How long have you owned your 170?

[Joe Moilanen]

Just curious who has owned their 170 the longest.

I bought my '53 170B 25 years ago today. It has been no doubt the best investment I have ever made ($17,300). Why a 170? I was a fairly avid skydiver before I bought mine and learned how to fly. We jumped out of a ragwing 170 and I was impressed by the fact that it could haul 4 jumpers with their gear plus a pilot to 7,200' all day long. Some hot days it felt like eternity to get there and we would use up the better part of the 5,000 runway to get airborne. Nobody ever gave thought to how much any of the jumpers weighed. If I had known anything about W&B back then I'm sure that there would have been a few loads that I would have sat out. Also, I loved the looks of the round feathers. My dad also always instilled in me that"REAL pilots fly taildraggers."

I've averaged 74 hours a year on it, and it has never let me down. We had an argument with a thunderstorm once over some Idaho Mountains but other than that, hardly a close call. Its current paint job was applied 6 years before I bought it(31 years ago). The painter insisted on shooting Imron on bare aluminum, no primer. He must have known what he was talking about, as it still looks like it was painted yesterday. Also, I've used nothing but Pledge on the windshield, and it looks as good as new also.

Maybe 25 more years?

Joe
4518C

[T. C. Downey]

Just curious who has owned their 170 the longest.

I bought my '53 170B 25 years ago today. It has been no doubt the best investment I have ever made ($17,300). Why a 170? I was a fairly avid skydiver before I bought mine and learned how to fly. We jumped out of a ragwing 170 and I was impressed by the fact that it could haul 4 jumpers with their gear plus a pilot to 7,200' all day long. Some hot days it felt like eternity to get there and we would use up the better part of the 5,000 runway to get airborne. Nobody ever gave thought to how much any of the jumpers weighed. If I had known anything about W&B back then I'm sure that there would have been a few loads that I would have sat out. Also, I loved the looks of the round feathers. My dad also always instilled in me that"REAL pilots fly taildraggers."

I've averaged 74 hours a year on it, and it has never let me down. We had an argument with a thunderstorm once over some Idaho Mountains but other than that, hardly a close call. Its current paint job was applied 6 years before I bought it(31 years ago). The painter insisted on shooting Imron on bare aluminum, no primer. He must have known what he was talking about, as it still looks like it was painted yesterday. Also, I've used nothing but Pledge on the windshield, and it looks as good as new also.

Maybe 25 more years?

Joe
4518C

I plagiarized this for the POA page, thanks for the raving review of the 48

[Ryan Smith]

I think Ed Booth may have active forum members beat. He's owned his 170 for well over 40 years. There are some other 170 drivers with considerable ownership time with their respective birds as well. I believe Miles Bowen is well over 30 years with his 170, John Barrett has owned his airplane for over 30 years, and John Pugliese in California is hovering around the 40-year mark as well. My grandfather bought our 170 in 1985 and my dad finally sold her in 2008. Once life quits kicking me in the face, she'll be mine again.

These truly are some special airplanes. There aren't many other types that are in families for generations. I was rummaging through my (considerable) old magazine collection several months ago and happened upon some of my old 170 News copies from when my grandfather was a member in the mid-80s. It's really cool seeing airplanes I recognize in there. I saw quite a few pictures of Arash's airplane in there prior to his family owning it.

[Ryan Smith]

Arash,

It's not much, but obviously your baby. Looks to have already been in maroon and white; It looks like this was from 1986. There was another shot of it flying, but it was a silhouette and the printing back then for the magazine was not nearly what it is today, so you can just tell it's a 170.

I'm only a few months older than that issue of the 170 News. Crazy stuff!

[johneeb]

I think Ed Booth may have active forum members beat. He's owned his 170 for well over 40 years. There are some other 170 drivers with considerable ownership time with their respective birds as well. I believe Miles Bowen is well over 30 years with his 170, John Barrett has owned his airplane for over 30 years, and John Pugliese in California is hovering around the 40-year mark as well. My grandfather bought our 170 in 1985 and my dad finally sold her in 2008. Once life quits kicking me in the face, she'll be mine again.

