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Official Newsletter of the Cessna 150-152 Club. (805) 461-1958

Cessna 150-152 Pilot January / February 2010 Volume 30 Number 1 Electronic Edition

Blowing in the Wind Page 14

ISSN 0747- 4712

www.cessna150152.com

Official Newsletter of the Cessna 150-152 Club. (805) 461-1958

2 The Counting Game Computerizing Your Logbooks 4 Winter Flight to First Flight In the Steps of the Wright Brothers 8 Refurbishing A SparrowHawk From Spinner to Tail 11 An Accidental Education NTSB Reports in Plane English 13 iFly It’s A Brave New World 15 Club Classifieds Airplanes & Parts 16 Blast from the Past Welcome to the Class of ‘81

Winter Flight Page 4

Stripping Paint Page 8

kosh that allowed me to download flights from the Gar-min, and “play back “ the entire flight as a kind of three dimensional video game. Unfortunately the company that produced that software quit after a year, and it won’t work without connecting to their server for geo referenced imagery, so it’s yesterday’s news.

However, there is good news for disorganized Garmin owners like me. Garmin gives away a free logbook pro-gram called Flightbook®, which is easy to use, and keeps excellent records. Flightbook® has been living on my computer for a few years now, and I only just figured out how effective it is in the last couple of months.

First, Garmin says that Flightbook® only works with the Model 96 through 396, but I found it works per-fectly with both the 496 and 696. You simply plug the GPS into a USB cable, launch the program, and click a button to grab all the data from the GPS. Flightbook® records everything from flight time to the proper names and GPS coordinates of all the airports you land at. It also records the distance flown, maximum speed achieved and maximum altitude obtained. Once you have the data in the program, you can add your own notes, and record things like dual training received, ac-tual or simulated IFR flight time, IFR approaches flown, etc. Flightbook® automatically figures out how much of each flight was flown at night if any.

You can use Flightbook® as your only logbook if you like, though it would certainly be a good idea to print paper copies of the data for safe keeping. If you really want to get fancy, you can export the flight data to use on an outside spreadsheet or database program.

I’m a database programmer, so I elected to export the data from Flightbook® and created a Filemaker Pro da-tabase that adds several handy features. I set up my da-tabase to summarize information by date range. This makes it possible for me to quickly see how much time I have flown on a given trip or any time period I like. My database automatically looks up aircraft details by N number, shows time in both 12 hour local and Zulu formats, and for the first time in my flying life I have a running total of landings (1,189) and night hours (61). I also see that presently 86% of all my flying time has been logged as cross country.

Beyond that I can use my fuel/oil quantity and price records to see my out of pocket operational expenses, and my gallons per hour and miles per gallon consump-tion rates.

I’ve been paying over $4 per gallon of Avgas so far in

I have a confession to make. I am definitely not one of those OCD super organized people when it comes to aviation paperwork. Oh sure, I write everything down (somewhere, usually...) and I keep all my receipts and instruction manuals etc. The problem for me is storage and retrieval. I have some of the paperwork in one of three file cabinets here in the office, some of it in plas-tic storage boxes in the hangar, or the barn, or some-where like that.

Right about this time of year, I need to actually know stuff, like how much I’ve flown in the last year, how much gas, oil and parking I bought, and how much time is on the airframe and engines for each of two airplanes. Yep, for a organizationally challenged paper misplacer like me this is a stressful time of year.

I’ve been an airplane owner since 1998, and I hereby confess that I have NEVER taken a precise count of how many hours I’ve flown and what kind. I kept a de-cent logbook for my first decade as a pilot, but once I became an airplane owner, things naturally got more relaxed. When I filled in the last page of my first log-book in the summer of 2005, I bought a new one. I’m looking at it right now, sitting here on my desk, all shiny black with “Pilot Logbook” embossed in gold on the cover. Unfortunately it doesn’t have even a single entry filled in.

My “system” (if you can call it that), consists of a paper spread sheet that I use on a kneeboard. I dutifully enter the date and airports for each flight, the total tach time, and how much gas and oil were consumed. These kneeboard logs are the only solid source of data I have used to keep track of things for the last decade or so. Even when I was being responsible and filling in my logbook, I simply transferred the kneeboard sheet into the book, something that I apparently no longer have time for.

I have been a consistent user of Garmin portable GPS units for most of the last decade, and I did notice early on that the Garmins are pretty good about storing flight data. I especially liked the Garmin 196 set up, it not only kept track of flights from point A to B, it calcu-lated the average speed, and even tried to figure out how many landings you made. Neato! I never at-tempted to use the Garmin 196 data for any archival use though, just to satisfy my curiosity.

A few years back I bought some neat software at Osh-

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Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

The Counting Game by Royson Parsons

2010, and am sobered to see that presently it is costing me $48.37 per hour out of pocket to fly. Additionally, I was none to happy to calculate that the 0-320 Lycoming engines I fly behind operate at a dismal average of just 10.3 statue miles (9 nautical) per gallon. Bummer, I thought they were more efficient than that!

In spite of the bad news on the financial front, I now have the data and tools to try and do better in the future. At the end of this year, I will know the precise results of my new found urgency to buy cheaper gas, and fly at more thrifty speeds and mixture settings. Maybe I’ll save a decent amount of money, maybe I won’t, but at least I’ll be able to quickly find out, without digging out a calculator and faded or missing fuel receipts. Gosh, I feel so organized!

For the first time in my flying life, I actually know how much total flying I’ve done, how many hours of train-ing, how much IFR and night flight, tailwheel time, aerobatic flight, even over water hours. I see that in my most active year so far (interestingly, year #2) that I flew a total of 114 flights and 185.6 hours. My most disappointing year was 2008, was when gas prices were high, and I made just 11 flights and 13.4 hours of air-time.

I started out this story explaining how disorganized I have been with my aviation paperwork. I am happy to report that my experience with Flightbook® and my custom database has now inspired me to computerize all my aviation records. After the pilot logbooks I tack-led the aircraft logs, using a very similar database for-mat. Yes, it was a pain in the butt to hand type in all of the maintenance records. I did just a few a day, and to my relief had everything in the computer within a cou-ple of months.

In the process I found a few errors that actually changed some important information. For example, one of my airplanes had a total of 4 tachometer failures since 1968. This means that at every annual there has to be a reconciliation between the actual aircraft and engine time and the displayed tach time. Sometimes this recon-ciliation was accurate, sometimes not so much. All the entries in each following year are then based on what-ever TT and SMOH were known at annual, though sometimes entries were made based purely on displayed tach time. The computer is much better at math than us dumb humans, so those errors were immediately obvi-ous in the computerized record, and could be properly re-reconciled.

