CFI scared of 152s.

[81Horse]

Hmm. Are you planning to move on to flying freight? 'Cause if you think those 152s have been rid hard and put up wet, well ...

 

[Airway]

RP,

I couldn't agree more. Compared to a 150/152, a 172 handles like a truck with front end problems.

I wouldn't worry about the O-235 in the 152, either. It has a TBO of 2400 hours, a fair bit above the O-320 in most 172s. The dang things will run almost forever, and burn less gas to boot.

The 150/152's biggest problem is that it was designed in an era when not everyone was a complete LARD A$$.

Sounds like this kid did his training at a pilot mill, and is afraid of anything outside his little box. I hate to see him confronted with anything REALLY "exotic", like a Cub, Maule, or goodness sakes, a 177.

And whats with the complaining? Back in the day, you took the job, learned something about the plane, and did the work without bitching to everyone. Grow up already.

Nu

What's a pilot mill? I got my Private, Instrument, and Comm in Cessnas and Pipers about as old as you sound. Took me 6 years to get to CFI. I'm no 30 day wonder. But I'm not here to defend myself, just trying to get some other people's views. Born and raised in a rusty 172 and Cherokee. Great planes. Two of my favorites. 152 obviously is not.

 

[Airway]

Hmm. Are you planning to move on to flying freight? 'Cause if you think those 152s have been rid hard and put up wet, well ...

Funny thing, I would like to fly freight, granted the airplanes don't fly like ours. I'm starting to wonder if it's maybe just our FBO's 152s that never work. Starting problems, radios always fail, creaky everything. I don't know.

 

[Way2Broke]

The school I instructed at had 5 172s, and 1 152 in the single engine department. I always sold the 172 to the student as just as economical because it went faster, thus they would get their CC's done faster and get back and forth from the practice area quicker. Also, most people at the FBO I taught at rented our planes after they got their rating. So, I also used it as a selling point that if you train in the 172, then after you get your rating you would not need to spend the money on the insurance required check out. It is already taken care of when you solo in the 172. (At least it was where I taught) It was not that I was scared of the 152, god knows I loved to do spin endorsements in the 152, it was mostly that they are so uncomfortable to fly in with a student, and on a hot summer day the performance with the 110 hp engine flat out stinks!

 

[81Horse]

... I'm starting to wonder if it's maybe just our FBO's 152s that never work. Starting problems, radios always fail, creaky everything. I don't know.

Charlie Brown's Christmas Tree Syndrome. Nobody loves them.

 

[NW_Pilot]

I'm a little anxious about flying 152s, and let's not b.s. each other, pretty much every 152 out there is a pile of sh*t. They're old, they're often not well maintained, and you're not going to make it out alive if you bounce too hard.

As a CFI, I've never been afraid of flying anything that's well maintained. I just have trouble getting into the 152s. I feel unsafe. There is nothing I can do about that. I know the risks of flying, and I know what me and the airplane are capable of. But when I close the cardboard door of that thing, I feel unprotected and exposed. The lawnmower engine doesn't help, either.

Anyways, any way to quell these fears or am I the only one on here that feels this way.

I like my 150!!!! It's not been abused in any way.

 

[JumpCaptain]

Anyways, any way to quell these fears or am I the only one on here that feels this way.

I was a little nervous in them when I was just starting out. Then an instructor/friend of mine took me up and we did some crazy a$$ spins for two hours. By the time we were done, nothing could bother me.

My advise: Get another instructor to go up with you and play with it till it doesn't bother you anymore.

Now, I'd have to say the 150/152 is probably my favorite GA plane for "fun flying".

Good luck and have fun!

 

[Nindiri]

How many turns do you let it go?

I liked the Skipper better.

All kidding aside, I don't really like to spin the Tomahawk either. I haven't flown one in a long time, but when I did I usually limited it to only 1 or 2 turns.

I like the Skipper too. My only complaint, other than the wimpy name, was that it was a little underpowered. It was a good trainer, though.

 

[NuGuy]

What's a pilot mill? I got my Private, Instrument, and Comm in Cessnas and Pipers about as old as you sound. Took me 6 years to get to CFI. I'm no 30 day wonder. But I'm not here to defend myself, just trying to get some other people's views. Born and raised in a rusty 172 and Cherokee. Great planes. Two of my favorites. 152 obviously is not.

