Warbird Information Exchange

Hey Skybolt,
Could you tell us a bit about that handsome 195 in the background of your profile photo?

Canso42

It's a 1953 C195A, with a Jacobs 275hp R-755-B2. I bought it when our family of three went to five when my wife announced we were having twins. (if you squint at the avatar you can see all of us there) It's a perfect family flyer – and curses to everyone who when I announced the surge in children relagated me to having to buy a Cherokee Six. It is also the finest aircraft ever produced by Cessna. Bar none. (gulp)

I agree, and my lovely wife want's one like there is no tomorrow!

It's a great plane – really well supported both engine and airframe. It's a very modern classic with antique roots (if that makes sense). Lots of them have thoroughly modern panels and use them in hard IFR, although mine has a stock uncut panel with new radios in the subpanels. Carries a great load in comfort. Seat 5, 3 on the big bemch in back, step up between the aisle to the 2 front seats. Feels like a combination of 30's race plane (chopped down look) and old airliner with a flight deck and control column. I love it. It can operate off grass and rough fields, but isn't very good at short field stuff – no flaps. Which is why they aren't all used up, used in Alaska. It's a warbird too . . . (not mine though)

Good cruiser but very blind in flight. The back seat is probably more comfortable than the front. You sit bolt upright in the front. Carries quite a payload. I was unable to ever overload it. Kind of a handful on the ground since the plane is quite heavy and has a lot of momentum. Elevator control is noticeably stiffer than ailerons or rudder, especially in the flare. I flew mine to Oshkosh and back from Chino. My butt was numb for about two weeks after I returned. Averaged 140 knots and 13.8 GPH with the 300 Jake. Pretty simple and easy to maintain. Definitey a family truckster if there ever was such a thing. A real 1930s looking antique but with no fabric covering.

Watch out for leaking rubber fuel cells, weak tailwheel attach brackets, worn out props, and keep in mind that the TBO on the Jake is only 1200 hours. Brake pads are hard to come by for the Goodyear wheels and then there are those goofy crosswind hubs. There is a Cleveland conversion (that uses Cessna 310 wheels I think)- be careful with these because they have a lot of power (risk of noseover if you jam on the brakes- it takes a light touch). If you live in a hot climate install dual oil coolers.

You also need to inspect the rubber fuel and oil hoses carefully everytime you swivel out the engine mount because they get twisted. They can crimp and either cut off the flow or cause the hose to fail. There should be a spring over the oil line to keep it from crimping, but the braiding can still get damaged if it is over twisted or old. A couple of guys I know almost burned up in one when the fuel line sprung a leak and caught on fire from the hot exhaust. Burned a hole right through the side of the cabin and melted the pilot's tennis shoe. I saw the hole!

Back in the late 1980's I spotted a bare metal 195 sitting under an open faced shelter at an obscure little grass airfield here just south of Shreveport, LA. Even then, I could tell it hadn't been operated (or probably even moved) in some time.

For a long time I had talked about going down there and making an offer to the old man who operated the airfield. About six months ago I finally acted on the idea and went back to see what remained. I soon discovered that the field had been shut down not six months before as a result of the owner developing Alzheimers. After two decades of sitting on my hands about it, I discovered that the 195 had been purchased by another enthusiast and trucked out of their just months ago. MAN, I wanted a crack at that plane!

Though a little off topic, this might make a good thread for people to post photos of other obscure treasures that my be residing at otherwise unknown little out-of-the-way locations like this. Anything relatively classic with a tailwheel would interest me.

_________________
Rob Mears
'Surviving Corsairs' Historian
robcmears@yahoo.com
http://www.robmears.com

Well, as w ith any old airplane, maintenance is an issue - or rather, past maintenance. For quite awhile a lot of these planes were neglected or abused. There are no AD's on either the prop or engine, as far as the airframe is concerned, there are relatively few and nothing major. A recent AD on the inboard aileron hinges, which were magnesium and prone to corrosion, has been eliminated by the use of replacement aluminum hinges. Most have been converted. The tailwheel is an oleo strut, and over the years, some operators (during the neglectful years . . .) inserted a spring rather than properly overhaul the strut. That basically beat the heck out of the tail bulkhead, called the toilet seat which it resembles, and led to cracking. Most have been converted to Clevelands, which do indeed come on a set of 310 wheels. There was an issue with Cessna using different master cylinders over the years, and some led to very sensitive brakes with the conversion. My brakes are very well modulated and not sensitive, although they are quite powerful. I heard from some to be very, very careful with them, but I think those folks had the wrong setup. As for the prop, its a Ham Standard – as with any prop the blades can get out of spec, but I don't think its any more if an issue than on any plane. There is an issue if the wrong blades are used – some have put on blades from the T-50, and are not allowed, and may very well be unsafe. Ground cooling can be an issue as the prop shanks are round and don't provide much airflow through the cowling. I have 2 oil coolers as well as a big Cessna spinner which keeps temps well under control. Guys with the Montgomery spinner have more trouble. Some have a "seaplane lip" on the back of the cowl which supposedly helps too.
As far as swinging the engine out, well yeah, you have to make sure you don't crimp anything. Tach cables seem to be the most prpone to damage. There is an issue with the fuel bowl – it had a brass pipe fitting in an aluminum housing, at the low point where water collects. There's a new part to correct that. As I mentioned, the plane is well supported with several companies making new parts and improving the planes. Radial Engine Ltd, and Air Repair both OH the Jake, and are upgrading it. New fuel injection and things like hardened valve seats are improving the engine. It has no published TBO, although 1200 hours is considered a conservative number. It has a unique ignition system – one mag and one battery distributor. You start on B. There is an STC for an improved coil, as the original parts are hard to find and prone to breaking down at higher temps. The new coil fixes that and improves starting.
As far as visibility is concerned, in the front seat you sit ahead of the spar, and the windcurves around. You look out ahead of the wing and have good vis over the nose, plus there is a greenhouse in the wing. You don't have any peripheral vision when your head is back, which took me awhile to get used to when landing. On the ground you can't see anything out the right side, so you have to taxi accordingly. I personally find the front seats very comfortable and have made several long flights with no undo strain. The fuel tanks are regular Cessna bladders.
As far as pitch is concerned, not sure what you mean by stiff - maybe yours had some frozen bearings? The early 195's a large cord elevators and some considered it too pitch sensitive. On the 195B they reduced the chord. I have the original elevator, and I find the controls to be very nice, and the ailerons are pretty light for a large (ish) plane. If the gear is aligned, landings are fairly straightfoward, but you need to be ready with your toes and feet when it slows down and the rudder loses effectiveness. It has a lot of mass up high, and a long moment so you can't let it get very far out of shape. I've been told that if the tailwheel gets out beyond the mains, it's practically impossible to reel it back in. I don't plan on trying that. It's a lot of fun to fly. The guy I bought mine from desrcibed crusing in it as "cadillacing along." I knew what he meant, but didn't realize it was an actual term. (I googled it.) Pretty well nails it.

Mine was a '48 model- N72C. As the pilot you could lean forward and back to descend and climb. I don't think anything was frozen, but it sure took a lot of effort to pull the wheel back for a full stall landing.

Maybe you needed to use the trim????
It took a little while for me to get used the having the control wheel all the way in my lap to get full aft – the geometry of it made me induce some aileron at the same time.