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I checked out in the 150M and my enthusiasm for owning one went down quite a bit. Not flying, mind, this thing is a hoot. Everyone (including Mike Arman) warns about the performance shortfall, but it climbs just fine at gross from a 5370 ft MSL field when it is +22 outside. The problem is, however, that with a tiny -- 140 lbs -- instuctor onboard, we had to drain 9 gallons of gas to make that gross weight, leaving us with 2 hours with reserves. People do that often in much bigger airplanes, but we had to carry no baggage at all to make it that far, not even water. In other words, I cannot take my wife to Phoenix in this thing. It is impossible.

The whole airplane ownership saga started when I found that Del Sol would not let me fly to Estancia. It took me little time to find that a C150 is the cheapest way to fly, and here we are. But now it turns out that if I commit to it, I will never be able to fly a passenger anywhere. I still could own it, I suppose, an then rent out a Cougar for a big trip. The only problem is the money.

On an related topic, while I appreciate the headroom of the little Cessna, their general engineering approach looks a tiny bit questionable to me. Recurring ADs give me a pause, for one. Also, bungee cords in the nosewheel steering are not terribly convenient: I taxied in zig-zags all the time to shutdown. All this seems to make for an airplane that's great to rent but not so great to own.

P.S. On second thought, how does it fly? From a beginner's perspective?

• Power performance at 8k ft is adequate, the scaremongering seems over the top. I think I should be able to take it to the border of oxigen.
• 150 glides very well, much better than Cherokee, and yet with 40 degrees of flaps available you can dive like Stuka (IYKWIM). This means that if engine goes out, you might want to spiral, since you cannot see and identify good landing spots at further reaches of the glide slope. Slips are not effective.
• It is slow. Different numbers are thrown around on the Net, but N2966V cruises at about 90, and N7342J easily goes 100+. Neither has wheel pants.
• Steering is a joke, due to bungee cords. You will tap the toe brakes, but they are somewhat tricky. I managed to use them at landing, but I am far from proficient with them, and not sure that even a flying god can make them work.
• Visibility is just bad, honestly. I practiced rocking the wings to look up, but it does not solve the issue except looking under those SuperTips for co-alt traffic.

Posted by: Pete Zaitcev at 03:19 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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