The International Cessna 170 Association

Randal, Palestine Texas just brought back a very old memory- way back around 1955 I was flying my Stinson 10A from San Antonio to St.Louis to sell it. I departed Stinson Field around midnight and when near Palestine the engine began missing. I decided to land and circled over the airport - someone k...

As Eric pointed out, you'd lose the advantage of a pneumatic tire. That might exacerbate our problem of main springs breaking (especially if you had a steel spacer?) 180's don't have that problem with their nice tapered tube springs. I knew there had to be a catch !
Rudy

George, I could live with that-
Rudy

I REALLY like Eric's suggestion of a foam-filled tailwheel tire. What's the downside ? (Except of course that it's not FAA Approved)- Do auto tire shops now offer this foam-filling? Sounds like a great idea and would preclude carrying those spare tailwheel parts and having to worry about tire pressu...

Beautiful airplane, Craig !
Rudy

Recently, I've been a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight SE (southeast) and have flown two missions so far. This organization provides flights for needy people, mostly for medical services. It is not an air ambulance service- the passengers must be ambulatory (except for children). Pilots provide the ...

I've been thinking about all you guys in the path of Katrina. Sure hope you all survived OK. What a terrible tragedy !
We got just a touch-up from Katrina in Florida- blew down my fence and we were without electricity for 3 days, a minor inconvenience compared to the gulf coast.

I once watched a 727 land at MBJ after cutting the turn from base to final very tight to avoid a rain storm. As he rolled out the wings were rocking and the left wing scraped the runway. Sparks flew. The damage was to the outboard leading edge flap. (It was the pilot's very first flight as Capt. and...

Johneb, yes, my tailwheel is fine with the steel spacer- even on the roughest road !
Rudy

Eric, I'm with you- I use car gas unless I'm on the road and it's not available-
Rudy

PMI, but when you ream the valve guide, where do the metal shavings go ? How do you keep the out of the engine ?
Rudy

My guess- the author is a Pitts pilot. Excellent !
Rudy

That IO-360 is a sweet engine. I've owned and operated a Cessna 336 and several 337's and it's a very reliable, smooth running engine. On the Skymasters at least it's the easiest starting fuel injection engine, hot or cold. Just give it a shot of prime and it starts like a car. You'll love it !
Rudy

Somewhat off topic, two years ago my mechanic / IA took a job with the FAA as an airworthiness inspector. He told me that on his first day of training, the first thing he was told was "Don't be a dick". I like that-
Rudy

Eric, that makes good sense- (can always count on you for an insightful analysis of a problem)
Rudy