		Keith Peterson's article about Cessna C-177 Cardinal




What are you looking for in an airplanes? Need a little more speed? More payload? Range? Pizzaz?

Been there, done that. Our reason for moving up was simple arithmetic. For the two pilots in our family the prospect of a visit from the stork (in fine flying tradition) meant time for the first step in family planning: more seats in the family airplane.

We thought we knew what we wanted, but as we walked around Oshkosh looking for Cutlass owners to talk to we began to realize two things: No one flying a Cutlass to Oshkosh that day actually owned it, and most of the flying families owned Cardinals.

Talking with these families we discovered a lot of reasons to be shopping for a Cardinal:

Cardinals are fast. On my first flight in a fixed gear Cardinal I departed behind a 172 and nearly buzzed it's tail off as I steamed past. They really move along! Book speeds of 143 knots for the RG and 132 knots for the down-and-welded version are routinely achieved by well-rigged post-1970 Cardinals.

Cardinals are big inside. With 43 inches of shoulder room and more legroom in back than a coach airline seat, everyone in a Cardinal has a comfortable ride. And the baggage area has enough room for a week of Oshkosh camping without leaving the family home.

Cardinals are easy to get in and out of. Big doors, seats that don't have to be moved to get in and out and the Cessna tradition of a door on each side makes getting in and out a breeze. Although if that breeze is from the rear the doors can turn into sails in a hurry.

Cardinals are easy to maintain. The average 172 mechanic may scratch his head on occasion, but there are no big surprises in the Cardinal design. Deep down inside it's still a stone-simple Cessna with a four banger out front, and the Lycoming IO-360 has the advantage of sharing ancestry with Cessna's newest birds so the future prospects for parts and support are good.

 Cardinals are inexpensive to maintain. Think of it as a larger 172 with one or two more systems. Cowl flaps and CV props are rarely big maintenance items and everything else is about the same. The standard discussion of advantages and costs of retractable gear is left as an exercise for the reader: Cardinals come both ways.

 Cardinals are efficient. Turning an easy 125 knots on 9 gallons an hour or 142 on 10 in the RG is very nice. I've flow trips side-by-side with a Cessna 150 and burned less fuel. On another occasion I beat out a 170 on both gas (slightly) and time (substantially) over the same trip.

 Cardinals are easy to fly. Pitch is solid at cruise but light in the flare (watch out if you're used to a 172!) and bank is crisp and responsive. It's a his-and-hers airplane that will provide enough zoom for him yet a low-muscle pattern for her.

 Cardinals are fun. They achieve that balance between stability and sportiness that designers hope for, solid enough to be named among the best IFR platforms by people who seem to know about such things but responsive enough to beg for lazy 8's and random swooping to tunes from the CD player.

 Cardinals have exceptional visibility. Tradition says you can't see down in a low-wing or up in a high-wing, but Cessna cleverly put the Cardinal wing far enough back, or the seat far enough forward, that by leaning forward a little you can look straight up. That's a nice feeling in a turn or just before the aforementioned swooping.

 Cardinals look great! The lines of the windshield, the lack of struts, the continuous curve of the fuselage are all very compelling. The view I like best is tail-on where the smooth transitions can be seen, with rear-fuse lines faintly reminiscent of the Lancair or Staggerwing.

 But the real test of an airplane is how theory, legend and reality come together in the air. Especially for today's demanding pilot (If I don't like it I'll build my own!)

 If you're like most of us, the Cessna 150 or 172 is a familiar reference point, as well as a common plane from which to step up to a Cardinal. So let's take a `76 RG for a flight from a 172 pilot's perspective.

 Preflight feels right at home. All the parts are in their usual places, with a couple of extra things like nose door integrity and dual status ports to review. The ailerons are missing those hinge pins and their little clips. Dual tank drains, dual belly drains and an AD-mandated gascolator drain make this one of the most fuel-drainable Cessnas ever.

 Look out for the trailing edge, the Cardinal wing is lower to the ground than a 172. At least it won't give you the trademark Cessna Diamond scar on your forehead: the flaps and ailerons have flat skins. You'll be thankful for this at wash- and-wax time, too.

 The book useful load of 1026 lbs, although frequently reduced by radios and other toys, is enough for most situations and the highest useful load of any factory 200hp four-seater. Full seats with standard people leaves you just short of a full long-range tank. My wife and I can take along a normal (not standard) couple and a few bags, but if everyone has ski gear someone has to stay home: either a person or some fuel.

 Open up and slide in, no need to move the seats. A standard instrument T and radio stack will greet you, and there's room between the front seats for a chart file.

 At night you'll appreciate the larger number of lighting options. Post, glare-shield and overhead lights are available in many Cardinals, enough to make you wonder how you ever flew at night in most 172's. The switches and knobs may be lighted by an optional lighting panel. And for true class, check out the courtesy lights that light the ground below each wing for entry.

