172 taildragger project

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Thu Feb 06, 2003 5:59 pm

In case anyone's interested,in the latest GA News there's an ad for a 1956 172 taildragger project. Airframe disassembled;straight fuselage,wings,& cowl;170 main & tail gear included.No engine. They're asking $11K, phone number indicates it's in the Longview WA area (north of Portland OR) 360-577-4409
Might be a good one for someone wanting to do a big engine conversion,or if they had a stock engine laying around their hangar.
I noticed that one of our members (Larry) mentioned that he's helping a friend do a 172 t/w conversion. I asked about which STC they were using,but I never saw an answer. I like the straight-tail 172's when the right gear configuration is used,I always thought of them as the 170-C model the factory should have came out with. Just like a straight-tail 150 TD shoulda been the 140-B.

Eric

eichenberger · Post by **eichenberger** » Fri Feb 07, 2003 7:22 pm

Eric - See my earlier post of a coupple of months ago about the 140B and C. The 140B was built in prototype. It had the big flaps (like a 170B), and the rounded tail.
Cessna found in flight testing that it couldn't be certified. The rounded tail had too little area, when coupled with the big flaps.
So, Cessna designed the square tail (remember in 1952, all single engine Cessnas still had round tails).
That was to be the 140C, but the two-place market dried up. Cessna had built 39 fuselages for 140Cs, so they put them in storage until 1959, when they were used to make the first 39 150s.
We have a 140C - it's one of the original 39 150s, with the gear box still in the fuselage for conventional gear. When the tailwheel conversion was made, straight 140 gear was obtained, put in the box, and a tailwheel added.
Presto - what was intended to be a 140C was reborn.

lcranton · Post by **lcranton** » Sun Feb 16, 2003 4:37 am

Eric, Sorry I did not see this post until today. I must have missed it as I thought it was an old one. The tailwheel conversion my friend is doing was STC'd by a man named Fravel. His son is selling the STC. I believe he is lives in the southeast. If you are interested I will try and find his address. This conversion uses C170 main gear box parts and landing gear. Makes for a straight forward installatiion. The tailwheel attachment is a different story. This conversion uses .080 thick 2024-T3 straps riveted to both sides of the tailcone. The straps need to be formed to the contour of the tailcone. We made a temporary cement mold of the tailcone and formed the straps out 2024-T0 and heat treated them when done. We also had to make the straps wider to obtain the proper edge distance. The rest of the tail spring attach hardware is C170. My friend has not been happy with the STC. However this is his first experience with an STC and I told him all STC's are not created equal. Now that all of the work is done the installation looks good.

dkalwishky · Post by **dkalwishky** » Tue Feb 25, 2003 12:05 am

lcranton; I would be intersted in his name and address if you can find it.

djsvagabond · Post by **djsvagabond** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 2:37 pm

dkalwishky wrote:lcranton; I would be intersted in his name and address if you can find it.

The gentlemans name is Ron Fravel
4465 Hwy 337 so.
corydon, IN 47112

We did this conversion on a 1957 172 and as stated the tail wheel bracket is not for the beginner.
Thank GOD we had Bill Klause (Mr. Starduster) here at Flabob.
It took me several months and numerous attempts before I was happy with the results.
Looks great and flys better.
We also coupled the airframe to a 180hp fixed pitch prop.
We bought the kit from Avcon, but that's another story.
Dave

The International Cessna 170 Association