These truly are some special airplanes. There aren't many other types that are in families for generations. I was rummaging through my (considerable) old magazine collection several months ago and happened upon some of my old 170 News copies from when my grandfather was a member in the mid-80s. It's really cool seeing airplanes I recognize in there. I saw quite a few pictures of Arash's airplane in there prior to his family owning it.

Ryan,
This sparked my curiosity so I got out my "bill of sale" it is dated March 2, 1982 and it says I paid the princely sum of $15,000.00. Today it would take at least twice that before I would consider letting it go.

[Ryan Smith]

I'll write you a check for $31K today for your airplane, John. That's at least twice what you paid for it, right?

It would be a sad day if you let it go for less than five times what you paid for it.

[HA]

OK, I know I'm an interloper, what with the 172 and all. But, I can chime in that this airplane has been in my wife's family since about 1971, other than a bit in the late '70's when they traded it to an implement dealer for a combine. They bought it back within a couple years. I taught my (future) wife how to fly in it in 1983, so that's how long I've been associated with it.

[edbooth]

I think Ed Booth may have active forum members beat. He's owned his 170 for well over 40 years. There are some other 170 drivers with considerable ownership time with their respective birds as well. I believe Miles Bowen is well over 30 years with his 170, John Barrett has owned his airplane for over 30 years, and John Pugliese in California is hovering around the 40-year mark as well. My grandfather bought our 170 in 1985 and my dad finally sold her in 2008. Once life quits kicking me in the face, she'll be mine again.

These truly are some special airplanes. There aren't many other types that are in families for generations. I was rummaging through my (considerable) old magazine collection several months ago and happened upon some of my old 170 News copies from when my grandfather was a member in the mid-80s. It's really cool seeing airplanes I recognize in there. I saw quite a few pictures of Arash's airplane in there prior to his family owning it.

Your right Ryan, it will be 44 years this September. Bought it in Sandwich, IL in 1970 for the grand sum of 4200.00. Have put about 4000 hours on her. The family has grown up going on vacations in it...and since about 1978 usually to the 170 conventions. Youngest daughter, Angela also has a 170B that used to belong to John Tumblin, also a long time member. Bob Coats also falls in this group. I think he aquired his 1952 B model in 1968....... Wow, the memories we have associated with these planes !

[mit]

had a 48 from 80-90 and a 54 B since 91.

[cessna170bdriver]

I think Ed Booth may have active forum members beat. He's owned his 170 for well over 40 years. There are some other 170 drivers with considerable ownership time with their respective birds as well. I believe Miles Bowen is well over 30 years with his 170, John Barrett has owned his airplane for over 30 years, and John Pugliese in California is hovering around the 40-year mark as well. My grandfather bought our 170 in 1985 and my dad finally sold her in 2008. Once life quits kicking me in the face, she'll be mine again.

These truly are some special airplanes. There aren't many other types that are in families for generations. I was rummaging through my (considerable) old magazine collection several months ago and happened upon some of my old 170 News copies from when my grandfather was a member in the mid-80s. It's really cool seeing airplanes I recognize in there. I saw quite a few pictures of Arash's airplane in there prior to his family owning it.

Right agian, Ryan! I bought '98C for $10K in August of 1982 from her second owner at Stone Mountain, GA (that airport went away a LONG time ago ). That price was kind of high for back then, but it only had a bit over 1250 hours total time. My two daughters, now 26 and 23 were raised in it, and I bought it before I even met their mother. It's a very early '55 model, and my records indicate it came off the assembly line in October 1954, making her right at one year older than me. She'll turn 60 this year, and I'm thinking about having a birthday party for her.

[Ryan Smith]

I think Ed Booth may have active forum members beat. He's owned his 170 for well over 40 years. There are some other 170 drivers with considerable ownership time with their respective birds as well. I believe Miles Bowen is well over 30 years with his 170, John Barrett has owned his airplane for over 30 years, and John Pugliese in California is hovering around the 40-year mark as well. My grandfather bought our 170 in 1985 and my dad finally sold her in 2008. Once life quits kicking me in the face, she'll be mine again.

