installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by 170C »

Didn't find part IV, but the other 3 are quite interesting. Shows that there is a LOT of work to gain 15 gallons per side. It would be interesting to know what that project cost.
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by cfzxo »

If anyone is interested in doing this mod PM me and I can give you a source for what is needed to do it.I salvaged the nose ribs from some 175 wings and the last time I looked the tanks and tank bay part of the wings are still in the surplus pile. I almost did the change myself but find the javeline tank setup easier to maintain and C of G management. bill.penner(at)gmail.com
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by lowNslow »

170C wrote:Didn't find part IV, but the other 3 are quite interesting. Shows that there is a LOT of work to gain 15 gallons per side. It would be interesting to know what that project cost.
Frank, then you have to modify your bladder to go 6 hours without a taking a leak.
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by 170C »

Then I would have to have someone remove me from my plane after sitting in it for 5-6 hours :lol:
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by 170C »

Just thinking about spending that much time in the seat of a plane like ours makes me repeat myself :wink:
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by Watkinsnv »

I went with the Del-Air +30 long range tanks. Love them, gave the plane the range and options to work and fly around the Nevada Sierra Mountains.
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by Watkinsnv »

Yea, mine has a Lyc O-360 climes great at these altitudes. The extra fuel lets you go the extra leg or not have to make a gas stop out of necessity.
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by 170C »

Thanks Aryana. That was an interesting project.
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by sfarringer »

Aryana wrote: ......I'd have to say this extra 30 gallons only makes sense if you have the Lyc 180 HP or Conti 210 HP upgrade so you can cruise fast and guzzle some gas without range anxiety. ......
Or, perhaps where airports are far between, and weather information is sketchy or non-existent.

Or, if you want to fly from the Turks and Caicos to Puerto Rico without a tailwind.

With my Ragwing, I don't even have the range that the more exotic A and B models have. (Of course, the 30 gallon deal doesn't apply to the Ragwing.)
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by sfarringer »

Aryana wrote:Can't you add another 140 tank into one side of your ragwing?
That has been done. It gets you 50 gallon total, and I assume 46 gallons useable.

I would like to do it when I recover the wing. We'll see if I can get a field approval signed off.
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by n3833v »

I thought about doing that when I recovered my wings in 03 and decided that I wasn't going anywhere that I needed that much fuel. I also thought how I would have to stop for a pit stop before I needed fuel. If I was going to Alaska I might wish I had the extra fuel.

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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by marathonrunner »

I got 175 /172 tanks337 approved with flight manual and the club has the paperwork
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Re: installing Cessna 175 tanks in my Cessna 170b

Post by Karl Towle »

I didn't find this thread until now, some years in the future. Chris at Del Air was very helpful with my swap of C175 wings onto my 54 170B. There is the letter from Cessna that discusses swapping wings. Per that letter, the 3 things that have to be addressed are: increased fuel capacity, different fuel vent plumbing and electric fuel gauges. IMHO, this swap only really makes sense if you have other wing issues in addition to wanting more fuel. In my case, the 170B came to me with both wings previously swapped from different donor aircraft with different twists, resulting in a heavy left wing that could not be rigged out. Since I had a set of 175 wings, it made sense to make the swap. It gets complicated because a flight manual supplement is required, and this document must be approved. In the end, we had to use the 175 unusable fuel figure which was 9 gal. So, doing the math, I have 52 gal total fuel, but only 43 usable, which means I actually gained only 6 gal of usable fuel. (However, if one is comfortable doing it, a common pilot technique will allow 4.5 gal of that 9 unusable to make it to the carburetor and out the exhaust.) Initially, 2.25" Mitchell gauges were installed. These worked well, but the only calibration method available was to bend the sender float arm to make the gauge read "E" with 4.5 gal of fuel in the tank. A better option was Aerospace Logic FL202 fuel gauge. This is a TSO'd single 2.25" gauge that display's the quantity in 2 tanks, both with an analog bar graph, and a digital value. Even better, the gauge can be calibrated to your senders. The calibration procedure requires the aircraft to be leveled, and the tanks filled in 2 gal increments from the unusable quantity, to full. This will take some time, but the result is a very accurate gauge. Be sure to use original C175 senders, as the PMA'd McFarlane senders will not work with the Aerospace Logic gauge.

This owner is very happy with the results after the swap. Further, it was a pleasure working with Chris, as he came through, delivering everything he promised, getting it all approved - even if the feds he had to work with caused some significant delays along the way.

PS to the above: Since writing the above account, I discovered the resistive senders would often "drop out" near the bottom of the tank, causing the corresponding gauge to all of a sudden, intermittently indicate zero fuel, or empty. To remedy this, I again swapped the senders in the tank, this time to the CiES digital sender (Here: https://ciescorp.net/applications/small ... ft/cessna/ ) This triggered another change in the fuel gauge, this time to the AeroSpace Logic FL202D (Here: http://www.aerospacelogic.com/index.php ... gory_id=70) This solution requires a slight re-wire, as the sender needs 12vdc power, but the result is really worth it. This sender is "non-contact," meaning there is no wiper contacting a resistive element with the accompanying intermittent issues. This sensor has a lifetime warranty, and is calibrated precisely to the installation; so it is quite accurate throughout its range. Finally, even though this thread is about 175 wings on a 170B, CiES also makes a fuel sender that fits in the wing-root and replaces the mechanical gauge/sender our 170s came with. Something to consider when one or both of your stock gauges breaks, or you can no longer stand its accuracy issues.
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