Like my personal logbooks, the computerized airframe and engine logbooks allow me to summarize data. For

Cessna 150-152 Pilot (ISSN 0747-4712) is published bimonthly, by The Cessna 150-152 Club, 5130 San Benito Rd. Suite 618, Atascadero, CA 93422. Periodicals Postage paid at Atascadero, CA 93423, USPS 721970.

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Postmaster, Send change of address to: Cessna 150-152 Club, PO Box 1917, Atascadero, CA 93423-1917 The information presented in this publication is from multiple sources from which The Cessna 150-152 Club cannot warranty or accept responsibility as to it's legality, completeness, or technical accuracy. Readers are reminded that United States Federal Air Regulations part 91 place primary responsibility for ensuring the airworthy condition of an aircraft on the owner and or operator. Any person who maintains, modifies, or otherwise changes an aircraft must do so in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations and applicable FAA regulations. Contacts: Telephone: (805) 461-1958 Website: www.cessna150152.com Email: Items for publication: editor@cessna150152.com Email: General Inquiries, Membership, Requests for Technical Materials, Back Issues, etc: membership@cessna150152.com

example, I can retroactively see not just how many tach hours there were between oil changes, but how many chronological days. This is also useful for things like seeing how long batteries have lasted, and I can even extract the true cost of flying between the maintenance and flying logs, and my Quicken® bookkeeping re-cords. Ain’t technology wondrous?

If you have ever considered collecting your logbooks in a computerized format, I highly recommend it. It has subtly changed my relationship with flying, giving me sense that I have some control over the process of keep-ing records, and the ability to retrieve important infor-mation easily.

Not a computer whiz you say? Not to worry. You can in the very least simply type in your logbook records into a spreadsheet like Microsoft Excel. Once you’ve done that, someone with stronger computer skills than your own can easily work with your data next week or ten years from now in order to answer questions that may be tough to resolve in the paper version of your log-books. In my experience, it is well worth the trouble.

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Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

So Thursday night came along and it was time to check the weather and the NOTAMS one last time. The only thing that would hold us back would be something me-chanical with the plane. Thursday morning on my way to work I had plugged Woodstock into the wall, put his blankie on, and put the cowl plugs into the cowl holes. Friday morning I showed up at the airport at around 0630 to kick the tires and get everything ready. Woodstock's engine was nice and toasty warm and after two squirts of prime and two blades on the starter the gas was being converted into rotational energy and then to thrust. Wheels were up at 0714 from Slatington International.

The first leg was to Accomack, Virginia (MFV) . Along the way to Accomack the sun was rising to our left and the air was smooth. Hands off flying all the way down the Eastern Shore. We landed at around 0900 and taxied straight to the pumps. At Accomack they do have self serve at the pumps there is usually an attendant that comes out to do the ticket. Friendly folks and a nice ter-minal area and our stop was only about 15 minutes.

For the longest time I've been itching to take a trip to and from First Flight Airport (FFA) in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. I wanted to make the trip down and back in one day. Very doable from Slatington (about 280nm one way). Of course it isn't a trip unless the flight home is something different. Something I try to do going to/from Clinton, Iowa every year. So... the trip back was going to be around the west side of the Washington SFRA (formally known as the ADIZ). Back in the fall a good friend's son started taking flying lessons on his way to becoming a professional pilot. I thought Tyler would enjoy a flight down to Kitty Hawk and see what a long day in the plane is like. But when I called to see if he could go he said he had to work and wouldn't be able to tag along. So he promptly handed the phone to his mom and she asked if she could go in his place. Sue isn't exactly a morning person so there was some confusion on her part on what exactly I meant by 0700. Naturally there is always confusion on my part when it comes to telling time. None the less she wanted to go so the crew was set. As I mentioned earlier, I've wanted to do this flight for some time. Previous attempts were confounded by weather and work schedules. If it was going to be a beautiful day all along the Eastern Seaboard I was work-ing. If I was off for a week it was windy and rainy. So on Monday, January 11th, I started looking at the weather for the weekend. It almost seemed like the weather Gods and the Dark Over Lords at work were just teasing me. All week long all the weather guessing sites, including the weather guesser at work, were saying VFR conditions throughout the day with light winds forecast for Friday. *fingers were crossed*

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The rising sun over Delaware on the Eastern Shore.

Looking southwest from the area of Crisfield on Virginia's Eastern Shore

Winter Flight to First Flight by Ed Figuli

Short final to runway 3 at Accomack, Virginia

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

ing on 20 is also in the opposite direction of the flights that were made that day. So on short final the first marker that is passed is actually the marker from the fourth flight that day. We landed and parked on the southwest corner of the airport near a small building erected by The Aircraft Owners and Pilot's Association.

We were the only plane there on the ground throughout the day until right before we left. Parking is ample and tie down ropes are provided. There is a registration log in the flight planning room in the AOPA building.

After tying the plane down and getting the requisite pic-tures of Woodstock in the shadow of the Wright Brothers Memorial we headed up to the monument itself. I've seen a lot of memorials to mark events but I believe that this is one of the most appropriate. The east side provides what looks like a sun rising. The east side also points in the di-rection of the markers and the flights made on December 17, 1903.

(Continued on page 6)

After getting back into the saddle we took off to the south and headed to the Cape Charles VOR at 4500 feet. There is restricted airspace off the coast of Virginia Beach so we navigated to Cape Charles, then to Oceana Naval Air Station, then to First Flight. Again, the trip was hands off and once we got past Oceana we dropped down to 3500 feet to get to a VFR cruising altitude for the last leg into First Flight.

We flew along the coast and could make out the Wright Brothers Monument about 10 miles out. First Flight has weather reporting and the winds were favoring 20. To keep traffic away from the Memorial the grounds of the park traffic to 20 is a right pattern. The approach into First Flight is sort of surreal.

The area around the park is built up and certainly not the way the Wright Brothers would have seen the area in 1900 on their first trip to the Kitty Hawk region. Land-

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Flying south in the area of Cape Charles on Virginia's Eastern Shore

Short final to runway 20 at First Flight Airport in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. On the upper left hill is the Wright Bothers Memorial, The line pointed about 30 degrees to the current runway marks the flight paths of December 17, 1903

Woodstock on the ground at First Flight Airport Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

Sue and Ed at First Flight Airport in Kitty Hawk

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

Winter Flight to First Flight (Continued from page 5)

A bust of both Wilbur and Orville are on the west side of the monument. Viewed from above the monument actu-ally resembles a wing.