Heyas,

Look, I can only tell you about my experiences with the 150/152s. Your's are apparently different. Properly maintained, I prefer primary training in it as opposed to a larger aircraft. Then again, I'm not that tall or large. If I had a student that was obese, that obviously changes the picture. But there are good and bad examples of each breed at almost every airport.

First and foremost, if you feel that the maintentence and/or condition of the 152 is not up to snuff, then don't fly it. Heck, if you don't want to fly it because you are uncomfortable for any reason, then don't fly it, especially with students (they pick right up on that stuff).

OTOH, If you think the condition of the airplane is unairworthy, and your issues are not fixed, then I suggest that you call 1-800-fly-safe, and leave an annonymous message to the FAA. They are bound by law to investigate all complaints. They will send a MX Inspector out and red tag the aircraft if the inspector feels that it is unairworthy.

But you need to ask yourself if the maintenence on the 152 is bad, what about the maintenence on the other aircraft? Is this a problem with just this aircraft or the entire fleet?

Nu

 

[Kream926]

Sure, they've been flying forever, which is one reason they can be considered safe. But that's more reason for me to worry. It's just a matter of time till an "o-ring" or whatever stuff that always fails in those accident reports happens to me.
.

if thats the way you look at whats to say that that wont happen to a 172, mooney, baron bonanza, cirrus. theres an inherant risk in flying and thats one of the reasons why i like it. where i work we have a na arrow and a seminole that constantly go down for maintenance but get repaired. the arrow left main light would constantly flicker on and off and i did have to go a fly by to "confirm that the gear was down. the seminole's left engine doesnt like to air re-start unless (by the book) you are indicating 120 so i never shut that one down (plus hobbs runs off the left). do i still fly em? sure i do. thats my job, the boss expects me to plus the student is paying alot of money to learn how to fly em.

in my short proffesional (believe it or not a cfi is a proffesional) flying career ive had an alternator faluir, and engine faliur and i have landed NORDO.
and im still flying.

i prefer 52's honestly. 95% of my time is in one

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Got my private in C-152/150 (I prefer the 150 with the continental)
They saved me $20/hr back in the day. There's a piston swap that
get's an extra 20hp out of her, and then it's a wonderful flight.
Even better solo (or with a hot woman)

C-150/152 $39/hour wet (back then). No more dangerous than a 172.

Someone put this guy in a Pa-28-161 so he doesn't need to risk having
to being a pilot. (if you can think of anything more docile, feel free to
update me)

CE

 

[Airway]

Heyas,

Look, I can only tell you about my experiences with the 150/152s. Your's are apparently different. Properly maintained, I prefer primary training in it as opposed to a larger aircraft. Then again, I'm not that tall or large. If I had a student that was obese, that obviously changes the picture. But there are good and bad examples of each breed at almost every airport.

First and foremost, if you feel that the maintentence and/or condition of the 152 is not up to snuff, then don't fly it. Heck, if you don't want to fly it because you are uncomfortable for any reason, then don't fly it, especially with students (they pick right up on that stuff).

OTOH, If you think the condition of the airplane is unairworthy, and your issues are not fixed, then I suggest that you call 1-800-fly-safe, and leave an annonymous message to the FAA. They are bound by law to investigate all complaints. They will send a MX Inspector out and red tag the aircraft if the inspector feels that it is unairworthy.

But you need to ask yourself if the maintenence on the 152 is bad, what about the maintenence on the other aircraft? Is this a problem with just this aircraft or the entire fleet?

Nu

I suppose I am looking at the situation out of frustration with my own FBO's situation. They never fix the problems. Things will be constantly written up, I'll even be told its fixed or replaced, but I'm not stupid I know when I'm looking at the same f*cking CDI that hasn't worked for 2 years. Or the radios that are hit or miss. It's business, baby.. right?

Or maybe it's the number of times I've lost a newbie because half the time, the radios don't work or something fell off the damn airplane. The best? The spark plug that was pretty much completely gone because it should have been replaced ages ago.