These truly are some special airplanes. There aren't many other types that are in families for generations. I was rummaging through my (considerable) old magazine collection several months ago and happened upon some of my old 170 News copies from when my grandfather was a member in the mid-80s. It's really cool seeing airplanes I recognize in there. I saw quite a few pictures of Arash's airplane in there prior to his family owning it.

Right agian, Ryan! I bought '98C for $10K in August of 1982 from her second owner at Stone Mountain, GA (that airport went away a LONG time ago ). That price was kind of high for back then, but it only had a bit over 1250 hours total time. My two daughters, now 26 and 23 were raised in it, and I bought it before I even met their mother. It's a very early '55 model, and my records indicate it came off the assembly line in October 1954, making her right at one year older than me. She'll turn 60 this year, and I'm thinking about having a birthday party for her.

Wow! Provided I can buy my family's airplane back from her current owner, I'll be the 23rd owner of N2256D.

Quite interestingly and obviously, there have been some short periods of ownership in her lifetime. Two individuals owned her for nine days in 1955 and 16 days in 1962 respectively.Several owners had her for periods of a month, to a several months, and she was owned by Graubart Aviation twice. She was sold new from Cessna to the Air-Oasis Company of California on March 11, 1952, and subsequently sold on the 14th of that month to Gibbs Flying Service. I've reached out to Gibbs to see if they've got any record of her, or more importantly, a picture or two. I received a response back stating that the patriarch of the operation was 103 and that they would try to ask him, but didn't promise anything. So far they've made good. I would kill to have pictures of her in her younger years, but so far as I can tell, there is only one owner that I can track down as still being alive. He owned her in the 1960s, and I have a letter typed up to send to him, but feel somewhat awkward sending a request out of the blue for an airplane that I don't currently own. I'd be interested to know if she was owned by any TIC170A members in the past. At the time we sold her, we owned her for nearly half of her lifetime. There was a man by the name of Richard Cannon that lived in Maryland that owned her from 1975 to 1985, but I can't find anything on him. Furthermore, N2256D is an airplane that simply doesn't have much information on Google. She has successfully eluded a camera lens even in pictures where I know she was parked; always hidden behind another airplane or the photographer had his back to her. I've gotten quite creative with regard to search terms and have gone far beyond simply Googling an N-number. We've got a ton of pictures in 23 years of ownership, but it's the period before that's interesting to me. She had ratty paint and interior back in the mid-80s, so I'd be interested to know when she was painted and interior redone. I suppose I will know once I have logbooks. I know what I'd do if I had a time machine...

Oh well, enough banter.

[N2255D]

Looks like someone in Greensboro NC owns N2256D now. That's not far from me so if I see it somewhere I'll try to get a Picture for you. http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry ... rtxt=2256D

[Ryan Smith]

Yes. That's Zenda Liess, the DPE for our area. Some guys on the field talked her into buying the airplane to do tailwheel checkouts when Ed Murray (man in New York my dad sold her to) again listed her for sale in July 2012. The airplane is based back at our home airport, Air Harbor (W88). My wife and I will likely be moving back home to Greensboro in a month or so and we'll actually be in NC this weekend through next Thursday for a quick visit. My wife will actually be visiting family in Concord because of her grandparents; I'm doing chauffeur and emotional support. I've always wanted to see your airplane in person, Walt, since they are just one serial number away from one another and so close geographically now. I see at some point your airplane lost the air box cowl and now sports a pressure cowl?

[DuaneShockey]

I bought my 48 rag in 1976 (38 yrs ago) for $4,000 I really don't think I need any other plane. Hoping to join the Octagenerian Club in 10 years and still have the 170. I've been as far as Guadalajara Mex, Rhode Island, Talkeetna Ak. etc Duane Shockey (San Diego)

[GAHorn]

OK, I know I'm an interloper, ... I taught my (future) wife how to fly in it in 1983, so that's how long I've been associated with it.

When do you plan to finally marry the lady?