The International Cessna 170 Association

Does anybody know if the brake caliper fairings on 180 wheel pants work for Cleveland brakes? The picture is of N9202A out of Zion, IL.

Gary
John Pugliese used to make and sell brake fairings. I doubt he still makes them but he might still have some laying around collecting dust. His number is in the directory...had to consult it for spelling

Thanks Paul. I do need to introduce myself to John as he doesn't live that far away.

It is interesting to see what else Cessna did to the early 180 aerodynamically to clean up what is basically a 170 airframe. Here's a few of the things I found. I'm sure there are others.

1. Trimable stabilizer replacing trim tab
2. Door stop in the door rather than on the wing. 3. Fairings on station 208 ribs. 4. Door hinge cover 5. Flush fuel caps
6. Fuel vent behind strut replaced gooseneck (more for ice prevention than aerodynamics).

It would be interesting to see how much these changes actually increased the cruise speed. My guess is they made the planes sell faster, not go faster.

Also baggage door beginning with 1954 models.
Don't know for sure, but I'd bet the didn't cheapen the 180's by eliminating the opening right hand window?

A little off topic, but does anybody know where N9202A is based? It's not in the membership directory. I've got N2669V hangared at UGN, just outside of Zion. There's a nice 140 on the field, but I don't think I've ever seen another 170 out there. I'd love to meet another 170 owner in the area.

A few are based at Poplar Grove, C77, including our '48 170, N2608V. Pretty much straight west of you.

The FAA shows Acme Air Venture Inc. to be the registered owner of N9202A. LinkedIn says Jeff Cady, aka Wile E. Coyote, is the president of Acme Air Venture. The FAA also shows that the registration expired on 01/31/2015. Probably got burned out on polishing.

170C wrote:Also baggage door beginning with 1954 models.
Don't know for sure, but I'd bet the didn't cheapen the 180's by eliminating the opening right hand window?

No but they sure p**s me off every summer that my right hand window does not open.

I'd like to show up in Cody with wheel pants next year.
I do not have the backing plates and I've thought of trying to buy a pair. Knowing the cutout in the plates is for the original Goodyear brake system and I'm guessing a mod has to be done for Cleveland brake system, whats the consensus on fabricating new ones from flat stock? I think the originals had about an inch of offset to the plate, wondering whether some standoffs would work. As for the fairings how much of the brake system is hanging out from the backing plates?

Jim, I'll take a closer look at how much of the caliper is sticking out when I get home. The plate looks like a challenge to duplicate because the area where the four bolts attach to the axle is not parallel to the outer part of the plate where the wheel pant attaches. It has around 3.5º angle vertically. This had me thinking that maybe Cessna mounted the plate between the gear leg and the shims but that's not what it shows for the C-180 in the Service Manual. Those of you that have your pants on do they seem to be canted in or out or do they appear to be quite vertical? Since the wheel pant is attached to the center of the axle at the outboard end I don't understand why there would not be a side load on the plate or pant with that 3.5º angle built in. Jim, if you can't find a pair of plates before Cody you are always welcome to borrow mine or you can use them as models to fab your own.

Thanks Gary, very kind offer, I'm hoping I can try to eyeball things first but you know the tough part which I was referring to as offset of the plate.

In looking closer at my wheel pants I now see why on mounting plate the inner face which attaches to the gear leg is not parallel with the outer circumference which attaches to the wheel pant. It’s because the wheel pants are tapered vertically. The wheel pant is wider toward the top than at the bottom thus the need for the angle on the mounting plate.