Cessna 150 / 150hp Bush conversion

[Steve]

Anyone fly or own a Cessna 150 with either the 150 or 180HP o-320 engine conversion? Im looking for some performance numbers. Is there a MTOW increase with some of these STC's?

 

[avbug]

Steve,

I don't have any numbers in front of me. However, I've flown the 150 hp conversion doing flight instruction, towing banners, and towing gliders in some fairly high density altitude conditions. The conversion performs quite well, though don't expect much in the way of speed. Extra horsepower translates to increased climb performance and the ability to haul a load...but you can keep increasing power all you want and will only see a minimal improvement in speed. In the case of a fixed pitch propeller, it doesn't matter how big the engine is if you're turning it at a given RPM anyway...you're not going to make the airplane go faster.

Ground performance such as takeoff and landing rolls were fairly comparable to other 150's or 152's, as I recall. It was a nice performance increase for work in the mountains where we were typically towing or pulling around 10,000 to 11,000' density altitude or higher.

I've been in and out of Telluride and seen a 150 pulling gliders there. The field elevation is about 9,500'...so it's doing okay to be taking off there and pulling a glider behind it.

 

[Steve]

Thanks Avbug,

I'm looking for something I can give primary instruction in which will work out of a 2050' turf strip with as much margin as possible (1350' field elevation in PA) . I was hoping the 150 or 180HP conversion would provide some noticeable decrease in takeoff roll vs. the 100hp stock.

Do you think its worth the extra $ to find a o-320 150 for this application? Any idea which model of the stock 150 would be best for a rough field? I know a tailwheel would be the best but that probably wont work for my use for other reasons. I've always been partial to the 150J,K and L.

 

[avbug]

Steve,

I don't know that a tailwheel would offer you any vast improvements. I've spent a lot of time kicking around rough fields in tricycle gear airplanes too, from soft mud to gravel to turf to county roads and fields.

I'm not sure how much the 150 hp would shorten the roll. Somewhat, I have no doubt, but how much...dunno. I thought the O-320 gave the airplane the performance it should have had in the first place.

That said, I think there's a lot to be said for the standard limited performance in a Cessna 150. A student who has to think ahead and can't depend on excess power to save a poor approach or departure, and who has to use airmanship to compensate for what the airplane lacks, tends to become a better and more resourceful pilot. Give a pilot ample power and performance, and it makes him lazy.

I'd say if you're wanting this particular STC, you'd probably be better off finding an airplane that's already got the work done and is flying under the STC, as opposed to doing it yourself. I think it would save you a considerable amount.

Have you looked into insurance costs for the operation you propose?

 

[great cornholio]

Its been over 5 years since I've flown the 150HP 150 and 95% of the time I was in it I was dragging a glider behind me. Anways I was a CFI back then and was towing gliders on the weekends in the 150HP 150. From what I remember the rare times that I got to takeoff without a glider in tow the plane seemed to have similar ground runs as the typical 152 that was at the flight school. Once it got in the air it was a different story...it would climb like a raped ape...1000 FPM +/- a few hundred fpm (I think like I said it was over 5 years ago and only took off without towing a glider a handful of times) Either way it climbed way better than any single I had flown (various other cessnas and pipers and a commander 112A) And even out climbed the Seneca that I taught in. When it came to speed I don't remember any difference in cruise..maybe a few kts , but nothing more...but actually getting the plane more than 2NM from the airport was even more rare then taking off without the glider in tow. When I would tow the glider the 150 climbed pretty much like most stock 152s at the flight school.

Sorry I don't have any real hard and fast numbers for you and I don't know if it increased the MTOW or useful weight or anything either. From what I remember about the thing I don't really see any real advantage to having the 150hp just to give instruction in...Unless you really wanted to tow something behind it I don't really see the use for the 150hp. Although I guess it could be a time saver just for the fact that you could climb up to altitude faster and start practicing stalls, etc in a shorter amount of time after takeoff...but thats pretty much the only advantage I can think of. Oh and in case you were wondering I towed gliders down in FL so field elev was 12ft, but it was usually hot so den alt was usually in the 2000 range so it should perform pretty closely in PA.

 

[MauleSkinner]

I'm looking for something I can give primary instruction in which will work out of a 2050' turf strip with as much margin as possible (1350' field elevation in PA) . I was hoping the 150 or 180HP conversion would provide some noticeable decrease in takeoff roll vs. the 100hp stock.

Do you think its worth the extra $ to find a o-320 150 for this application? Any idea which model of the stock 150 would be best for a rough field? I know a tailwheel would be the best but that probably wont work for my use for other reasons. I've always been partial to the 150J,K and L.

Since you didn't specify obstacles, if I were considering a modded 150 for this I'd probably look for aerodynamic mods rather than power mods.

I had a 150K with a Horton kit that actually did quite well with short distances, even with the O-200. As long as the strip is smooth, it seems like it shouldn't be a problem.

Fly safe!

David