Proud aircraft owner

jrh

jrh

Well-Known Member
It's been a few weeks since I officially signed the paperwork, but I'd finally like to announce I'm the proud owner of a plane.

I bought a 1946 Cessna 140. It's got:

40 hour SMOH Continental C85-12 (85 hp) engine
40 hour SNEW McCauley metal cruise prop
3700 TT on airframe
Cleveland wheels and brakes
Brand new Alaskan Bushwheel 3200 tailwheel
King KY97A comm radio
Mode C transponder (but I need to do a 24 month check on it)
Whelen beacon and strobes
Alternator STC (originally had a generator)
Metal wings STC (originally had fabric wings)
Autogas STC (but never actually burned autogas)
Recent interior renovation (3 or 4 years old)
Complete maintenance logs. And I mean *complete* like, every scrap of paper since it rolled off the factory line in 1946. The records fill three 3" binders.
No major damage history. Had a runway excursion/nose over/prop strike incident 4 years ago (hence the new engine and prop), but otherwise is completely clean.

I've flown it about 9 hours so far, getting instruction in it for both proficiency and my insurance requirements.

Honestly, it's more challenging to fly than I expected. I did my tailwheel endorsement in a 2003 Citabria with a 150 hp engine and thought this would be easier, but I've learned the less power available, the more finesse a tailwheel pilot needs to have.

I'm still having a blast though and can't wait to get really good at tailwheel flying. It flies beautifully...controls are tight and balanced, it doesn't have a "heavy" wing during stalls, etc. I plan to fly it for fun for 60 or 70 hours, then start giving tailwheel endorsements in it (maybe have some remote chance of getting some of my money back!).
 
Hey congrats!

Where are you located? I'd love to get a TW endorsement!
 
I used to do tailwheel checkouts and, believe it or not, rent out a C140. I thought it was docile compared to my Luscombe. Never had much trouble with guys landing it. Wheel landings are kinda tough. I would think flying off of grass it gonna make it way easier.

Burn car gas. The old Continental's weren't made for 100LL.
 
Ian J said:
Where are you located? I'd love to get a TW endorsement!
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At the moment I'm basing it in Quakertown, Pennsylvania (KUKT). I won't be here long though. I'm moving it to Walla Walla, Washington from the start of June through the end of August, then I'll have it in Lincoln, Nebraska from the start of September until who knows when...probably a couple years.

I won't be teaching in it right away though. I want to fly it around for a while until it feels perfect and I can put it where I want, when I want, any time, under any conditions. That's when I'll start teaching in it, and that might not be until I get to Lincoln.
 
DE727UPS said:
I used to do tailwheel checkouts and, believe it or not, rent out a C140. I thought it was docile compared to my Luscombe. Never had much trouble with guys landing it. Wheel landings are kinda tough. I would think flying off of grass it gonna make it way easier.
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Well, when I say tricky, I might be being hard on myself. My instructor and I both want me to be perfect at landings. I can get it down on the ground in one piece no problem, but sometimes I'm a little off centerline, or touch the mains a little before the tailwheel, or whatever. I also want to feel comfortable landing it in 15, 20, or 25 knot winds, and right now I'm not too sure of myself in anything more than 10 or 15 knots.

Haven't tried wheel landings yet, I'm interested to see what they're like.

Also, even though I instruct on grass, I'm basing the plane at a pavement-only airport.

DE727UPS said:
Burn car gas. The old Continental's weren't made for 100LL.
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I hear ya, but two things...

100LL is more available at most airports. I don't want to put a tank in the bed of my pickup to haul autogas around in.

Autogas without ethanol is darn near impossible to find in Nebraska.
 
jrh said:
I'm moving it to Walla Walla, Washington from the start of June through the end of August, then I'll have it in Lincoln, Nebraska from the start of September...
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Ooo! Who gets to ride with you on all of those X-C flights?
 
Van_Hoolio said:
Ooo! Who gets to ride with you on all of those X-C flights?
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Quakertown, PA -> Cedar Rapids, IA = My dad

Cedar Rapids, IA -> Walla Walla, WA = Solo

Walla Walla, WA -> Lincoln, NE = A pretty girl? Maybe? I dunno yet. Nice thought though.
 
jrh said:
Walla Walla, WA -> Lincoln, NE = A pretty girl? Maybe? I dunno yet. Nice thought though.
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SWEET PLANE. Flew one with my brother years ago Flint, MI - Salina, MO, with no radios.

Also, make sure you get the girl the right outfit to wear for the flight!
 
Looks a lot like De727UPS's old C-140 (the one in my avatar, actually).

Nice ship, congrats!

Curious, why is it spending the summer in Walla Walla before going to LNK?
 
The ethanol thing is rough. We're still ethanol free where I am but we're not looking forward to it. The problem is the carb on our 140 doesn't have a mixture knob...and it looks like yours doesn't either. I've seen c-140s with them, I hear its not too expensive to retrofit. So, if you're running straight 100LL, have an A+P lean out the carb and check the plugs often. I bet it's a fine balance between fouling up and burning out your cylinders on straight lead. We have fouling problems in the summer whenever we put any lead in it (for convenience).

Oh and pretty airplane...you have an attitude indicator...fancy for a c-140!
 
Looking4Lower said:
Curious, why is it spending the summer in Walla Walla before going to LNK?
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I'm taking summer school and graduating (B.S. in Aviation Technology) from Walla Walla College this summer. Then I'm finishing my second degree (B.A. in Communication) at Union College in Lincoln next school year.

I considered saving myself some time and money by bringing it straight from Pennsylvania to Lincoln, then leaving it at LNK while I do summer school in Washington.

But then I thought...shoot...I didn't buy a plane in order to have it sit in a hangar for the three best flying months of the year. It only burns 4 gph and I couldn't resist having an excuse to fly it across the country a couple times.
 
Andrew_VT said:
The problem is the carb on our 140 doesn't have a mixture knob...and it looks like yours doesn't either.
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Actually, it does have a mixture control, it's just disguised. My panel is laid out in a really goofy way. The mixture control is a little "push/pull" knob next to the cabin heat knob in the lower left corner, on the left side of the DG.

Andrew_VT said:
Oh and pretty airplane...you have an attitude indicator...fancy for a c-140!
Click to expand...

Yeah, got all the bells and whistles. This machine's built for some hard IFR ;)

My mechanic told me he thought he might have seen an attitude indicator like mine in a B-17 once! I don't know if it's truly that old, but it is pretty ancient.

I thought about pulling out the attitude indicator and directional gyro in order to pick up 8 or 9 pounds on my useful load, but 8 or 9 pounds isn't that much and I'd rather not have two gaping holes in the panel. Besides, they kind of add a somewhat nice retro look I guess.
 
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