A simple inscription on the side reads: "IN COMMEMORATION OF THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR BY BROTHERS WILBUR AND ORVILLE WRIGHT CONCEIVED IN GENIUS ACHIEVED BY DAUNTLESS RESOLUTION AND UNCONQUER-ABLE FAITH". We then walked down to the area where the flight mark-ers stood.

After walking out and back we stopped at the replica hangers and sheds. Neither building is original but both are exact reproductions. The 1903 Flyer was actually taken apart to be stored and worked on in the hanger. On an interesting side note, when Orville came back to mark the spot where the rail was made he had a hard time finding what was left of it. Turns out the hill they made

their glider tests on, Kill Devil Hill, had moved about 500 feet to the southwest over time.

Something to note before I move on... during the summer touristy months the park receives somewhere around four to five thousand visitors a day at peak times. Even during the not so peak times, it is still quite crowded, some-where between two to three thousand visitors each day. On January 15th when we were there, they had a total of about 15 people come through the visitors center all day long so getting one on one time with a ranger was pretty easy to do. As we were looking at the hanger and living quarters one of those rangers came along. Tom White was originally from the Dayton area and now coming close to retire-ment. He is a master historian on the Wright Brothers. He had come around the corner and asked if we had any questions. What a great opportunity! We talked for about 30 minutes about the grounds themselves. How the area changed (beyond the growth of the community), how the park came to be, the construction of the monument, how

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Orville's Bust on the west side of the Wright Brothers Memorial on Kill Devil Hill

From this spot the first successful flight of an Airplane was made by Orville Wright on

December 17, 1903

Looking towards the markers showing the Wright Brothers first flights on December 17, 1903

Looking back from the fourth marker towards the Wright Brothers Memorial

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

the area is being preserved with grasses and cactus, and the general layout of the park. When we parted he said he would meet us inside the visitors center and talk about the two aircraft on display. Sue and I headed into the visitors center and Tom came in about 10 minutes later. The Paul E. Garber shrine showcases Firsts In Aviation. It is sort of a Hall of Fame for pilots. Everyone from the Wright Brothers themselves to Clyde Cessna. A short biography accompanies a portrait of each member. Tom talked a bit about the two planes on display in the center. The first is a reproduction of the Wright 1902 Glider that was restored by what would eventually become the United States Air Force Museum under the direct super-vision of Orville Wright. The second aircraft is a full scale, flyable replica of the Wright 1903 Flyer. Exact down to the type of cloth used by the Wrights. After talk-ing a bit about each plane we got to do something that was cool beyond words and something that’s unlikely to happen during the touristy summer season. Tom took the ropes down and invited us in to take an up close and personal look at the 1902 Glider and the 1903 Flyer. We actually got to take a close look at the con-struction, the mechanics, the rigging, the engine, the sim-ple airspeed indicator, the propellers and just about every square inch of the plane. Tom used gloves to demonstrate the wing warping and the simple stick used to move the canard for pitch. Roll and yaw were coordinated by warping the wings. The coolest thing was getting to look at the little details. little pieces of sewing thread were left behind so as to make it easier to replace a piece of torn cloth, the shape and size of the struts between the wings, the chain guide. Well worth the price of flying down in January. After taking in the visitors center it was time to move on. We swung through the Wright Experience buildings on our way back to Woodstock. Each building houses dis-plays from the 2003 100th anniversary celebration.

We fired up Woodstock around 1330 and headed up to Hampton Roads (PVG), Virginia to get some petrol. A quick splash and go and we were back in the air on our way to Frederick (FDK), Maryland for dinner. The flight up to Frederick was great except for the last 15

minutes. It got pretty bumpy after descending and Sue decided she didn't want her protein bar or water from ear-lier in the day. Fortunately we had a bag handy. After that she felt great for the rest of the trip.

We tanked up at Frederick and then got some dinner at the Airways Inn. Always great food. The cream of crab soup is fantastic and their crab and shrimp combo was great. So now that the crew and plane had fuel in the tanks it was time for the trip home. We climbed to 3500 feet for the ride back to Slatington International in the dark. It was still a bit bumpy but Sue handled it well and we had a pretty good tailwind. We made the 117 miles in just over an hour. The flight home was well after sunset so the entire flight was in the dark. My New Aveo Engineering lights performed great. Totals for the trip: Flight time - 6.3 hours. Flight mileage - 662.7 nautical miles. Wheels up Slatington at 0714. Wheels down Slating-ton at 1910. Total fuel - 52.1 gallons. Spending the day aviating? ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!

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Sue Feels Soooo Much Better Now...

Sunbeams stream through the clouds between Culpeper, Virginia and Frederick, Maryland

Short final to runway 28 at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

Towards the end of 2007 with the financial markets showing signs of losing momentum, it seemed like a good time to take a little cash off the top before it made a major retreat. If I’d known how much of a retreat it was ultimately going to take, I may have taken a little more off the top than I did. Nonetheless, what I did take out enabled me to purchase a basic plane and make some improvements. After over 40 years of flying, I’d really done very little of what you might call “fun” flying. After getting vari-ous licenses it was always on to the next one with time building as a CFI, charter pilot and eventually the air-lines. No complaints, but before I hung it up I decided to see what fun flying was all about by buying a small plane. Having started in Cessnas, both as a student and CFI, the 150 was familiar and seemed like a good choice for a modest investment. After perusing Trade A Plane and Barnstormers.com, I located a seemingly pristine C152 in Texas. Besides having only 1500 TT, she’d been converted to a tail-dragger with a Sparrowhawk 125 HP upgrade, which I found a bit unique and quite appealing, reminding me of my early CFI days in Champs and T-Crafts. She’d had a recent pre-purchase inspection by a buyer who had had to back out due to financing issues and the report, which the sellers offered to share with me, looked fa-vorable enough that I felt comfortable flying across the country with checkbook in hand. The sellers were friendly, most helpful and forthright. After a short check out, I was headed west in N89229. Five days and 2,400 miles later, I arrived back in Bellingham, WA with only a few very minor squawks. It had been my intention to enjoy the plane pretty much as it was, but after seeing and reading about other pro-jects, I began thinking about what improvements might be made, both aesthetically and mechanically. The red and white paint was original and at one time, the red trim had apparently been redone and there was over-spray in many places. In retrospect, I’d give the exterior about a 5. The red vinyl interior and carpet was now more of a pink and the green tinted windows were a bit crazed and leaking. In January 2009, I took the plane to nearby Upper Valley Aviation in Chilliwack, B.C., for a paint job and new interior. They had an excellent repu-tation and the exchange rate at the time was also 25% in my favor. Within a few weeks the paint was stripped, the control

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surfaces removed, the plastic windows removed and re-placed (I chose a smoke colored tint) and the interior, down to the panel, was removed. No corrosion was found and there were only a few minor cosmetic pieces of hangar rash to repair.