I haven't had these problems in the other airplanes as much as with the 152s. Coupled with that, though, I really just am a little uneasy flying something so small. I just feel like I'm wearing wings and that the airplane is too easily manipulated by gentle air currents. It's just a feeling of vulnerability. Whatever the reason. There it is. But I don't show fear in the airplane. I'm ok when I get into the plane. It's when I get out and go home and think about it that I get uneasy.

But, I guess that's just part of the gig. Then there was the time in one of the new 172s I put the flaps up one notch on a go around with a student and the damn thing stuck on the motor and proceeded to take all the flaps out and I had to force the lever down again so we wouldn't hit the ground. Thankfully I was glancing at the indicator as the flaps were moving..of course I was. I've been writing that thing up for months.

Lest we forget the sqwawk that I caught that had been there for a few days. "Engine quits at Idle." Plane was still available to rent. Guess they were hoping no one would look?

Thanks for that number, btw.

And no this isn't a joke. And I should have rephrased. I'm not "scared." I'm more just uneasy. That's all.

 

[Cat Driver]

I really can't make up my mind if this thread is serious or if someone is just having some fun here.

Think about it.

CFI

Afraid of a Cessna 152.

Naw, it's someone making a joke.

Cat driver

 

[AeroBoy]

C-150/152s are about as docile an airplane as they come. If you want to be scared of anything, try landing a Cessna 177 Cardinal--it's the squirreliest airplane I've ever landed. You might as well not even make any control inputs on landing because it's going to just do whatever it wants. Now that's some scary sh1t...

 

[Kream926]

I suppose I am looking at the situation out of frustration with my own FBO's situation. They never fix the problems. Things will be constantly written up, I'll even be told its fixed or replaced, but I'm not stupid I know when I'm looking at the same f*cking CDI that hasn't worked for 2 years. Or the radios that are hit or miss. It's business, baby.. right?

do we work at the same place?

Coupled with that, though, I really just am a little uneasy flying something so small.

so whats your idea of a big plane? a 767? you remind me of that lady i sit next everytime i go home on an RJ and she tells me that shes scared of these "little ones". my usuall response is too contain my laughter and smirk and say me too.

I just feel like I'm wearing wings and that the airplane is too easily manipulated by gentle air currents. It's just a feeling of vulnerability. Whatever the reason. .

and a 172 or pa28 isnt "manipulated" by air currents? wearing wings? i dont know to many fighter jocks but the one i did have a convo with who flew an A10 told me thats the reason he loves it. you strap it on your back and go.
you need to quit your bitchin and accept the career that you have chosen. you need to change your tampon, use some vagisil or just get outta aviation of you're that uneasy. go get a jonny job at Mcdonalds, but dont forgett to tell them in advance that you cant work the grease fryer cause you feel "uneasy" of the hot grease.

 

[Airway]

do we work at the same place?



so whats your idea of a big plane? a 767? you remind me of that lady i sit next everytime i go home on an RJ and she tells me that shes scared of these "little ones". my usuall response is too contain my laughter and smirk and say me too.



and a 172 or pa28 isnt "manipulated" by air currents? wearing wings? i dont know to many fighter jocks but the one i did have a convo with who flew an A10 told me thats the reason he loves it. you strap it on your back and go.
you need to quit your bitchin and accept the career that you have chosen. you need to change your tampon, use some vagisil or just get outta aviation of you're that uneasy. go get a jonny job at Mcdonalds, but dont forgett to tell them in advance that you cant work the grease fryer cause you feel "uneasy" of the hot grease.

Wow, I wish I had balls like you do, big chief. I know several guys who've been in aviation for longer than you've been alive who refuse to step back into singles--any single. It's not because they don't have balls.

767 is a big plane, but that's not what I meant. 152 is a solid plane, I am sure, but in my experience, they look like deathtraps. Suffice to say, I will admit it may just be b/c of my experience. I'm not the only instructor there who refuses to fly certain aircraft on the fleet.

It's too bad I remind you of an old lady and you think I'm a wimp. Lucky for me, I don't give a sh*t what you think.

