Any Cardinal owners that frequent this group?

[Jack Allison]

I'm wondering if there are any Cardinal drivers that frequent this
newsgroup. I'm in the early phase of considering potential airplanes
for a 2-way partnership and, at this point, a Cardinal is looking like a
very adequate platform for the price and performance I'm looking at.

So, any words of wisdom from folks who have owned one? Looking for
anything...the good, the bad, the ugly...whatever. I've found some
great info. at Cardinal Fliers Online (www.cardinalflyers.com). If
there are some Cardinal drivers that hang around here, that would be
even better.

Thanks!

--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, soon-2-B-IA Student, airplane partnership student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[Darrel Toepfer]

Jack Allison wrote:
> I'm wondering if there are any Cardinal drivers that frequent this
> newsgroup. I'm in the early phase of considering potential airplanes
> for a 2-way partnership and, at this point, a Cardinal is looking like a
> very adequate platform for the price and performance I'm looking at.
>
> So, any words of wisdom from folks who have owned one? Looking for
> anything...the good, the bad, the ugly...whatever. I've found some
> great info. at Cardinal Fliers Online (www.cardinalflyers.com). If
> there are some Cardinal drivers that hang around here, that would be
> even better.

I did all my required dual and soloed in one a year ago. It belongs to
the local flying club (160hp '68 fixed gear model) and this summer had
the 180hp stc applied to it. Sadly I haven't flown it with the power
upgrade, but those that have, have said it now has excellent performance
while carrying a load...

It has basic IFR equipment and is quite roomy (front, rear, baggage and
width). The low wing is a killer (until you get a sense for it) from the
front (bad) or the rear (worse), unless you are vertically challenged.
Cruise speed is much better than our '64 172F (especially if you are
slightly aft heavy), but its a much cleaner airframe due to the loss of
the struts. I averaged 7 gallons an hour fuel consumption, I believe it
went up a gallon or two with the conversion. They stuck with a fixed
pitch prop (though it had to be replaced with the conversion), there are
constant speed stc's available, depending on the engine used...

I'm always shopping for a bargain Cardinal, 180hp & C/S prop required...

[Bruce Cunningham]

Jack Allison > wrote in message >...
> I'm wondering if there are any Cardinal drivers that frequent this
> newsgroup. I'm in the early phase of considering potential airplanes
> for a 2-way partnership and, at this point, a Cardinal is looking like a
> very adequate platform for the price and performance I'm looking at.
>
> So, any words of wisdom from folks who have owned one? Looking for
> anything...the good, the bad, the ugly...whatever. I've found some
> great info. at Cardinal Fliers Online (www.cardinalflyers.com). If
> there are some Cardinal drivers that hang around here, that would be
> even better.
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Jack Allison
> PP-ASEL, soon-2-B-IA Student, airplane partnership student
>
> "When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
> with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
> you will always long to return"
> - Leonardo Da Vinci
>
> (Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

I have had a 1969 177A for over 7 years now, and I love it. Wouldn't
trade it for anything in its class. Mine is a simple VFR with 1
NAVCOM, 1 Radio, KT-76A with encoder, 4 place intercom; no autopilot
or fancy interior. It has over a 1000 lb useful load, 48 gallons
usable, and what seems like a large room for rear seat and cargo
space. You sit forward of the wing, so you can see ahead in a turn,
unlike any other high wing, thus giving the best visibility of both
high wing and low. It is the roomiest 4 place I found, with Sundowners
a close second. Entry is the easiest of any plane ever built. Looks,
forget about it. Best looking single too. People buy them for the
looks alone. Mechanically they are as reliable as anything FG or RG.
The O-360 Lyc is one of the best too. Even the 150 HP 1968 model is OK
as long as you don't overload it like some people are prone to do,
with all that room to put things. If this is the size plane you're
looking for, don't let some uninformed people tell you they don't fly
well. They fly better than anything in their class in my opinion. They
are the only Cessna that I would describe the handling as sports car
like. The rumor that they are hard to land is a myth, they just
require a different touch than Skyhawks. Once you learn the technique,
it is easy. Heck if I can land them OK then I would think anyone
could! You definately want to join CFO that you mentioned, if you plan
on buying. There is a wealth of information there. A good pre-purchase
checklist for potential buyers like yourself can be found there. Don't
even think about buying until you have read that list.

Regards,
Bruce Cunningham
C-177A N30464

[hlongworth]

Jack Allison > wrote in message >...
> I'm wondering if there are any Cardinal drivers that frequent this
> newsgroup.

Jack,
Jay emailed me about this post since he knew that we owned a
Cardinal. We bought our 177B FG almost two years ago. In spite of a
very expensive first year annual, we are quite happy with our choice.
Here is a quick summary of the good and bad

The good: great visibility, roominess, big doors, large baggage area
(for our other hobbies of scuba diving and photography), decent
power/speed/fuel consumption, good look & great type club for
information/tips. I flew mostly 150, 152 and had some time with 172.
I got 'checked' out in the Cardnal in the second flight. It is a bit
more slippery and required early reduction in power for landing.
However, it seems to be a more stable and appear to handle crosswinds
better (at least based on my perception).

The bad: Have to make sure to keep the big doors closed esp. on windy
days (I have to yell at Rick many times ;-)).

The ugly: One could consider our very expensive first year annual is
the ugly (found 3 cylinders after 100hrs of flying at first annual)
but this could have been prevented if we had the pre-buy inspection
done by an AP experienced with Cardinals. Unfortunately, this local
expert was all booked when we needed the inspection.

If you had not done so, I highly recommended you joining the
Cardinalflyers club. In the Virtual Digest and the Technical sections,
you will find a wealth of invaluable information, tips and tricks etc.
We are very much do-it-yoursef type of people and have had great fun
fixing up and improving our pet bird.

Hai Longworth
N30703

[hlongworth]

In reading my previous posting, I realized that I might had given the
wrong impression that the cracked cylinders were specific to
Cardinals. According to our AP (the ones who did the annual), it is
not uncommon for overhauled Lycomng cylinders to have cracks after the
second half life. These are fine hairline cracks which were easily
missed if one did not know specifically where to look (we were right
there with first AP inspecting everything during the pre-buy
inspection). There were absolutely no warnings, no clues. The
compressions were great at the pre-boy (high 70's), oil analysis and
oil filter inspections were good all through 100hrs (we changed oil
after every 25hrs). The plane ran well, strong without any hesitation
etc.

[Jack Allison]

Thanks Hai! Much appreciated. Thanks for the follow up clarification
as well. Re: CFO, I'd definitely be joining before seriously pursuing a
Cardinal. I'm sure it's well worth the price of admission. I've
already joined the virtual digest and look forward to learning more.

Jay - thanks for forwarding my inquiry along to a Cardinal owner.


--
Jack Allison
PP-ASEL, soon-2-B-IA Student, airplane partnership student

"When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth
with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there
you will always long to return"
- Leonardo Da Vinci

(Remove the obvious from address to reply via e-mail)

[hlongworth]

In reading my previous posting, I realized that I might had given the
wrong impression that the cracked cylinders were specific to
Cardinals. According to our AP (the one who did the annual), it is
not uncommon for overhauled Lycoming cylinders to have cracks after the
second half-life. These were fine hairline cracks which were easily
missed if one did not know specifically where to look (we were right
there with the first AP inspecting everything during the pre-buy
inspection). There were absolutely no warnings, no clues. The
compressions were great at the pre-buy (high 70's), oil analysis and
oil filter inspections were good all through 100hrs (we changed oil
after every 25hrs). The plane ran well, strong without any hesitation
etc.