While UVA was doing their thing, I was doing research on the various new parts which would be required and determining what the paint scheme would be. After

N37ZQ C152 Restoration by Doug Cole

Original paint, Friday Harbor, WA

Original Panel

After Refurbishment

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

In the paint shop, the exterior was etched and alodyned, primed and coated with a base white – door frames too – of PPG poly urethane and finally, the two trim colors. The trim was clear coated. Scheme Designers produce data from which full size masking templates could be created. This assured the final design matches what was envisioned on the computer screen. All exterior plastic, with the exception of wheel pants, were replaced with new fiberglass pieces. The replace-ments arrive primed and un-drilled, so it was a bit more work getting them fit. Fiberglass should last much longer than the original plastic.

It had been recom-mended to me that we remove and inspect the fuel tanks, which was done. While the tanks were out, the tanks and tank bays were primed and all the rubber pieces – hoses and the pieces under the tank upon which they rest, were replaced. There should be no need to open up the tank bays in the foreseeable future.

Ten weeks later, N37ZQ (new tail numbers – full size in anticipation of frequent border crossing) emerged look-ing much rejuvenated. The following are a list of parts suppliers for this part of the project. All suppliers were reliable and met my ex-pectations. Cee Bailey – Windows (all five came as a package) Steene Aviation – fiberglass cuffs, caps, wing tips & fairings Vantage / Plane Plastics – Various cabin lining Texas Aeroplastics – Various cabin lining Broadie’s Aircraft - Lower instrument panel Hooker Harness – Four-point seat belt and shoulder harness PPG Paint – Base and trim paint SchemeDesigners.com – Paint design Milspec Products – Stainless cowl fasteners Upper Valley Aviation – Exterior paint and interior upholstery When showing people the result of this phase of the project their comments were often, “Now you have a nearly new plane!” Indeed, the plane looked quite nice, but I now it was time to address the engine. I realize the

(Continued on page 10)

hours of using templates and colored pencils, none to good effect, I called Craig at Scheme Designers, who took my ideas and created what I finally thought would be a layout worthy of the airplane. UVA’s interior shop went to work on carpet and upholstery while I ordered up new interior panels to replace those which were be-yond help, which were about half the pieces. All were painted a medium beige, thus freshening up what had become a collection of various colors. The plane had

come with a child seat, which I immediately removed so as to be able to accommodate a disassembled bicycle. Thus new panels in the “cargo bay” replaced those which had been cut for the seat hardware. We also de-cided to paint the panel a more modern black, which ne-cessitated removing the beige upper panels (easy) and replacing the pink lower panel with switches, fuses and gauges (time consuming and expensive).

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Let the fun begin! Stripped of paint

Fuel tank bay

Base Coat

Final Paint Scheme

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

compression models (9.7:1 vs. 8.5:1) are still rated at 2000 hours, according to Lycoming. Prior to removing the engine, I thought it would be good to have new cylinder kits in hand should there be any delay. It was a good thing as in the Fall of 2009, Lycoming O-235 L2C cylinders were unavailable due to both a slow down at the factory and a change in manufacturing. I had contacted several engine shops to see about having new cylinders ported along with spe-cial valve seat and guide work. All advised they could do the work if I could find the cylinders. Since I owned the Sparrowhawk 125 HP STC mod, which came with the plane, I also wanted to include the high compression pistons in the overhaul. After several months of stewing about the lack of cylinder availability, I received a call from LyCon, one of the engine shops to whom I had inquired, saying they had a complete set of new Lycom-ing cylinders, ported, valves improved (they estimate 3-4 HP gain per cylinder) and with high compression pis-tons (part LW-18725) which a customer was not able to pay for, and would I like them? They arrived a few days later and a week after that, the engine was in the shop. I decided to address everything necessary firewall-forward to assure safety and reliability. Avian was very helpful procuring all the necessary parts as my goal was to have the engine package ready to reinstall with no major impediments. This included new accessories, hoses, wiring and replacing the stock carburetor with one with an accelerator pump. I was often miffed at having to use the primer for nearly every start. The en-gine mount and battery box were powder coated and I cleaned up the stainless firewall to a reasonably nice shine, knowing that there are folks who would be happy with nothing less than a mirror finish. The Sensenich 72CK propeller was sent out for its pre-2000 hour over-haul and re-pitched to the to the 54-inch “cruise” set-ting.

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N37ZQ Restoration (Continued from page 9)

engine should have been first, but I was hoping it could wait another year. While compression was good and oil consumption was reasonable, the oil analysis was show-ing signs of excessive wear with high iron content. I was also seeing excessive amounts of blow by from the engine breather, noted both on the belly and the gooey puddles after engine shut down. Even more troubling, after flying several other mostly stock 152s, I realized there were more than a few sleeping ponies under the cowling. Not only was there little apparent horsepower gain from the Sparrowhawk mod, it felt much sleepier than even a stock 152. When I had purchased the plane, there was some confusion on my part about the 2000 vs. 2400 hour TBO. Hoping the latter to be correct, I’d as-sumed there was plenty of life remaining in the O-235. What I was learning, however, was that relatively infre-quent use over a period of nearly 30 years spelled trou-ble. After several months of consideration, I decided it was time to solve the mystery. Working under the supervision of an A&P / IA friend, I removed the engine, lowered it into the back of my car, and delivered it to Avian Aviation near Port Orchard, WA (KPWT) for an overhaul. Avian had a good reputa-tion, was nearby, and promised a four-week turnaround. Within hours after delivery, I had the news I had antici-pated: The camshaft was nearly flat. I was told the en-gine might have been producing only 60% of rated HP. Something I was not aware of prior to this was the cam has only six lobes. Each exhaust valve has its own lobe but the four intakes share two lobes each, and these two

were nearly worn round. All the lifters were heavily pitted as were the accessory gears and several crank shaft jour-nals. I now had a first hand look at how moisture and in-activity can conspire to pre-maturely wear out an airplane motor. I don’t believe the previous owner had misrepre-sented the engine condition, as the only symptom was low power. I only became suspi-cious after flying several other 152s.

