180

N 2914C
The Family Car

I brought this airplane home March 2000 to be used as the family car.
With its big tires, and STOL capability, it also will have service with the Texas Baptist Men, Disaster Relief program.

Being near 50 years old, one could imagine an extensive and interesting history .
Though I'll probably never know the stories it could tell, I have spent the time to get to know its mechanical story.
The First annual of ownership, as it should be, was very extensive, and revealing.
Revealing mainly in the fact that the last annual was merely done with the cheapest ink pen available.

The airplane is a 1954 Cessna 180.
This picture was taken after it's first annual. Mechanically, it is not the same airplane I brought home in March 2000

This airplane was represented as Engine 20SMOH Prop 100SOH, Fresh annual. As you can see the paint is good from a distance, and the interior was no worse than I expected. But for an airplane that was Fresh annual, and new engine and prop. Boy did we have major problems firewall forward!

Cowl flaps falling off airframe
Cowl flap mechanics worn beyond function
oil cooler clogged
oil pump worn and scarred beyond limits (just rebuild?)
oil access door hinge broken
plugs full of lead and worn beyond limits
baffling installed wrong on engine
exhaust had many cracks. Entire system Red tagged
CHT probe missing,
CHT gauge inop. (both required to pass annual with cowl flaps installed)
EGT system inop, no probe
Oil add door, hinge broken. (duct taped in place)
Timing 11 degrees off on both mags

Items aft of firewall

ELT Installed in tail cone. (must be installed by window in cabin)
ELT installed backwards. (had to crash tail first to activate)
Battery cable Corroded. (broke on 3rd start)

Upgrades with annual

Avionic rectification for IFR
Addition, of GPS/Com
Addition of audio panel w/ intercom
New carpet
Tail wheel assembly rebuilt
New seat rails
New seat rollers
New flap rollers
Prop was removed, disassembled, inspected, and repainted
New Alcor CHT system
New Alcor EGT system

Thus far we haven't had the opportunity to use the airplane as much as we would have hoped. This mainly due to the extensive work to bring it up to my standards of integrity. Now that it is a sound airplane, time seems to be the biggest obstacle. This airplane will most likely be with the family for many years to come. The only thing that may alter this, would be the right opportunity to pick up, or trade for a good 310. My wife really likes the speed and room of the 310's we've had in the past.

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