Tricycle C170

Roesbery · Post by **Roesbery** » Mon Jun 09, 2003 1:45 am

Well good for N2902A and her owner.

Harold Holiman · Post by **Harold Holiman** » Tue Jun 10, 2003 11:22 pm

My "Overgrown 170", 1953 180 was converted to tricycle gear in the mid fifties and was converted back to conventional gear in the early 60's. I can't understand why anyone would want to do such a thing to a 170 or 180. Even if they wanted tricycle gear back then they could have traded for a 172 or 182 and left the 170's and 180's like God intended them to be. Looking forward to Wilmington.

Harold H
Mbr# 892

flyguy · Post by **flyguy** » Sat Jun 14, 2003 1:37 pm

I can't remember the "N" number but there was one in the Kansas City area in the early '70s. Near Weston,MO there were three little airstrips that you could cover with your thumb on the sectional. One was "Shayback's and the other two ??. One of these airport owners had a 'tri-gear' 170. I think it was a '52. He sold the "converted" 170 to a fellow I worked with at TWA.

The new owner planned to get his license in that airplane. He had a small problem though - - "the cork kept falling out of the bottle he was holding"! I got a call late one winter evening- "Slim, I need your help! Can you bring your truck, trailer and some tools to the "airport"? (The airport will be purposely left un-named even though this man is now gone on to meet his maker)? "I have a problem!" Seems this gentleman had been struggling with take-offs and landings and fortified himself with "liquid courage" before attempting to teach himself what his Insructor had been un-able to do- - take-off and land!

The runway had been cleared of a fairly heavy snowfall earlier that afternoon and there were large ridges of snow and ice at the edges of the pavement. He took off (in the dark!) and after several aborted attempts to "get it right" finally landed, promptly ran into one of these high snow banks and flipped his plane onto it's back! He was not signed off to solo, he was probably legally intoxicated and he was carrying a PAX!, his girlfriend!

When I arrived at the field aroung 10 PM, they were both huddled in the little phone booth and nearly frozen! When I asked "What's the problem buddy?" he pointed to the south end of the runway and all I could see from there was three wheels pointed to the heavens! "AW S---T" he said, I thought I wuz a pilut"!

To make a long story short - - we called in a little more help, righted the plane back onto its wheels, removed the wings, dismounted the rudder and horizontal and secured the wreck on my trailer and spirited it off to my barn. (Needless to say he didn't want anyone to know about his fiasco!) That thing was at my place for several years and finally he sold the remains to some fellow in Nebraska. I don't know what happened to it after that.

Post by **GAHorn** » Sun Jun 15, 2003 12:46 am

Way back in the spring of '71 I had a middle-aged student, a country-boy named Leeds, who would come out to Hobby airport for a flight lesson while his wife waited in the FBO lobby. After about 8 hours of lessons, I thought he was ready to solo and was just about to give him the ol' "...it's gonna takeoff sooner and climbe faster when I step out..." speech as we taxied back to the runway thresh-hold at La Porte airport, but as I leaned over to speak in his ear I smelled that sickeningly-sweet aroma of Jack Daniels.
I just asked him to take us back to Hobby. While he went to the men's room I asked his wife if he ever drank. She sorta sheepishly told me, "Well, Leeds always takes a little drink before his lessons to calm his nerves."
I told her to pass it on to him that if I ever smelled liquor on him again during a lesson that he'd get a chance to visit with the airport police.
I never saw him again.

Collin Gyenes · Post by **Collin Gyenes** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 3:32 pm

I have a pic of a 170 on tri-gear I can email to any who wants to see it.

zero.one.victor · Post by **zero.one.victor** » Sun Jun 29, 2003 4:22 pm

Be careful--I think there are laws against online obscenities,especially if you transmit them across state lines!

Eric

dkalwishky · Post by **dkalwishky** » Mon Jul 07, 2003 3:17 am

Collin Gyenes; I would like to see the tri-cycle C170. My e-mail is dave@kalwishky.com

Dave

susang777 · Post by **susang777** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 6:59 am

Collin,
If you've still got that photo of the tri-gear 170, I'd like to add it to the C170 picture database, along with any (hopefully all) of the following info:
Owner name(s):
City, state:
Tail#:
Serial#:
Year, Model:

Thanks!

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 12:00 pm

I have a scan from the article i mentioned if you'd like that as well... Let me know.

dkalwishky · Post by **dkalwishky** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 1:49 pm

doug8082a;

I have yet to see a picture oif this plane, I would like to see what you have if it's not too much triouble...

Dave (dave@kalwishky.com)

Alterfede · Post by **Alterfede** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 2:23 pm

would like to see that pic too, dont know if i will resist ......
My email federanea@yahoo.com.ar

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 7:23 pm

How's this for an idea... I'll email it to Susan and she can post it on her c170 pics site... Is that ok with you Susan? In fact, what might be neat (here I go volunteering you - feel free to say "no"

) is a page devoted to vintage/nostaglia type stuff. I have some scans of old ads for 1952 C170s, scans of the 1952 Sales brochure, postcard, cover of a 1952 Flying Mag., etc. that folks might like to see. What do you think?

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 7:28 pm

Dave/Fede,
I emailed you a copy of the pic. Let me know if you do not receive it.

Alterfede · Post by **Alterfede** » Sat Jul 26, 2003 9:39 pm

Pic arrived fine, but saw it just for few seconds, then closed window. Kidding, look knida rare with that round tail, but the rest, is a 172, like the one i flew in my private course.

doug8082a · Post by **doug8082a** » Sun Jul 27, 2003 1:31 am

Basically, cessna just squared-off the tail and stuck a nose wheel on it to make it a 172. If you look real closely at the wings in the pic you'll notice that there's no dihedral - a dead giveaway of the famously "faster"

"A" model. OF course, with that aberration called a nosewheel stuck on there, a "B" model could beat it any day.

The International Cessna 170 Association

Tricycle C170

OFF-ROAD(runway)170B

Pic of tri gear 170