In regards to the two TBO numbers, it’s now my under-standing that the stock O-235 L2C is rated at 2000 hours while overhauled models using selected parts has been increased to 2400 hours. Lycoming also recom-mends 12 years of use or the hourly value. The high

Worn Camshaft

Engine after overhaul.

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

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Just over four weeks later the engine was reinstalled and operational. Between the combination of overhaul, Ly-Con cylinder treatment and high compression pistons, the sleeping ponies had finally come alive. I’m not going to make any wild claims about performance, but takeoffs are much shorter, initial climb generally exceeds 1000 FPM and top IAS (with GPS confirmation) is around 125 KTS. The plane does have flap and aileron gap seals and a touch less drag without the nose wheel, but this is all a huge improvement from what had been a very anemic performer. The other nice feature is instead of having to fly around some of the local mountains, I’ve been able to fly over them and still see a modest climb at 14,000 feet.

My taildragger conversion known as the “Texas Taildrag-ger” STC (SA2846SW) was originally done by Custom Craft of Austin, TX. The STC is now held by Del Air of Por-terville, CA. There are two ver-sions of this taildragger set up for 150/152s, one having a taller stance with spring gear and the other a foot or so lower like this one, which uses the original landing gear.

The paint and interior are done and so is the mechanical work. The radios are decent and the plane is certified for IFR, but I plan to fly it strictly VFR. For now I think I will just enjoy some fun flying!

Here’s a list of suppliers for the engine part of the pro-ject. Again, I would recommend any of them. Avian Aviation – Overhaul LyCon Engines – Cylinder improvements Tempest / Volare - Carburetor (model 10-5220 with pump) Sky Tec – Starter (model 149-NL-EC) Plane Power – Alternator (model AL 24-F60) Rapco - Vacuum Pump Aerospace Welding - Muffler Pacific Oil Cooler – Oil cooler overhaul Bennett Powder Coating (360-383-9100) – painting Lord Mounts – motor mounts

New Leather Seats

Wednesday, September 2, 2009 in Rosedale, MI Cessna 150F, N6446F 1 Uninjured The aircraft collided with trees and the terrain following a loss of control while taking off from a private airstrip. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane received sub-stantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The 85-year-old pilot reported that the airplane did not seem to have enough power to become airborne during the take-off. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway where it came to rest after contacting trees and scrub brush. The pilot had not flown during the past 3 years, nor had the airplane been flown in 3 years. The pilot did not hold a current medical certificate. The pilot's wife re-ported he suffered a fall 3 years ago and that his physi-cal and mental capabilities were such that he should not have been trying to fly the airplane. Wednesday, September 9, 2009 in Coolidge, AZ Cessna 152, N94741 1 Fatality, 1 Serious Injury, 2 Uninjured On September 9, 2009, about 9:45 am, a Cessna 152, N94741, and a Piper Cherokee, N994T, collided about 4,500 feet MSL, about one-half mile east of Coolidge, Arizona. Neither the flight instructor nor his dual student in the Cherokee were injured, but one of the private pi-lots in the Cessna 152 received serious injuries, and the second private pilot was killed. The Cessna 152, which was operated by Air Safety Flight Academy (ASFA), was destroyed, and the Cherokee, which was operated by Oxford Airline Training Center, sustained substantial damage. At the time of the accident, the Cherokee was estab-lished in the holding pattern associated with the GPS ap-proach to runway 23 at Casa Grande Airport, and the Cessna 152 was in an en route climb after departing Coolidge Municipal Airport. The Cessna 152 flight origi-nated at Glendale Municipal airport about 0700. The Cherokee flight originated at Goodyear Airport, at 0830. Both airplanes were in VFR conditions. According to the pilots in the Cherokee, after departing Goodyear Airport, they proceeded to the Stanfield VOR, where the dual

(Continued on page 12)

September / October 2009 Accidents

Important: The Cessna 150-152 club publishes these accident reports in the hope that readers will consider the role that each pilot’s decisions played in the outcome and learn from the experiences of others. These reports are solely based on preliminary NTSB reports which may contain errors. They have been edited for clarity. They are not intended to judge or reach any definitive conclusion about the ability or capacity of any person, aircraft, or accessory. September/October 2009 Statistics: 6 Airplanes, 10 Persons, 4 Uninjured, 1 Minor Injury, 2 Serious Injuries, 3 Fatalities.

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

12

to the right of the lead airplane with 100 feet of separa-tion. The formation members were communicating on Pineville Municipal Airport's UNICOM frequency. The for-mation utilized the radio to transmit formation intention and position of the wingman. The formation conducted a low pass at 2L0 approximately 200 feet above ground level and offset from the runway about 400 feet. During the climb out to enter the downwind pattern, lead radioed his intention to turn right. The wingman was concerned about his relative position to lead and radioed that lead should not turn too hard to the right. The wingman ob-served the lead airplane bank approximately 45 degrees to the right. The wingman pitched nose up and rolled quickly to the right in an attempt to separate from lead. The wingman reported feeling the collision and seeing flashes of blue.

A local photographer captured one image prior to the collision and several im-

ages which captured the post-collision events. The first image that captured the post-collision events showed the lead airplane inverted, the right wing buckling towards the fu-selage and the empen-nage separated from the aft baggage bulkhead. In addition, lead's separated vertical fin and various debris is suspended in air near the lead airplane. In this photo the wingman’s airplane appears to be in a right bank in excess of 90 degrees.

An examination of the wreckage sites was conducted by the NTSB, FAA, and a technical representative from Cessna Aircraft. The lead's airplane was blue and white and the wingman's airplane was black and white. The lead airplane’s vertical fin was found 214 feet from lead’s main wreckage. Black discoloration was present on the upper half of the vertical fin’s right side. The lead air-plane’s wreckage site was surrounded by several mature trees. Ground and impact scars were consistent with the airplane impacting with very little forward velocity. The right wing was folded underneath itself at the flap-aileron junction. Near this fold, and located on the leading edge, were three propeller blade strikes with one of the strikes on the wing spar. The wingman’s wreckage was located in a heavily wooded area about 180 feet from the lead airplane's wreckage. Damage to tree was consistent with the airplane impacting the trees in a near 45 degrees an-gle and rotating 60 degrees clock-wise before coming to rest in a nose-low attitude. Blue paint was discovered on the left wing strut, underneath the left wing, on the left wing’s leading edge, and on the non-chambered side of a propeller blade. Several gouges and chord-wise scratches were found on both propeller blades.