 Ready to start? Select `both' on the left-both-right-off fuel selector, prime with the electric fuel pump and crank with the mixture off. The Lycoming 4-banger is as strong as they come and a predictable starter. Mixture in when it fires and perform the standard Cessna panel tidy-up. Take a moment to enjoy the throaty rumble of 200 horses.

 Complexity starts to show up in the pre-takeoff routine. Be sure to cycle the Constant Velocity prop in the runup and check to be sure the cowl flaps are open and the gear down. A squat switch will keep the wheels under you even with the handle selected `up', but only until the nosewheel gets light. Then you may find yourself on two wheels before you're ready.

 Dial in 10 degrees of flaps for takeoff, as the book recommends. The flaps move back before they move down, so adding flaps adds wing area. It also moves the center of lift back a bit.

 Before you go, remember that full RPM does not mean full power. Plan to scan the tach, manifold pressure and fuel flow to be sure you're getting all the power you should. A table on the console displays reminders of best power settings for high altitude takeoffs.

 Line it up, add throttle gently and feel those horses pull. The look and feel of takeoff are very 172-like, it just happens faster with a little more rudder needed for P-factor and torque. Lighten the nose at 55 knots and it will fly itself off around 60. At my airport elevation of 850 feet and with a full load, 1,800 feet of runway will do the job on a standard day.

 The elevator is a little lighter than a 172 at rotation, and a little down trim will be needed to hold the best climb angle speed of 82 knots. Fully loaded on a standard day you'll see 900 FPM of climb.

 This is the busiest moment in a Cardinal RG driver's VFR life, with power, prop, mixture, gear, flaps and cowl flaps to think about. At first this will take a few minutes but in time it becomes second nature. Just put every gauge at the top of the green and you'll be close enough to start with. And leave a few moments to ack the handover to departure that can drop in the middle of this routine.

 Once cleaned up I usually go right to a cruise climb configuration, pull the prop to 2,400, manifold pressure to 23 inches and verify flaps in. This is the time for more careful adjustment of throttle, prop and mixture. 

 After leaning I use my Shadin fuel flow to set 68% power at 10.2 Gallons Per Hour. Without this handy tool, prepare to spend some time with the book or the power calculator and still be off a little.

 68% power requires full throttle at around 6,000 feet and the climb rate will taper to around 350 FPM at 12,000 feet. I've had my RG up to 17,500, a little over the rated service ceiling of 17,100.

 At the 68% power setting, true airspeeds, in knots, will vary from 135 at 2,000 feet to 143 at 8,000 feet to a very efficient 140 on 8.6 GPH at 12,000 feet. That and a good tail wind aloft will make for some memorable trips!

 Some Cardinal pilots fly a low power mode, with the prop back to 2,100 and throttle to top of the green. They report great numbers in this configuration, but the best advice may be to run the engine where it feels happiest.

 The Cardinal really shines on a longer trip. The 60 gallons of fuel in the `76 will take you 5 hours with a reserve, enough time to put 700 miles or better behind you at 8,000 feet, further up higher. And the cabin is large enough to make it a pleasant journey.

 Most 172 pilots transitioning into the Cardinal have trouble calculating how far out to start down. I plan a 300 FPM descent, which can almost always be done while remaining under the yellow airspeed arc.

 Based on this, my rule of thumb is 3 minutes per thousand. So from 12,000 feet to a 2,000 foot pattern I'll need 30 minutes. At 150 knot descent rates that's 75 miles out.

 5 miles from the airport I'll throttle slowly back to 130 knots, where the first notch of flaps can go out. This helps slow me to 100 knots at mid field downwind, a great time to throw out the gear. The gear can be lowered at 125 knots, but I'm buying the gear parts so I stick to 100 knots, just in case it matters.

 With this added drag the rest of the pattern is standard Cessna, with the normal light elevator feel restored at the lower speed. In the winter you'll notice that having the gear down has a devastating effect on the heater, so you'll tend to keep those patterns tight below freezing.

 Holding 70 knots down final works out well, and the elevator will get even lighter as you enter the flare. The Cardinal does not take kindly to being forced down, and will respond with a bounce.

 The normal 172 reaction to a bounce or balloon is all wrong for a Cardinal, and will just make the next bounce worse. Instead of pushing the nose over (which the large stabilator does all too well) just hold still for a moment. You will find that the Cardinal sorts it all out on it's own almost every time.

 If you want to improve the odds, a touch of power will bring things firmly under control. Many people learn this lesson dramatically in their early Cardinal flying days, but after a few dozen landings you'll find that the `Cardinal Crow-Hop' just doesn't seem to happen ever again.

