Best Mods for 170 STOL performance

blueldr · Post by **blueldr** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 4:07 am

bigrenna,

What STC was priced at $12,000 ?

bigrenna · Post by **bigrenna** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 6:42 pm

delete

blueldr · Post by **blueldr** » Wed Jan 16, 2013 7:36 pm

$ 12K for the STC and KIT. ---------- Holey, Moley !!!

Harry's stuff is first class, but I didn't know it was that expensive.

ghostflyer · Post by **ghostflyer** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 2:54 am

When you buy harrys STC everything is supplied ,nuts and bolts everything and if you do not understand anything just ring him . He gives great service. The engine mount is built beautifully ,and the baffles are great.

blueldr · Post by **blueldr** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 3:36 am

Yes. Very true, but if you call Harry, be in a comfotrable chair and have food and liquid sustenance nearby.

Green Bean · Post by **Green Bean** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 4:13 am

In May of 1971, I flew to Oklahoma City, bought a 1952 170B for $5000, flew it to Wichhita, KS., had an Avcon /Lyc. 0-360 with C/S Hartzell installed with STC, in 12 days for an additional $5500. Returned to Anchorage in 3 days and 27.5 hrs. N2567D is still here in Anchorage and has been owned by the same IC170A member for the past 41 years. Total package, plane, engine and airfare from Anchorage and fuel to return from KOKC to PANC , was $11,000. Oh how, things have changed.

Claude172TD · Post by **Claude172TD** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:32 am

How about the flap/aileron gap seals? I get the theory but has anyone seen any measurable improvement in either climb or cruise with them installed. I was advised they were a waste of good money.

I have on good account that VG's work for STOL. However, VG's can put you on the back side of the power curve with power-on (relying on thrust more than lift) and that can get sporty. Especially in gusty winds that try to steal your lift.

Master your airplane, everything else is just physics.

Claude172TD · Post by **Claude172TD** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 6:45 am

And money!

kaufman · Post by **kaufman** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:07 am

My need for STOL performance had to do with ski flying. On some days with melting soft snow, my stock airplane just couldn't seem to break that 30MPH barrier where the wings finally started to provide some lift. It sometimes took three or four runs to pack a track that would finally allow enough accelaration to get airborne. By that time, the CHT was usually in the red. My first attempt at improving the situation was the cheapest; a Horton STOL and Micro Aero VG's. Those mods really helped, and I didn't have many problems (I 'm not saying no problems) with lift off on skiis. Aside from the lift-off speeds being in the 45MPH IAS range, the confidence in control at those speeds made those mods definitely worth while. Another thing I noticed about the mods was that the plane did'nt seem to want to do that bounce back to the runway if I horsed it off a few MPH too soon. Once it broke ground, it was flying, and aileron control was firm and positive. That low speed control is the real advantage od STOL. I probably would have stopped there if I didn't frequently fly out of lakes at higher elevations. The 170 doesn't do too well at those altitudes, and I had too many white knuckled flights where I wondered if I could out-climb the down-drafts. I finally broke down and went for a XP-Mods C-IO-360 conversion. It was expensive, of course, and I could have purchased a beater Skywagon for that price, but what I have now is a lighter, more economical 210 hp bird with a fresh motor.It out-performs my friends' 180's on take-off with similar loads. It is not as fast, of course, because there just isn't a substitute for cubic inches, but the advantage there is that they get there a few minutes before me and check out the snow, wind, and ice conditions before I get there. Sometimes they even drill me an ice-fishing hole. As to the discussion about pilot competence vs. horsepower: I believe that a pilot knowing the limitations of his/her airplane is way more important than having more horsepower and having too much confidence in it. We need to fly often and fly well. Ron- C-GWDA (S/N 26163)

akclimber · Post by **akclimber** » Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:53 pm

Green Bean wrote:In May of 1971, I flew to Oklahoma City, bought a 1952 170B for $5000, flew it to Wichhita, KS., had an Avcon /Lyc. 0-360 with C/S Hartzell installed with STC, in 12 days for an additional $5500. Returned to Anchorage in 3 days and 27.5 hrs. N2567D is still here in Anchorage and has been owned by the same IC170A member for the past 41 years. Total package, plane, engine and airfare from Anchorage and fuel to return from KOKC to PANC , was $11,000. Oh how, things have changed.

I translated your costs in 2012 dollars where $1 in 1971 is equivalent to $5.67 in 2012:
.."bought a 1952 170B for $28,350, (...) had an Avcon /Lyc. 0-360 with C/S Hartzell installed with STC, in 12 days for an additional $31,185. (...) Total package, plane, engine and airfare from Anchorage and fuel to return from KOKC to PANC , was $62,370. "

wldlndfirefghtr · Post by **wldlndfirefghtr** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 6:27 am

Curious about this statement from Bigrenna;

"Find a solid 170B for $35k. Add a Sportsman for $2k. Climb prop for $3700. Wing X (STC should be ready [US] this/next month [US will get +150 GW increase]) for $5k. Tear out all the unneeded crap to lighten her up and you have a nice short fielder for about half the price of the C180."

Has there been any head way on the Wing X STC from the FAA??? What's the status???

Thanks

bigrenna · Post by **bigrenna** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 1:25 am

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The International Cessna 170 Association