Sep/Oct 2009 Accidents (Continued from page 11) student practiced holding before shooting two ILS ap-proaches to Runway 5 at Casa Grande. After the second ILS approach, the student executed a touch-and-go landing, and then climbed to the east to AYZUT, which is the initial approach fix GPS approach to runway 23 at Casa Grande. After making the course reversal in the one-minute holding pattern at AYZUT, and rolling out wings level inbound at 4,500 MSL, the occupants of the Cherokee felt the impact with the other airplane. Neither occupant of the Cherokee saw the other airplane prior to the collision. Although personnel at ASFA stated the time-building flight of the pilots in the Cessna 152 was supposed to go direct from Glendale to Marana, Arizona, and back to Glendale, recorded radar data indicates that the Cessna 152 had departed Runway 5 at Coolidge Mu-nicipal Airport, about 0937. It then entered an en route climb to the west. The Cessna 152 was still in that climb when the collision took place. Tuesday, September 15, 2009 in Merritt Island, FL Cessna 152, N93772 1 Uninjured The student pilot stated that he was conducting his sec-ond solo flight, performing full stop landings and taxiing back. After his third landing, he applied both brakes to slow the airplane. The airplane veered off the left side of the runway, resulting in substantial damage to both wings. The student pilot later stated that the brakes did not work properly. Post accident examination of the brake system by an A&P mechanic with oversight from an FAA inspector found the brake system to be fully functional. All components of the brake system were within operational limits, and there was no evidence of any malfunction or failure prior to the accident. The NTSB determined the probable cause of this accident was the student pilots failure to maintain directional con-trol after landing. Saturday, October 10, 2009 in Alexandria, LA Cessna 150F, N8642S Cessna 150F, N8072F 2 Fatalities, 1 Serious Injury, 1 Minor Injury On October 10, 2009, approximately 2:30 pm, two Cessna 150Fs, N8642S and N8072F, were substantially damaged following an in-flight collision near Alexandria, Louisiana. The pilot flying N8642S, hereafter referred to as "lead", and the passenger on board were killed. The pilot flying N8072F, hereafter referred to as "the wing-man," sustained minor injuries and the passenger on board was seriously injured. Conditions were VFR. Both airplanes departed Esler Airport (ESF), Alexandria, Lou-isiana at an unknown time as a two-ship formation with the intended destination of Pineville Municipal Airport (2L0), Alexandria, Louisiana. According to statements provided by the pilot of N8072F, the formation intended to perform a low-pass at 2L0 followed by a full stop land-ing. N8642S led the formation and N8072F assumed the number two position in the formation, which was aft and

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

13

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

nize that you already paid, and will confirm by asking you if you want to download them again. You WILL NOT get charged a second time. OK, now for this months favorite Apps. Notams by Roeland van der Spek. $5.99 This handy

App does just one thing, but it does it simply and well. You enter in the departure airport, the intended desti-nation, and if you wish an alternate destination, and all the Notams within 20 nm of your route are found and displayed on a map. I can-not think of a easier or handier way

to make sure you know of any Notams you might en-counter. Weatherbug - Free App! This App is a wonderful com-

pliment to the AeroWeather App we recommended in iFly #1. While AeroWeather gives you the current airport conditions, Weatherbug gives you forecasts and radar im-ages, and conditions in the geo-graphical area, giving you a larger picture of what’s happening, and

what may happen in the near future. This free version in-cludes some advertising, which we do not mind, but if you do, get Weatherbug Elite instead for just 99 cents. The Elite version contains no advertising and has a cou-ple of other enhancements, such as the ability to scroll around the map and randomly choose a new location. Spin-A-Wind by Len Robinson. 99 cents. This is an-

other single function useful App. If you’re like me, you sometimes have a little trouble doing the mental math when it comes time to pick a runway at a multi runway un tow-ered airport. You simply enter the wind direction and speed, and choose an available runway. Spin-

A-Wind shows graphically where the wind will be com-ing from in relation to that runway, and gives you a brief description like this: “12 kts Headwind, 7 kts Left Cross-wind” very handy and no more embarrassing wrong run-way choices! SkyCharts by Heikki Julkunen. $9.99.

This is the most expensive iPhone App I have purchased so far, and it is well worth the money. First, you can view any current sectional or IFR chart you wish, and you can choose to download the charts you

(Continued on page 14)

Things in the iPhone world are literally moving so fast that this printed bimonthly column is typically obsolete by the time you read it. The most immediate earth shak-ing development is that Apple will soon make available a tablet computer called the iPad. The iPad is functionally an iPhone (it runs the same Apps, and is physically the same design, only 3 times larger!) This should address one of the insurmountable weaknesses of the iphone, which is, in order to fit in your pocket, the screen can’t be any physically larger than it is. Time will tell how useful the iPad is for pilots, we will certainly address that in the months ahead. In the mean-time, there are a whole slew of really useful new Apps for the iphone, we’ll look at several of our favorites in a minute. First though, I’d like to address a relatively mundane but important issue about installing Apps on your iPhone. There are only two ways to install an App onto an iPhone. The first is to download the App onto a computer via the iTunes store, and then sync your phone to that computer via a USB cable. The second is to download the desired App from the iTunes store directly onto your iPhone. While these two methods seem quite similar, there are some very important differences. If you do not understand these differences you may be in for some frustration. To discourage software piracy, Apple only allows the iPhone to sync with one individual computer at a time. This can be either a PC or a Mac, but the key factor is, only ONE individual computer. If for example, if you in-stall an App on your iPhone by syncing with your home computer, and then later on a trip you download another App onto your laptop and sync the iPhone to that, that App you installed at home will be erased! When you get home, if you sync with the home computer to reinstall it, the App from the laptop download will be erased. Obvi-ously, this can end up in considerable frustration. While there are a couple of workarounds for this prob-lem, the easiest solution is to avoid installing Apps by syncing, and only install them by downloading them from the iTunes store directly onto the iPhone. Fortunately, if you have already experienced the disap-pearing Apps problem I just described, you can resolve it by simply downloading the Apps you had before directly onto the iPhone. If the Apps you had previously were purchased Apps, you must go through the steps of pur-chasing them again, but don’t worry, iTunes will recog-

iFly It’s A Brave New World

Parts: Lycoming O-235-N2C, removed 10-15-2009 from N94790 for a Sparrowhawk engine swap, TT 6617, SMOH 2132 (TBO 2400). This engine is a strong running engine and comes with everything: carb, mags, baffling, exhaust, oil cooler, starter, alternator, and I have all logs. $4,000. Located in Alaska, will ship any-where in U.S. at buyer's expense. A Sparrowhawk prop and spinner is also available for $1,000. Terry Dickin-son bearbait@cessna150152.com (Club Member)

