The International Cessna 170 Association

Increasing the gross weight of a certificated aircraft can be accomplished by applying for an STC and providing the FAA with engineering data that demonstrates compliance with safety regulations. It’s pretty straightforward. The engineering process might prove it is not possible either due to excess...

Bruce, I believe Voorheesh is referencing 91.323. That regulation (involving air carrier and official/government ops) and a few STCs or 337s I ran into that specifically limited operations to within the state of AK. Those involved external load mechanisms installed on fixed wing aircraft, as I reca...

Is it possible this airplane might have an FAA authorization or STC limited to operations in the state of Alaska?

I’m not familiar with either POH from mid 1950s 172 or 170 airplanes. However, as a CFI teaching short field takeoffs with obstacles, I can tell you that later model 172 Owners Manuals specify that using 10 degrees of flaps on takeoff shortens the ground run while taking off with no flaps yields bet...

No need to discuss NTSB any further, George unless others chime in. Thanks again for addressing safety issues.

The adjective “probable” as used by the NTSB is not to soften their finding of cause. It is a legal requirement (finding Probable Cause in the course of an accident investigation) of the law passed by Congress that allows the NTSB to exist. The NTSB is not so much impartial as they are objective. Th...

The advice on protecting fuel caps from contamination is appreciated. As a former accident investigator, I want to mention that the NTSB does not establish the “cause” of an accident. They cite “probable cause”, a legally based term with quite a different meaning. The simplest word to describe “prob...

Hopefully Gareth will check back in on this interesting thread and give an update. He mentioned that he has checked the airframe, presumably hinges, inspection plates, windows, anything that can move, etc. He suspected it was “harmonic” and that leads to questions on condition of the dampeners on th...

Because the vibration occurs and varies with RPM, it is might be related to the propeller. I recommend seeing if your mechanic can arrange for propeller balancing using a Chadwick system. Others may chime in pro or con. https://www.avionteq.com/Honeywell-Chadwick-8500C-Balancer-Analyzer https://www....

Understood. Just interested in what other 170 owners have as their BEW. Sorry! Misunderstood your question. I’m a CFI and have a student who needs explanation for basic weight, etc. and your post gave me chance to practice a lesson. I used to own a 1950 170A that had all its original records includ...

Empty weight (Licensed) is airframe, engine(s), items of installed equipment, unusable fuel, hydraulic fluids, and engine oil that cannot be drained. Standard empty weight is the above but with the engine oil added. This value should be entered in the airplane weight and balance record at the time o...

Does the TCDS for this Mooney require a vacuum pump or a vacuum system of which the pump is a part? Could a subsequent STC (Instrumentation not powered by vacuum) modify the requirement? Is it possible that Mooney intended these models to have a vacuum system per type design? My recollection from co...

You might try Del-Air in Porterville, CA. Haven’t been by there in a while but they had a large inventory of older Cessna parts and possibly could assist in fabricating a replacement. Also T&M Aviation in Ukiah, CA might be a resource. If my memory serves they offered service and recovering Cess...

There’s no airport under P49, so you can fly around it. Maybe it’s only active when he’s there? (Probably not) I think the TFRs around a regular presidential location should allow security waivers for known pilots based at these airports. Maybe using discrete transponder codes? It makes little sense...

Looks like he forgot to tighten his lug nuts or maybe over stressing them (hope the other driver was ok). The ones that get me are the mods where the truck slams flat on the road and starts hopping. Hydraulics. Ever seen those? Some guys are really serious about that stuff. In California, you can ge...