The International Cessna^® 170 Association

You may have noticed the occasional debate of which of the original colors Cessna choose is faster, Red OR Green. Here is the story which if not completely true, should be.

You see many many moons ago in the early days of this forum and the Yahoo Group before it there were at least two participants and as hard as it might be to imagine, they didn't agree on every point. Of course from time to time debate through the dry emotionless written word, got a bit out of hand. Just the mention of MOGAS or MMO (Marvel Mystery Oil) could spark debate for hours.

The ridiculousness of much of the debate was not lost on the late Joe Harris, a member from Grand Prairie, TX. who was a regular here at the forum. And so he in his way decided to start an unwinnable debate that his green A model was faster than George's red B model. It was faster simply because it was green. It was Joe's way of bringing us all back from the brink to reality whether he intended it to or not.

In 2007 Joe died of colon cancer. http://www.cessna170.org/forums/viewtop ... joe+harris. Since his passing, in his honor and memory several of us have taken up the green mantra. It takes several of us to keep up as Joe set a high bar and of course the opposing mind set lead by George, is very capable and never gives up.

Of course we have never heard from those sneaky buggers with the BLUE planes lurking in the shadows.

Bruce Fenstermacher wrote: Of course we have never heard from those sneaky buggers with the BLUE planes lurking in the shadows.

We're not faster or slower.

We just look better

You aren't fooling anyone, I clearly see that GREEN oil sump cover from your winterization kit on your nose bowl.

You didn't think anyone would notice with all that green grass and trees around, did you?

Having just changed my mostly blue and in some spots green airplane into a red airplane I can say with some authority that it is most deffenately faster now.

Sent from my iPad

FredMa wrote:You aren't fooling anyone, I clearly see that GREEN oil sump cover from your winterization kit on your nose bowl.

Actually, it's bare aluminum. The green reflection helps slow me down for shorter landings

bagarre wrote:

FredMa wrote:You aren't fooling anyone, I clearly see that GREEN oil sump cover from your winterization kit on your nose bowl.

Actually, it's bare aluminum. The green reflection helps slow me down for shorter landings

Maybe you find yourself to fast because of the GREEN reflection and therefor have to slow down.

I think the green is reflecting at such a high rate on the sump cover that it's causing a pressure area, thus slowing down the plane.

Kind of reminds me of the morning coffee shop in farm country
John Deer or Case IH...........and then there's the Fords


W.

Thanks Bruce for the reminder. Many people don't know the story.
Joe was a pretty neat guy and really appreciated the people and pleasures of this organization. He enjoyed the debate about colors as well as many other subjects. Rest in peace friend.

Its difficult to realize that its been six years since we lost Joe. He was a great friend and a good person. Those of us who knew him at Grand Prairie Airport (GPM) often recall his gentle and fun loving nature. I had the good fortune to spend a lot of time flying with Joe. He felt everyone in the 170 association to be a friend. I will always remember that as Joe's final days were slipping away he told me not to be sad because he felt he had enjoyed a good life. He said, "Frank, just remember when your are flying that I will be right there beside you." I think of this often. He's up there somewhere flying that GREEN 170!

Joe is the reason Ina and I became involved with the 170 club. He came down to my hangar at Grand Prairie several times and invited us to join the group on fly-outs even though all I had at the time in Texas was the C-195. We were reluctant to go because we didn't have a 170 at the time but they made us feel right at home and part of the group. We would trail behind the flock of 170s which included two green planes, Joe's 170 and Frank's 172 taildragger and follow them around. Good times and we both miss Joe's easy style and friendly attitude.