Parts: Cessna 150 horizontal stabilizer assembly P/N 0432001-59. Condition, 9 out of 10, one small dent. Stripped ready for paint. P/N 0432004-1 attachment bracket, nut plates look OK Robert (530) 885-0187 $200.00

Misc: The Activator 282 charger made by Power Prod-ucts is designed to mate directly with all 24 volt batter-ies which have the standard aviation quick-disconnect receptacle. Can be seen in Aircraft Spruce's Catalog. The 282 will provide a full charge, completely auto-matic, then revert to a float (also called maintenance charge). An accessible selector allows use with either Nickel Cadmium, Sealed Lead Acid, or Vented Lead Acid batteries. Charge Method is optimum for battery performance and safety, and meets all battery manu-facturers' charging requirements. $600.00 each - Qty. 3 to sell (614) 864-0170 (Club Member)

For Sale: California 1974-150L 4,063TT 1,337SMOH Annual due by Oct. 2010. Narco MK 12D. Garmin 150XL GPS. Clean interior. Mogas & spin-on oil filter. New battery. Many other extras Robert Morgan (530) 885-0187 feelingroovy67@hotmail.com $22,000 cash please/ no trades

For Sale: Michigan 1976-150M 4,120 approxTT 335 approxSMOH Panel mounted (hard wired) Garmin 496 with weather, Garmin SL40 w/thumb mounted PTT, King KT76 transponder, Flightcom 403 intercom. All logs, no damage, AD's, extensive documentation and invoices. Painted 2005 at a cost of over $10k and inte-rior parts replaced. Lived most of its life in Ohio. I'm the 5th owner and it has NOT been a primary trainer. Since 2007: rebuilt alternator, new B&C starter, Tanis heater, Whelen Flash power supplies, Whelen LED beacon, tank straps, strobes, position lights, and nose gear bolts. Interior redone and in excellent condition! Since 2004, Rudder cap/wingtips, ELReno oil filter STC, Belly drain STC Rudder cap/wingtips. Vref $33,500. Frank Presti (737) 564-9035 fjpresti@charter.net $32,000 (Club Member)

For Sale: Utah 1964-150D 3,419.6TT 716.2SMOH Fresh annual 8/2009. Engine: Continental O-200-A48 SN – 250411. TSTOH: 141.8 (574.4) New ECI Titan Cylinder complete assemblies (retimed to 28) F&M

14

Classifieds

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

iFly (Continued from page 13)

use most often, so they can be viewed whether or not you have WiFi or cell phone service available. But if that were not enough, the charts are georeferenced to the iPhone’s internal GPS, so you can see where you are on the chart! And get this, the program even has a basic flight planner built in, showing your route on the chart, anticipated fuel consumption etc. The SkyCharts GPS functions very much like a typical aviation GPS, your Ground Speed, Distance, Track, and Estimated time of arrival are displayed. Of course you can scroll and zoom around the charts using the standard iPhone methods. In addition, SkyCharts displays TFR’s on the chart, simply tap for details. Likewise tap an airport for A/FDs. It does a whole bunch of other stuff I haven’t had time to try yet, including a location tracker so that friends and family can track your progress on the internet. Does this kind of functionality for $10 blow your mind, like it does mine? I can hardly wait to see this App on the 10 inch iPad screen. Nav Clock by Split Rail Inc. $1.99. This is another sin-

gle function App. It displays the current time in both Local and Zulu formats, gives you the altitude and GPS coordinates of your current location, the GPS accuracy in feet, current temp in Fahrenheit and Cel-sius, dew point wind speed & di-rection, visibility, and both barome-

ter and barometric trend. All this on a single screen, noth-ing to do or set. In other words, it is an AWOS station you hold in your hand. For two bucks. Amazing. My Radar by Aviation Data Systems Inc. Free App!

I know I already endorsed a weather App with radar earlier in the this article, but this one is different, more like what you would see on XM weather. These weather charts are animated. Like other free apps this one has some advertising, but you can buy the “Pro” version with-

out advertising for just $1.99 if the ads bother you. My Radar is simple and single purpose, you view the radar over either a terrain map that looks like a satellite photo, or a map that looks like an Atlas. You can control how fast the animation moves. That’s it. Works great. Next issue we’ll review some extremely nifty Apps for finding your way around an unfamiliar town on the ground, and to help you choose good food, lodging, local events and sites worth checking out. We promise you’ll be impressed by how good these things work. Until then, Stay Fully Charged!

* prices include shipping in the USA. For all other countries email sales@cessna150152.com or see club online store for rates.

See color photos of these and additional C150-152 items at www.cessna150-152.com

15

For Personalized Items: include a note with your order for individual assistance email sales@cessna150-152.com Check or Money Order Enclosed Visa / MasterCard / Discover / American Express Account #___________________________Exp ________ Signature _______________________________________ Name __________________________________________ Phone#_____________________ (required for Credit Cards) Billing Address___________________________________ _________________________________________ Photocopy and fax or mail this form with Payment to: Cessna 150-152 Club P.O. Box 1917 Atascadero, CA 93423-1917 (805) 461-1035 fax or see store at www.cessna150-152.com

Order Total:

● Clinton Fly-In DVD’s ● UPA Stuff ●

Description Quan Price ea Subtotal

Clinton 2009 Fly-In DVD 50th Anniversary Celebration

$19.95*

Blue Sky Door Latch Kit (Pair) $45.95*

Cig-Pen Pen& Flashlight Holder $25.95*

Pilot Light Pro (Circle Desired Color) Red, Green, Blue

$130.95*

Map Light Pro $80.95*

Luggage Scale with tape measure $12.95*

LED Finger Light, (Batteries Included) $6.55*

Book: Owning Buying or Flying the Cessna 150/152 By Mike Arman

$31.90*

MT101 STC Belly Drain For 1966-1985 C150-152’s

$52.45*

MT101-1 STC Belly Drain For 1959 - 1965 C150’s

$52.45*

Fuel Dipstik for C150 with 13 gal tanks Free Personalization. Available for Liters

$32.00*

Fuel Dipstik for C150 with 19 gal tanks Free Personalization. Available for Liters

$32.00*

Fuel Dipstik for C152 with 13 gal tanks Free Personalization. Available for Liters

$32.00*

Fuel Dipstik for C152 with 19 gal tanks Free Personalization. Available for Liters

