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baronn

182 P model pig with a capital P

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1975 Cessna 182 with a Texas skyways 520 conversion. 3 bladed Macauley prop. Heavy bird. Interior has been stripped out but dash is full of GPS, Radios, Autopilot and an older weather radar. Heavy elevator (widebody) so quite a bit of trim to keep the pilot from doing a 20 min curl. Have experimented around with different speeds with little success. 500 initial and falls off fast. 3300' elevation and 80 degree day. Stops climbing at 10000MSL. Drops like a rock when ya pull power back. I have more experience with straight tails but, I was expecting much better performance. This thing is like a top fuel dragster down the runway. Any suggestions?

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182 P, with O-470... ...same issue. Requested an engine check, found 3 cylinders lacking adequate compression rate. Apparently "residue" on the exhaust valves prevented complete closure of the valve. Grinded, put back together... ...works a lot better now.

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A 182p is very close in empty weight to a 206 and we all know how slow a stock 206's climbs. You can start adding wing extenions and what ever other mods you can find but, most climb performance comes from horse power and prop selection. A 206 becomes a better climber with an io550.
The newest 182 jump plane that I have any experience with is a 1966. I flew it with the stock o470 and with an io550 after it was converted. The climb rate doubled, decent time was the same, we didn't have any spoilers or dive brakes on it. With a stock engine it was considerably slower than a straight tail 182. It took 25 to 30 minutes to get to 10500'. After the 550 conversion it only took 12 to 13 minutes to get to 10,500'
More HP is the answer, but before I would hang a 550 on your P model 182, I would sell it and get a 206 with a 550 or pt-6 so you could haul that extra tandem.
You are using a lot of your HP hauling a heavy airframe to altitude and still ony carrying 4 jumpers.

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I have mixed feelings about the 206, have seen successful operations and I have seen complete failures as well. That HP is traded for simply managing engine temperature all the time in a 206. Instead of flying the VSI, you are constantly flying for the right temp. And even then, the one we have was a dog - but we are also in Florida, so really hot to begin with.

The true solution i think is lighter models with not-too-modified engines. Wing extensions are a must, the gain is worth every penny of investment,

More HP for sure given your elevation, but my experience is that for that large engine upgrade, there is a lot of sacrifice on how it is managed.

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Stay away from 206's. Even slower. Great engine choice for your P model. The P model is VERY heavy. I have a 1975 P, we stripped down the panel, took out the autopilot, GPS and pretty much everything else, now just 1 radio, 1 xponder. That go rid of A LOT of weight. To make it really climb, you'll need wing extensions with Sportsman STOL. Mine has flap gap seals, aileron gap seals, wing x, sportsman stol, panel/interior stripped down, Pponk 285HP engine and it climbs exactly the same as my stock 1957 182 that just has Pponk, no other mods. (about .3 wheels up to wheels down with 2 tandems pairs). So you need to spend $15,000-$20,000 in airframe upgrades/panel removal to get the P model to do what a more or less stock narrow body will do. The advantage is that instructors and students LOVE the extra room and larger windows that the wide body offers on top of that you'll find your maintenance costs will go down, as generally the later models, P-S or the Skylane II series, have addressed a lot of maintenance issues the earlier models had

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Agree about a stock 206, I have owned and operated one ,it was slow. with the 550 it will do 2 loads an hour with 6 on board a little better but still no rocketship.

I don't agree with sticking more money in his 182p. He could put it back to stock configuration (interior and door) and sell it and buy a lighter Pponk or Texas skyways converted early wide body and have money left over. Just my opinion, I am no expert but I have owned and operated Cessna 180, 3-182's, and a 206 over the last 25 years. I just think the P model and newer are too heavy to be good climbers. Basiclly any 182 with tubular main landing gear seem to be the slow ones.

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I think a 2 bladed prop might help. When it was time to overhaul mine I thought about going to a 3 bladed prop but the people at Sensenich Propeller Service told me 3 blades are great for cruise but a 2 bladed prop will out climb a 3 bladed prop every time.
Replying to: Re: Stall On Jump Run Emergency Procedure? by billvon

If the plane is unrecoverable then exiting is a very very good idea.

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I agree with re-configuring and selling it. Way too nice of a bird for skydive operation. Great cruiser, just the wrong airframe for this appilication. I've seen several places try to make 206's work, Some with more success than other's. I'm not a fan of them. Narrow body, P Ponk or 550 with the mods. Give me a rocket ride up, I don't care if it's a bit cramped. Customers only know the difference between a turbine and piston plane. Depending on who they are, it was either a big plane or a tiny

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I jumped a narrow bodied, straight tail 182 in Australia that had the O-550 and a tail wheel conversion. It had the flat floor extended bagage compartment. I think it had wing extensions also. Hands down the fastest cessna I have ever jumped. It took 11 or 12 minutes to 13k with 4 jumpers on board. WE WERE CLIMBING AT CLOSE TO 1500 fpm up to about 5k from sea level. We were still getting 800 fpm at 12k. It was in the winter and the surface temps were in the low to mid 60's. We did a low jump because of clouds on one jump We got from surface to exit in 2.5 minutes. The pilot had a lot to do with the performance, He was a very experienced Cessna jump pilot.

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I sure like that! I'm looking at a 61 182 with a 550 in it. Being told those numbers by him also. I'll be taking a look at it later this week. I run a smal DZ and most of the time a single tandem is in it. Shude be a short ride in the future.

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We had earlier O-470-S stock engine in 182P but instead of spending nearly 80k€ to another engine we decided to try FAT supercharger and installed that on existing engine. Now the FL130 is accessible which was the main target. Climb could be faster up to FL70 but it really speeds up above that compared to stock engine. Max MP is about 32" but we're keeping it on green at 28" during climb. Times are about the same to FL130 as they were earlier to FL100. 182stc.com is also to maximize the payload. Some self-generated hickups so far but nothing serious, yet.

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