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If you updated an early 172?

If you are a Super Cub owner, the 172 is a fast, practical cruiser

The trip to Burgos is almost a practicality in a 172, while in the SC you would need to budget a few days each way, in part because of the 75-80 KTAS average cruise speed, in part to work in a safety buffer for weather. The 172 could make it each way with a stop for customs in Caen, albeit not getting change from eight hours in the air. Light IFR capability might also help cover the journey in or two days.

While the early 172 fastbacks are attractive, and seem to perform quite impressively in the Alaska STOL competitions, the early Reims seems to combine the smoothness of the six cylinder Continental -300 with the superior corrosion proofing of the Reims Cessna. These seem to be based on the E through H model and the -300 variety were built in the early and mid sixties. Passengers like the wrap around windscreens, or omni-vision in Cessna marketing speak, and you also get the baggage door.

In terms of updating and trying to keep it simple:

Modern 26 G front seats
Air bag safety harnesses
Mode S
GNC 255 or re conditioned 430
Reconditioned DME
Electronic standby AI
LED landing/pulse lights

Some of these early Cessna come up for sale for very reasonable money – although my list of updates plus the usual squawk list might require a further GBP20k – 25k into a 50 year old airframe – however, the overall package has a lot of utility.

Now how long does it take a 172 to climb to FL100?

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

RobertL18C wrote:

Now how long does it take a 172 to climb to FL100?

Well, that’s a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question as there exist about half a gazillion airframe / prop / engine combinations of the 172. As a guide, the POH for the 172S (IO360 @ 180hp) states 20 mins from sea level to 10k ft at a constant speed of 72 kts covering 27 NM.

172driver thanks, the -300 would probably take around 30 minutes, at gross and ISA, RoC at FL100 is an indifferent angelic rate of 230 fpm.

Another plus for this series, the Reims built E, is that they have the Johnson bar flap.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Someone stateside did a nice upgrade of this 172E panel

http://www.vipavionics.com/172.html

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

I just bought a 1959 C172, which I will restore. It will become a STOL equipped taildragger, with skylights, float and ski kits, a baggage door, new interior and paint, and new electrical and instrument panel. This will be a year or so project, just for fun. I was going to ferry it home, but the engine, which had not run in two years, just would not develop enough power to make me confident, so I took the wings off, and trailered it – the wings were coming off anyway.

Two things about the “new” panel Robert L18C linked are not to my liking: I never paint panels black, for night flying, it becomes much more difficult for the eye to identify and process the information of each instrument, as they can seem to blur into each other during a scan. Grey, or a more light colour, allows the eye to identify each instrument easily. Beyond that point, the instruments as installed in the panel are installed in relative positions which conflict with present standards. Across the top, left = airspeed, center= AI, right = altimeter, across the bottom, left = T&B, center = DG, right = VSI. It is wise to always follow this pattern as closely as the panel shape will allow, so that pilots can maintain good instrument scan habits.

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada

Yes – what a weird layout. I cannot see why anybody would want to do that, other than maybe to replicate something from ancient history?

However, a lot of these “one big flat panel” avionics refits do end up messy, with bits all over the place.

20 mins to FL100 is fine for IFR in the Eurocontrol system – in nice wx obviously.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I’ve flown C172’s that were fitted with the Penn Yan engine and they really improved the performance; not sure if the company are still around. I also believe that certain early model 172’s were lighter than the later ones.

jxk
EGHI, United Kingdom

Pilot_DAR wrote:

Beyond that point, the instruments as installed in the panel are installed in relative positions which conflict with present standards. Across the top, left = airspeed, center= AI, right = altimeter, across the bottom, left = T&B, center = DG, right = VSI.

Well, he has got the Aspen there which contains all this. All the other instruments are only backup. I agree, I would have tried (and insisted on it on my panel) to do it the way you said, at least move the ASI in it’s proper position and the 2nd altimeter right of the Aspen, but in practice, you don’t need it as the Aspen will cover everything. And if the Aspen fails and you need the back up horizon, it may be in a better position there.

What I would have tried to do if possible is to move the Aspen in the center and free one more row of instruments. However, the Aspen is designed to fit into the two holes they had there, so it was probably easier and less costly to do it like that.

I am helping a friend to redesign his Mooney C Panel, he’s got the old one with the “shotgun” arrangement (ASI, DG, Horizon) and probably there for the same reason the Aspen will go into the only two holes it fits, which is the horizon and VSI below. The stand by horizon will move where the DG was and the 2nd altimeter stay below the ASI where it is now. Sometimes these old panels are really not much fun to change unless you are willing to really go to the basics and redo the panel from scratch. But that is VERY expensive.

Last Edited by Mooney_Driver at 23 Oct 08:52
LSZH(work) LSZF (GA base), Switzerland

Pilot_DAR what a great project, I hope you post progress notes and photos. Did you want the straight tail 172 for a tailwheel conversion over the 170 because of the flaps? Or it just is a fun project with less of a down payment?

jxk am a bit of a fan of the six cylinder -300 Continental – they run very smoothly. The 172 has hundreds of STCs which include upgrading to the -360 Lycoming. You also have the Reims Rocket.

On the upgraded panel, these 1964-1967 series had an updated panel allowing a centre radio stack, but they don’t appear to have adopted the standard six pack, hence the updated panel arrangement. The glass AI and HSI would however have the standard scan with ASI and ALT strips, albeit not very large.

Here is a photo of an unmolested 1964 panel. They have upgraded the old surplus WW2 gyros on this example, so not totally original. They have a nice restful grey, the originals tended to be pink-grey.

Oxford (EGTK), United Kingdom

Robert,
You might widen your search to include a C175/Skylark, which can often be had for peanuts. Many have reverted to O-300 Continental or upgraded to an O-360 Lycoming.

Glenswinton, SW Scotland, United Kingdom
51 Posts
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