I'm not uneasy with aviation. Do you know how to read? Maybe the college grad. requirement is good. I said I was uneasy in, and only in, 152s. What is it with you. If you're that quick to jump the gun to insult someone and show everyone your huge cajones, you'd make a great captain.

 

[iflyabeech]

HAHA, Anyone else taken off with a seat belt hanging out the door!? Scared the crap out of me once when I was a student! (It bangs really loud with a little airspeed!)

 

[Kream926]

Willie is that you?

i dont have big balls, just a big....uhhh, brain....

where do you work i wish i can pick and choose which airplanes (or Aeroplanes in the JAR world) i will fly in the as a CFI

 

[CFIcare]

If you can find a 152 Aerobat...not a 150 because the 152 has a little more hp...you will have a blast. I have probably over a thousand hours as a CFI, specifically in the 152. I taught in all the usual stuff, but the 152 was the primary bread and butter airplane. Yeah the doors are flimsy and the feeling of not having a whole lot under you is different (especially if you are used to the 172, Pipers or a Cirrus which will really spoil you.) Give it a chance though. It is extremely manuverable, and more forgiving in a loss of power scenario than a Piper. I know the little Lycoming engine seems like a lawn mower, but those things are tough as nails. I never had any major issues in all my time in them. Maybe a fouled plug or a bad mag. We had some pretty tired looking 152s on the outside...as in paint, interior, avionics, but the engines were constantly inspected, repaired and overhauled when needed. I would think any school in compliance with FAA regs would be the same. The paint and cloth don't mean anything to me. I've ridden in aesthetically beautiful, mechanically horrifying airplanes quite a few times.

The biggest event we ever had with our 152s was when one took off headed across the bay and threw a rod. Oil blew all over thhe windshield, but darn if that engine didn't keep chugging on 3 jugs all the way across the water ( a good 6 miles or so) until finally it ran out of oil. It made it and landed just offshore. Everyone was fine.

As a CFI I found people were sometimes intimidated by the larger, heavier 172 and while skeptical about the 152's flimsiness in comparison, they seemed to gain confidence in controlling the aircraft faster in the 152. Landings came easier, and generally people soloed a few hours earlier, as least from what I saw.

Like I said before...if you can find an Aerobat 152 and someone who can instruct you in it....you'll love it. It doesn't have the horsepower of the fancy aerobatic airplanes, so you learn about maximizing potential energy with just enough juice to make it fun.

 

[Airway]

If you can find a 152 Aerobat...not a 150 because the 152 has a little more hp...you will have a blast. I have probably over a thousand hours as a CFI, specifically in the 152. I taught in all the usual stuff, but the 152 was the primary bread and butter airplane. Yeah the doors are flimsy and the feeling of not having a whole lot under you is different (especially if you are used to the 172, Pipers or a Cirrus which will really spoil you.) Give it a chance though. It is extremely manuverable, and more forgiving in a loss of power scenario than a Piper. I know the little Lycoming engine seems like a lawn mower, but those things are tough as nails. I never had any major issues in all my time in them. Maybe a fouled plug or a bad mag. We had some pretty tired looking 152s on the outside...as in paint, interior, avionics, but the engines were constantly inspected, repaired and overhauled when needed. I would think any school in compliance with FAA regs would be the same. The paint and cloth don't mean anything to me. I've ridden in aesthetically beautiful, mechanically horrifying airplanes quite a few times.

The biggest event we ever had with our 152s was when one took off headed across the bay and threw a rod. Oil blew all over thhe windshield, but darn if that engine didn't keep chugging on 3 jugs all the way across the water ( a good 6 miles or so) until finally it ran out of oil. It made it and landed just offshore. Everyone was fine.

As a CFI I found people were sometimes intimidated by the larger, heavier 172 and while skeptical about the 152's flimsiness in comparison, they seemed to gain confidence in controlling the aircraft faster in the 152. Landings came easier, and generally people soloed a few hours earlier, as least from what I saw.

Like I said before...if you can find an Aerobat 152 and someone who can instruct you in it....you'll love it. It doesn't have the horsepower of the fancy aerobatic airplanes, so you learn about maximizing potential energy with just enough juice to make it fun.

Yeah. I'm thinking I'll get used to it.