$32.00*

spin-on oil filter conversion. Carburetor rebuilt @ 536.8 – all new advisories complied with. Mags 500 hour service and retiming @ 655.2. Aerobat style breather. Chrome rocker covers. Prop: McCauley DCM6946/1A101 TPOH: 91.4 (624.8) - Static RPM 2525 - Cruise RPM 2750. All Ads complied with. Auto fuel STC – Standard 13 gallon tanks. Complete Corro-sion X treatment @ 601.3. Newer tires and tubes. New Gill G25 battery. Cowling inserts with solar battery charger. Interior: new 12/99 - 7/10. Red/grey cloth seats, door panels, headliner, hat rack (9/10). AFRC Vi-sors. Vernier mixture cable. Vernier throttle cable. Equipment List: Metal panel). ICOM ICA-200 VHF Transceiver. Narco AT150 Transponder. Narco AR850 Altitude encoder. IIMorrow GX55 Panel GPS. Sigtronics SPA400 ICS. EDO 5000B-9 Gyro Horizon. Aeritalia 31101C DG. Narco 110 VOR. EBC 102A ELT. Davtron HOBBS. Airframe: Paint 5/93 - Dupont Chromaguard - Air Force replica theme - 7.5/10. Good glass. Micro VGs wings and vertical stabilizer. Met-Co-Aire Wingtips. New wing fuel drains. Brackett air filter conversion. Belly drain conversion. New style vented gas caps. Skybolt cowl fastener conversion. Custom forced air vents. Sky-catch door catches. Stephen Haggerty (435) 586-1446 cctve@qwestoffice.net $23,900 (Club Member)

For Sale: Wyoming 1960-150 4,174.9TT 490.8SMOH Figures as of 10 March 2009. Last Annual May 2008 2 Cylinders 78/80 and 2 Cylinders 77/80. Spin On Oil Fil-ter; M-20 Air Oil Separator; New (Late 1990's) Tinted Grey Windshield New Side Windows; New Rear "D" Windows; Sky Catch Door Holders; Micro Dynamics Vortex Generators; Goodyear Custom Flite III Tires (Nose Wheel Has 6 Landings); New Upholstery, Seats Rebuilt From Ground Up, Carpet, Door Panels, Bag-gage Compartment, Headliner, and Instrument Cowl Covered With FAA Approved Material; Whelen Comet Flash Strobes Belly and Fuselage Top; Whelen Comet Flash Strobes Wingtip and Tail; Pulsar Intermittent Rec-ognition Light, Using The Wing Taxi Light; MX 300V Nav Com; King KY-97A Transceiver; Narco Trans-ponder & AT-50 Encoder; Push To Talk On Pilot's Yoke; Original Carbon Mic Replaced With A Dynamic One; Overhead Speaker (Works Fine); Sigtronics 2 Place In-tercom; Narco ELT 10; JPI FS 450 Fuel Scanner; STC'd Belly Drain; Metco Aire High Performance Wing Tips. New Factory Engine Inspection Plate; (Engine Timed At 28 degrees in Lieu of 24 Degrees on Previous AD); Air Filter 500 Hours AD Complied With About 10 Hours Ago; Halon Fire Extinguisher; Winterization Kit; Rebuilt Mufflers & Exhaust System Changed To Eliminate AD 100 Hour System Inspection; Precision Air Compass EAA Auto Gas STC, Single Point EGT & CHT Gauges, Aero Fabricators Shoulder Harnesses and Seatbelts, Climb Prop, Tinted Sun Visors. Plane was Featured by the Cessna 150-152 Club as November 2002 Airplane Of The Month. Gordon Ellis (307) 632-7791 home (307) 421-1294 cell $22,000 Firm (Club Member)

Cessna 150-152 Pilot - January/February 2010

A Blast From The Past 1981*

Since its introduction more than 45 million hours have been recorded in this outstanding aircraft. With benefit of that experience, we have continued to refine the 152, incorporating refinements and technological changes that contribute to making it the best, lowest priced trainer available.

What we’ve learned about learning: 1. Students learn better when they’re comfortable. The 152’s contoured, well padded seats offer firm body support and can be comfort adjusted for long hours in the sky. Seats are available in a variety of colors in easy-to clean vinyl or soft Corona fabric. And you can order them with vertical adjustment as an option.

2. The climate must be right for learning. The 152’s efficient heating and ventilation systems keep you cool in the summer and comfortable warm in the winter. The high wing gives the 152 360° visibility and excellent downward sighting for close to the ground maneuvering. In addition, it shields the cabin from blinding light and heat as well. Both side windows open to provide cross ventilation, a 152 exclusive. Standard dual defrosting for the windshield provides safe visibility for pilot and instructor. The 152 provides a storage pouch on the side wall of the rear cabin to hold training manuals, teaching aids or refreshments. Readily accessible but not in the way. And the floor ridge behind the front seats keeps loose items from rolling under your feet while you’re flying the airplane.

3. Learning aids need to be handy. But out of the way so they

won’t interfere with the safe operation the aircraft. Optionally available this year is an improved approach plate holder to hold approach plates, checklists or other reference materials more securely.

4. A good teacher is forgiving. Students make mistakes. But the 152 is the most forgiving training aircraft in the world when they do. Its horizontal stabilizer is positioned in the prop slipstream throughout all phases of flight for excellent handling characteristics even at low speeds, where most training maneuvers take place. Immediate pitch control can be established for outstanding short field performance including Takeoffs from rough fields. During landings the 152’s steerable nosewheel is always aligned with the center line of the airplane regardless of rudder position. The aircraft is aerodynamically balanced to provide the student the opportunity to learn all of the required flight maneuvers including unusual attitudes and spins with conventional techniques

5. More efficient training benefits everyone. Other aircraft may have been designed around a different philosophy, but the 152 was designed to train the student as easily as possible. Students who have learned to fly in a 152 will be trained to fly in fewer hours for less money. The flight school, using a 152, has a tremendous selling advantage over their competition. More efficient training means everyone profits - the student and the flight school.

*A page from the 1981 C152 sales brochure, the same year that the Cessna 150-152 Club was founded. There are some interesting marketing claims here, most aimed at the Piper Tomahawk, such as pointing out that the C152 “horizontal stabilizer is positioned in the prop slipstream” and that the high wing shields the cabin from “blinding light and heat.” Unquestionably asserted is “Students who have learned to fly in a 152 will be trained to fly in fewer hours.” So There.

Welcome to the class of ‘81