Who has fastest stock C-170B

[trake]

Craig, 110mph is what I was getting. Ive gained about 9 mph true by taking stuff off the airframe. I think I can get a couple more. Wheel pants and strut fairings dont help much, if at all. I thought I had bought a dog. The previous 2 owners had kept the airplane less than a year each, maybe they thought so too.

[GAHorn]

Im getting the 104 kts at 65% but I had to remove several antennas, the venturis and fix the floppy door latches. Next on my list is the rotating beacon and getting the brake lines behind the gear legs and removing the loran antenna. Ive also removed the bubble side windows. The best engine conversion is an o470 in a cessna 180, you can use car gas as well. With the price of fuel right now Im liking my puny O300.

As far as I know, the O470 is not approved in the C170 tho'. (Too heavy and gives a CG problem. Although moving the battery aft should help,...the 470 has never found favor in a 170.)

[cessna170bdriver]

I was thinking he meant to convert to an O-470... and leave it on the C-180

Miles

[lowNslow]

I was thinking he meant to convert to an O-470... and leave it on the C-180

Miles

Miles, speaking of engines, how is yours going. Have they started your rebuild yet.

[cessna170bdriver]

Miles, speaking of engines, how is yours going. Have they started your rebuild yet.

Lycon came back about 4K higher than I expected, and I'm not through swallowing yet.

Miles

[lowNslow]

Lycon came back about 4K higher than I expected, and I'm not through swallowing yet.

Miles

Yikes! Must be those gold plated valve covers.

[shortfielder]

Thanks Karl Have a nice hoiday. Gary

[N3243A]

And fer gosh sakes, don't put on Gar Aero 8:50x10 tires and an 80 inch prop. You will really think yer goin' slow. 104 knots book speed will sound like a rocket....but you won't land on MY sand bar.

[zero.one.victor]

Bruce, is it cheaper to go with the Gar 850X10's than with 26" Goodyears or Bushwheels? What kind of dollars are involved with each, and what do you see as the pro's and con's of each? Are these Gar's the ones that use a (plastic) wheel adapter?

Eric

[glacierbay]

I can answer that one:

Goodyear's are the least expensive, followed by GarAero's (cause of the wheel adapters) and finally Bushwheels are the most. I'd say the Goodyear's and GarAero's are the most durable for most uses.

We use 29" Bushwheels on our 180 for most operations. They're really soft and save lots of wear and tear on the airframe. Keep 'em off the pavement as much as possible and keep off the brakes when landing in the rocks or you'll be buying new ones very frequently.

[futr_alaskaflyer]

Flew in a 53 B model the other day with a prop mod, cruised just under 140MPH indicated at 70% power close to sea level ...GPS showed a ground speed closer to 135 MPH with no wind reported.

No wheel pants, 6.50s, lots of antennas, dual venturis. And a C-145 of course.

It seemed to climb off the ground pretty well, definitely got off in less than 800 feet with two adults and full fuel slightly up-hill paved strip, but it was pretty darn cold at the time, it would be interesting to see how it would do with that prop in 80 degree weather instead.

And yes, we do occasionally see 80 degrees here

[jon s blocker]

Wow! What kind of prop was it using? Those numbers sound like the numbers you get with an engine upgrade as well. If the numbers are correct, I'm sure several members would be interested in the information on that prop. One of the only hits on these great airplanes is the speed. How about some info. Thanks, Jon

[kmisegades]

Hmmmmm.... 140mph in a draggy C-170B with a C-145 ..... Sounds fishy to me. GPS showed 135MPH - or was that 135 Kts ? Perhaps they were flying downhill? If it's true, let's see the proof and I'll order one of those rocket-props. Kent

[futr_alaskaflyer]

Wow! What kind of prop was it using? Those numbers sound like the numbers you get with an engine upgrade as well. If the numbers are correct, I'm sure several members would be interested in the information on that prop. One of the only hits on these great airplanes is the speed. How about some info. Thanks, Jon

I'll try to get the info when I see the plane again in a couple weeks, it is four hours away from me now.

Going off memory...I think it was a 53 inch twist on the cruise prop?? (I could be completely wrong on that but I think that is what the owner told me...)

At all the numbers were in MPH, if those numbers were knots it would truly be an extraordinary airplane! 135 MPH=around 114 knots, only 10 more knots than standard sea level certificated speed, with cruise prop and cold weather (-15 C)? Not out of the realm of possibilities...

Question: On the airspeed indicators in a 170B where is the yellow arc? I ask because we seemed to spend much of our time in it and it would tend to support the numbers I was regurgitating from memory.

I'm looking at buying the aircraft so when I go up next time I will try to get solid performance numbers.

Edit: Also it has flap gap seals, and relocated brake lines. Usually has wheel pants but they were removed for the winter. Might be other speed mods I'm not aware of.

The owner previous to the current one flew it IFR cross country out of a 6500 foot runway, so he wasn't too concerned I suppose with short field performance. If I end up purchasing it I will definitely want to see how the climb and takeoff performance is affected in warmer weather with that particular propeller.

[N170BP]

Going off memory...I think it was a 53 inch twist on the cruise prop?? (I could be completely wrong on that but I think that is what the owner told me...)

Something doesn't smell right!

At all the numbers were in MPH, if those numbers were knots it would truly be an extraordinary airplane! 135 MPH=around 114 knots, only 10 more knots than standard sea level certificated speed, with cruise prop and cold weather (-15 C)? Not out of the realm of possibilities...

I'm skeptical of *any* stock 170B cruising at 114 knots. Seems to me
that's around 10mph faster than most stock Bs flying around....

Question: On the airspeed indicators in a 170B where is the yellow arc? I ask because we seemed to spend much of our time in it and it would tend to support the numbers I was regurgitating from memory.

The yellow arc for my '54B is 140mph-160mph. I've only had it
in the yellow arc a few times (usually while "attacking" a friend
from high above with the sun at my back).

I'm looking at buying the aircraft so when I go up next time I will try to get solid performance numbers.

Please do. If the numbers are really true, please post what the owner
did to make it go that fast with a stock C-145 engine (I'm sure there
are many of us standing in line with checkbooks ready if his "tricks"
worked!

I am reminded of the fact that we discussed on this list awhile back,
the possibiliy of getting MT to make us a controllable pitch propeller
for the 170. Seemed steep at the time (as I recall, the price for
a "group purchase" was around $9K. Now I'm thinking that may
not sound too bad... A Lycoming or 210hp Continental conversion
is a lot of money (everyone always says just sell the 170 and buy
a 180 instead). But if you could go 15mph-20mph faster in cruise without
sacrificing anything else, $9K might not be such a bad deal....???