What did you buy for your 170 today?

[bagarre]

That's a neat rig on the firewall David. Very creative.

The thing has lift points to get the thing onto a flatbed and the heavy plate will be drilled so we can put the whole thing on a rotisserie.

As luck may have it, an old high school buddy of mine that became an A&P and moved to North Dakota to build P-51 wing parts just moved back home and agreed to help me out with the tin work. (Belly skin, Roof Skin, Baggage door, wing skins...) I couldn't ask for a better person for the job.

[170C]

Sounds like a fun project, especially with the aid of your Dad and friends!

[cessna170bdriver]

David, say hi to your Dad for me the next time you see him. I really enjoyed my visit with him last fall when I picked up the engine mount.

[DaveF]

David, stop it. My jealousy is killing me. Someday I'll do a resto.

[nippaero]

Picked up the new Garmin Aera 660 and GDL 39 3D. I plan on hard wiring this into my instrument panel for power.

[DaveF]

A new MT propeller! It does everything John Nielsen said it would: shorter ground roll, better rate of climb, 15 pounds off the nose, and very smooth at all RPM. With the Lyc O-360, the airplane was already an excellent short-field and high altitude performer, and now it's even better.

I'm glad to be rid of the old Hartzell, with its recurring eddy current inspection AD and annoying RPM restriction. The MT also governs RPM to a lower power setting than the Hartzell, which would revert to fixed-pitch in the pattern.

Here's a prop-centric photo of my airplane:

mtpropellerreduced.jpg

[Metal Master]

(quote)I'm glad to be rid of the old Hartzell, with its recurring eddy current inspection AD and annoying RPM restriction. The MT also governs RPM to a lower power setting than the Hartzell, which would revert to fixed-pitch in the pattern.

What is the diameter of that propeller? It looks really long. It could be an optical allusion due to the shape but it looks to be at least eighty inches. We put an MT on a Comanche 260 and one of the reason the owner wanted it was for more prop clearance.(Not a real problem on the 170 )But the new prop was only a 1/2 inch shorter meaning he only gained 1/4 " more clearance.
Well I answered my own question: I was amazed at the length of the MT propeller for the Lycoming 180 HP engine as installed on a C-170.
My McCauley prop on the 210 HP 170A is 49 Lbs. cut down to 80 Inches from an 82 Inch 182 propeller. 2A34C203/90 DCA -10
Mt propeller
Light-weight Composite construction
w/ Integrated Stainless Steel Leading Edge
Installed Propeller & Spinner Weight 45.6 lbs
Maximum Diameter 82.7 in. (210cm)
Minimum Diameter 79.9 in. (203cm)
TBO (whichever occurs first) 1800 hrs / 72 month

[DaveF]

That's what I meant by "prop-centric photo" -- the photo does make it look bigger, but it looks big even in real life. I have the 210cm; 82.7" vs. the Hartzell at 74". 46 lb with spinner vs. 60.5. Ground clearance is still good, and with the nickel leading edges I'm less worried about erosion than with the old prop. But that's still theoretical at this point, I'll let you know after taking it to dirt and gravel runways. The Hartzell never picked up much and is still in good condition.

[Ryan Smith]

An instrument rating.

That counts...right?

[Kyle Wolfe]

Good job Ryan! Congrats.

[Kyle Wolfe]

A new bug smasher.

[hilltop170]

Congratulations Ryan! A real accomplishment!

[Ryan Smith]

Congratulations Ryan! A real accomplishment!

That RNAV into GPM made all the difference.

This past week has been pretty tough. I got home Friday around lunchtime. I went out to Burlington-Alamance County Regional Airport to meet with the DPE I was going to use, as well as get a schedule setup through his flight school that afternoon. Saturday and Sunday were reserved for study. Monday, I jumped right in with a couple hours ground recap, and then a 2.5 hour flight that afternoon. Several more 12-hour days ensued, and Friday was checkride day. I passed my oral, and called the practical because of low clouds in the area. With a letter of discontinuance in my pocket and a plan to meet up later that afternoon, I had breakfast with a close friend and instructor who had been helping me a lot during the week with independent study and flying in the evenings when I got back home. We reviewed, and I headed back to the airport, and he back home to Greensboro - about a 25-mile drive.

Checkride passed, and I brought a couple of cases of beer to the airport to share in the celebration. This morning, I went down to Peachtree City - Falcon Field for the Aircraft Spruce customer appreciation day with a friend in his Comanche, and came back home (albeit a little late because of a precautionary landing for some engine troubleshooting) to an airport full of family and friends for a surprise early 30th birthday party. My birthday isn't until the 19th, but I leave tomorrow for Dallas/Ft. Worth again for a month, so I won't be around to celebrate with everyone.

The icing on the cake, quite literally, was this delicious fondant rendition of 56D that my wife had made by a cake shop locally. White cake with fresh strawberries and cream inside. It was amazing. I thought the bakery did a pretty spot-on job, as well. Though they missed the rudder, the venturis and comm antenna are present.

So today, I bought my 170 a birthday cake of herself.

[Joe Moilanen]

completeweb.jpg

I bought a lot of stuff for my 170 over the last few months. Had the engine majored. New Skytec starter, rebuilt generator, carb, mags, and vacuum pump. All new exhaust system and every hose replaced firewall forward.

Took it up for the initial hour of break-in yesterday. All went well, although my oil pressure seems a little on the high side at 55 lbs. Is this too high?

Looking forward to a lot of years of wearing it out again!!

Joe
4518C

[N2625U]

I don't think I'd worry if that is close to what it was before the overhaul. The oil pressure in mine (Connie O300C) has always ran a little low (37 PSI/temp about 190 on EI oil/temp) before and after the overhaul. Before overhaul the engine ran for 40 years and 2000 hours I had it overhauled not because of any problems more for comfort. The bottom end was still in very good condition.