 The Cardinal performs well in short and soft field operations. Although the smaller RG wheels will keep you off beaches or semi-improved strips, the standard farm strip is no problem. With the extra horsepower and powerful stabilizer to lift the nosewheel off the turf the Cardinal comes very close to 172 performance on short grass. And I routinely fly the short field approach (at 62 knots) and land in under 800 feet, just to prove I still can.

 Isn't there a dark side to this machine? What about part availability, landing gear maintenance and why can we name several people who don't own one?

 Here's the straight skinny. It took Cessna a while to really get the Cardinal put together right. In the first year, 1968, an early decision was made to build the plane with 150 horses. As the planned replacement for the 172 that was great for marketing, but the airframe just didn't respond well to that level of power.

 Rumor has it that the marketing department wrote the performance figures as well, or at least measured them with a very well tuned `68. A neighbor who has a `68 says it's a perfect training airplane because it forces you to think about performance calculations on every takeoff.

 The 180 HP O-360 engine installed in `69 helped a lot, but the airplane really didn't find it's stride until the 177B model added a constant velocity prop in 1970. In 1975 the landing gear and brake fairings were redesigned, giving a little more speed. A 60 gallon tank fuel became available in 1973.

 The panel of early Cardinals was built around a `car like' design, with a glare shield that extends just past the radio stack and leaves room on the right side for a glove box. This was expanded to full width in 1976, an important consideration if you dream of installing a fully tricked-out panel. Many pre-'76 birds have impressive radio stack, but you can always use one more 3-1/2 inch mounting hole.

 In it's final year, 1978, Cessna built the fixed gear Cardinal Classic. A full-option airplane with leather seats, cup holders and even a drawing table for the rear passengers, the Classic was the most expensive Cardinal made. A 28 volt electric system along with the cosmetics makes it the most sought after of the Fixed Gear Cardinals.

 Back in 1971 the folding leg version started it's own evolution. With the injected version of the IO-360 Lycoming bringing 200 horses to the party the 177RG was the fastest and most efficient aircraft in it's class. The only real issue was that landing gear.

 Cessna tried several versions of the gear between 1971 and 1975, and they all work, but at times there can be, well, complications. Most early RG owners fly for years without difficulty but on occasion you hear of one that needed serious Cardinal expertise to get the system back under control. The same solenoids that plague some 210's and 337s are usually the culprit although as every owner knows, airplane problems can get very creative.

 In 1976 the engineers put in a more traditional Cessna gear system and from then until the end of the line in 1978 the gear is very well behaved. There are unique things to know about, but most Cessna RG mechanics will feel right at home.

 Again the 1978 version sported double the voltage and electrical system capacity, with the side effect of a quicker gear retraction time. The `78 RG is probably the ideal Cardinal.

 History and stats aside, what are the real problems you might run in to? There are a few common things you can expect.

 All Cardinal owners carry a towel to mop up during or after flight through rain. This is a fixable problem, but most Cardinals still get a few drips in the rain.

 Some Cardinals have interesting wrinkles or patches in the lower fuselage in front of the doors. These are the result of owners who forgot about what those big doors can do with a tail wind on the ramp. The doors can be hard to seal and the hinges tend to wear over time.

 Keeping the full-flying stabilator tight is simple and not terribly critical but an area for occasional attention. And there is a special trick to know if your Fixed Gear nosewheel starts to shimmy or clunk.

 Although there are other areas to be aware of, the above are really the only ones unique to the Cardinal. You'll have to watch your mags in the IO-360, the venturi in your O-360, keep an eye out for corrosion and listen for bird nests in the tail during preflight, but these things are common to any airplane. 

 Luckily, like many airplanes priced low enough for a mortal to own, the Cardinal has an active group of owners. You will find them here on the CFO web page, as well as the CFO email digest. 

 Only from an owner could you learn which model Ford uses the same door handle that Cessna gets $60 for or be reminded to check for a 90 durometer rubber pad on your nose gear actuator arm. And luckily many Cardinal owners are pretty well connected. 

 These various owner forums are also a good place to find the best bargain on parts (they are not hard to find), learn how to keep your Cardinal running well (on a budget), find a well cared for Cardinal for sale (usually to a good home only!) and identify the really crackerjack Cardinal shops and mechanics for those rare problems that require creative analysis.

 For our family the Cardinal has more than fulfilled our dreams. It has enough panel to hold every toy a sane pilot would want and more, it's fast enough to cover some real ground, fun enough to just fly around the patch and stable enough to hand fly IFR for hours. Ours has given us no surprises, just solid and predictable pleasure for the 1400 hours we've flown it.

 And best of all, even as the kids are growing as only kids can, there is still enough room in both airplane and budget for a little family aviation.




