Puget Sound Area

blueldr · Post by **blueldr** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:32 am

That must have been one hell of a job to reroute the control cabling to the wings in that "A" model fuselage to accomodate those "B"model wings. It would be interesting to see the form 337.

Post by **Bruce Fenstermacher** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 2:37 am

Actually George the crack about the jet power isn't cause it's fast but the fact that it has been sitting with out the engine for 7 months.

As for its speed I hate to add fuel to the fire but it is one of the slowest 170s I've flown. I'm sure this is because of poor rigging and large tires more than the dihedral but Joe will never buy off on that. Hey if anybody has some A model struts they'd like to give away, I'll install them and see if it makes any difference. Truth be told I like the flatter wing of the A.

Post by **GAHorn** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 3:09 am

I have no idea about 49A blueldr, but another way to do it would be to rivet an A model data tag onto a B model fuselage and avoid all the cable problems.
Bruce, would the airplane have A or B model elevators?

Post by **Bruce Fenstermacher** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 5:08 pm

blueldr the 337 is uneventfull and doesn't cover specifically all that was needed to be done. The change was discovered in 2000 and a 337 written and approved probably 35 years after the "conversion".

George my plane must not have made an impact on you at Wilmington.

You, Tom Hall and I and several other association experts looked it over trying to figure out its history.

It does have B model elevator and the factory installed nut plates in the carry through spar for the shoulder harnesses which as I recall Cessna didn't install till '52.

And George it is much faster to just use screws to attach the data plate rather that rivets.

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 5:41 pm

Bruce,how does the rest of your airplane stack up,with regards to A vs B features? Do you have the early cowl,early (airbox) baffling,early (piano-key) panel, early cabin-heat system,etc? Like BL pointed out,it'd be a hell of a job to re-rig the (flap) controls from A to B configuration. Makes more sense that someone installed an A data plate for which they had the paperwork onto a B model (for which they didn't).
A 170 that was based at my airport a couple years ago (which was then wrecked,sold,"repaired",re-sold,then properly repaired & flown to Alaska-- a long story) was a 1952 B model according to the serial number on the data plate. It had the early cowl & airbox baffling,but a later model panel & 55-56 tailwheel steering. It also had what looked to be a 172 firewall.
I never got a look at the logbooks,but it looked like a rebuilt &/or pieced-together airplane to me. It had a "vanity" tailnumber,so that was no help identifying the year. A nice looking airplane,but kind of a Frankenstein's monster when you got into the details.
BTW,does anyone know where N543AR is now?

Eric

Post by **GAHorn** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 6:13 pm

Bruce, I remember. It was asked as a rhetorical question to go along with the dataplate comment. I'd hoped it'd be illustrative to others how complex things can get, and how one might identify old airplanes that don't match up.
Having this discussion about a particular airplane in a public forum has it's dangers, and I'd want to be careful with the subject. I once had an Ercoupe I was interested in delivered to my place by the "seller" that had it's dataplate drilled off and sitting in the glove box. The short version is that the airframe and dataplate didn't really belong to each other. The airplane was actually owned by a convict in prison for drug trafficking, but the dataplate belonged to an airframe whose owner was found sitting dead in the cockpit after supposedly having committed suicide with a pistol, and the mess together was offered for sale by an automotive repair shop to recover money owed by a fired mechanic whose girlfriend was the parole officer of the convict. When I finally sorted out these details I couldn't act fast enough to hand it over to a district judge for only the "storage fees" due. I wanted it off my property.

N2255D · Post by **N2255D** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 6:57 pm

When is the Warwick flyin? I'd like to get to fly some where pretty soon. Seems like every time I'm home though the weather is not co-operating.

Walt from south Jersey

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Wed Apr 21, 2004 7:05 pm

Sunday, April 16 (no rain date) 10-4pm

http://www.eaa501.org

Wed Apr 21, 2004 11:40 pm

Eric, picture a '52 B model flying over the Puget Sound Area. (just to tie this to the subject) and you'd pretty much have my plane. I have the early cowl, early (airbox) baffling, early (piano-key) panel and early cabin-heat system. Yep besides a few details like the data plate, '48 c-145-2 engine with the undampened crank and the "B model type"wings it's a '52

Oh yes the data plate. Serial 19352 170A. Makes it an '50 A model. Maybe the B proto type.

It's been registered as N9149A since '55 the first year it had an airworthiness certificate according to the FAA. It could have been out of the country before that. The logs that I have for it from that time on match the engine/airframe. N9149A would be the Registration number for Serial 19352 from Cessna.

Spend it's early days in Texas owned by an oil company perhaps some of you Texans remember it. As far as I can tell from the records it never spent any time in the Puget Sound Area however.

George I'm not to worried about our public forum. The aircraft meets the Type Certificate or has approvals and STC's for it's modifications and has an Airworthiness Certificate based on that.

I know this aircraft pretty well and I've been studying the 170 line for a while now. I can't prove it wasn't a modified '50 and neither could our group of experts at Wilmington. I doubt the FAA could either.

Of course we all know what is the more likely senerio. If only the plane could talk.

N2255D · Post by **N2255D** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:50 am

Unfortunatly I'll be in Minny that weekend (May 16th). If my trip gets cancelled though I'll be there weather permitting. Any one that gets to N14 or VAY give a shout .
Walt

LouLaSalle · Post by **LouLaSalle** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 12:45 pm

Doug, Walt, Vic Bruce,

The Fly In at Warwick NY is May 16th,2004 10A to 4P. No Rain Date.
Maybe, we can get a mini- 170 gathering.

Lou

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 1:44 pm

I'll be there if my annual is done by then.

n3833v · Post by **n3833v** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 3:20 pm

I'm thinking I will need to try my new panel. If the weather co-operates.

John

LouLaSalle · Post by **LouLaSalle** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 3:59 pm

John,

Did you get your a/c from a Dr. that used to keep it at Alexandria Field?
Is it a White rag-wing?

Lou

mrpibb · Post by **mrpibb** » Thu Apr 22, 2004 11:23 pm

Ill be going if I get my Endorsment and the winds are in my comfort level

I'll know as the date gets closer, It be cool if ya can park together.

The International Cessna 170 Association

Puget Sound Area

Warwick FlyIn