turbo goes out, you lose a lot of M.P. due to the obstruction. The thing I do like about turbo planes (both boosted and normalized) is that you don't have to mess with the mixture as you climb or descent...

I also think your last sentence is a complete fallacy that your mind is making up to justify the idea of turbonormalizing a 185

asa wrote:

Dog is my Copilot wrote:Hotrod,

Send me the link if you have it available. Probably a fun read . I wonder how many TAT C185s have actually been done. I was hoping there were a few guys on BCP with experience with them. I read through the BT forums and those guys love them. Very few complaints about needing to top cylinders or having excessive costs. The simplicity of the O470 and O520 is what attracted me to the 180 from the beginning and for most of my flying/missions I wouldn't need a TAT C185. Of course having a turbo normalization system would just make you use the plane for a lot more long range trips.


Josh

I fly one (TAT) in an A36 at work, and an identical airframe with a straight IO550. I'd take the plain IO550 anyday. The weight on the nose is drastic. It requires a few minutes of cool down every shutdown. Maintenance regularly. Currently in the shop getting 6 new cylinders at 900 SMOH. Under the cowling looks like someone ate 30 feet of 3" tube then took a shit on top of the engine. If a turbo goes out, you lose a lot of M.P. due to the obstruction. The thing I do like about turbo planes (both boosted and normalized) is that you don't have to mess with the mixture as you climb or descent...

I also think your last sentence is a complete fallacy that your mind is making up to justify the idea of turbonormalizing a 185

Maybe so - I guess I miss flying fast and high! But I love landing short and flying slow too!

Actually - I remember the troubles we had with the Lancair. It was topped at around 700 hours and had real issues in the summer climbing up to altitude. We had the old cowling and it sucked. So turbos and for that matter turbo normalized engines make me think maintenance nightmares and headaches for a non A+P pilot. I put this thread out there mostly to convince myself that changing planes would be a huge mistake just to pick up some high altitude speed and efficiency. My mission is mostly local flying and 200-300 nm trips from here to Idaho and Montana. There are longer trips in my future especially when I retire. I am about to make a big investment in my 180 and felt I needed to consider some other options because it would be such a waste of money if I end up selling my airplane after doing all this work.

Dog is my Copilot wrote: Hotrod, Send me the link if you have it available. Probably a fun read ….

PM sent.

asa wrote:….. Under the cowling looks like someone ate 30 feet of 3" tube then took a shit on top of the engine.....

Dog is my Copilot wrote:…..The simplicity of the O470 and O520 is what attracted me to the 180 from the beginning and for most of my flying/missions I wouldn't need a TAT C185. …..

Josh, I'm curious what powerplant you're running now?
A friend of mine does a lot of long trips, and likes to get up into the oxygen-required altitudes,
His tricked-out 56 C180 used to have a Ponk 520,
but he put in an Air Plains IO-550 conversion which he seems very pleased with.

If you like simple, another friend has a carbureted 550 in his C180 which I believe is either a Ponk STC,
or maybe a field approval which Pponk was involved with.

Here's your chance boys and girls.... one's for sale... and maybe even cheap considering the times we are living in...

https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search?listing_id=2405803&fbclid=IwAR0k2MoeAPOIEwErb7i3WiOHpuQw-nNlkOR1b4pMw2zXo12EYfD5tIo-FzY