Cessna150 STOL possible?

Peter Ha

Peter Ha

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Nov 18, 2019
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Hey folks,
I removed my wheel-pants and wondered if STOL takeoff and landings are possible on my 150? Looking to land in those scenic soft-fields near valleys and mountains.
 
Define the S in STOL? What do you consider short?
 
Yeah, short field and soft field are different animals (unless they interbreed). In the right conditions off of hard pan you could probably get going in 350 feet or so, but you'd still be climbing at C150 rates. You can land one of those (or even a 172) in 400 feet (or less if it's that soft field!)
So if you have no experience, I'd call a short field 1K feet, and a soft field anything that you can see your footprints in, however faint. Start with that (says the guy whose last grass landing was on a one-way strip with a hangar at the end. Never again.)
 
I fly a A150L with a STOL wing mod and 180 horses. I'm usually pulling a 2-seat glider but I bet I have less ground roll even with towing a glider than a stock 150 doing a short field takeoff.
 
Witmo said:
I fly a A150L with a STOL wing mod and 180 horses. I'm usually pulling a 2-seat glider but I bet I have less ground roll even with towing a glider than a stock 150 doing a short field takeoff.
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This. Find a C- 150/160/180 already converted(o-320 or o-360). Then you got a STOL 150. I know of one with the o-360 and a field approval that brings it up to 200hp.

Convert(better yet buy one done) to taildragger, some VGs, and bush tires and now you're talkin.
https://www.john2031.com/alaska_bush_planes/airplane_pictures_4/soldotna/2_n2768s.JPG
https://www.john2031.com/alaska_bush_planes/airplane_pictures_4/soldotna/3_n60725.JPG
 
idahoflier said:
But at the end of the day, it's still a 100HP O-200 and if you want more power it's time to start looking for a different airframe that already has the HP...
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Actually, prop makers use 85 HP or so for figuring prop dimensions for the O-200. It's not really 100 HP at all. Other have dyno'd them and none ever got past 95 HP. I flew several 150s as an instructor, and also flew a 95 hp Aircoupe, the last iteration of the Ercoupe, with a C-90 in it. Same power-to-weight ratio as the 150 (assuming 100 HP for the 150) and that Ercoupe took off shorter, climbed faster and cruised faster than the 150s. 150s are draggy things. When Cessna put that back window in it got heavier and draggier.

Better to buy a Super Cub and do some real STOL flying.
 
If you are set on STOL get a Maule...
 
Is there a particular "scenic short/soft-field airport" that you have your eye on? That we could look up, and *then* have an argument about whether your 150 could do it? :).
 
It depends on what you mean. I can get my 150 in and out of anything a J3, taylorcraft, 140/120, champ, citabira, luscombe can. Shed some weight from the interior, get a sportsman stol kit, Hd nose fork and bigger tires and it will hang with anything short of an experimental.
 
I used to land and taxi off at the taxiway on the approach end of the runway in my STOL C-150. I won every bet I ever made on how short I could land that thing.

I landed it on a guy's front lawn a couple of times just to avoid needing transportation from the airport. That was fun!

I'm not super sure of my approach speed, since the airspeed indicator was down near zero and the stall horn was on pretty loud.
 
Grum.Man said:
It depends on what you mean. I can get my 150 in and out of anything a J3, taylorcraft, 140/120, champ, citabira, luscombe can. Shed some weight from the interior, get a sportsman stol kit, Hd nose fork and bigger tires and it will hang with anything short of an experimental.
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I used to touch down and stop a 150 in 400 feet. But getting into a small spot isn't the same as getting out of that spot again.
 
The best thing you can do is burn gas in the plane and practice at your local airfield. Practice hitting a spot you select on the runway every time with the minimum amount of airspeed.



 
Dan Thomas said:
I used to touch down and stop a 150 in 400 feet. But getting into a small spot isn't the same as getting out of that spot again.
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I used to get a kick landing and taking off in a PC12 in less distance than the guy in the CAP 182.
 
Dan Thomas said:
I used to touch down and stop a 150 in 400 feet. But getting into a small spot isn't the same as getting out of that spot again.
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This. I used to own a stock 150 and could easily land in a much shorter distance than I could ever take off in.
 
idahoflier said:
Yeah, but unless you have $ to burn it just doesn't make sense (at least to me) to do that...
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Every so often they come up for sale.... at a pretty good price too... just need to be patient about it...
 
If the nose wheel of a 150 hits a gopher hole your looking at a prop strike and a tear down. There isn't that much room under the prop. Granted the engine work will be cheaper than with a larger engine. There just isn't a lot of uuumph to get out of tight spaces. I landed mine on a number of turf fields, but I was always worried about holes. Even soft ground can be a big issue if the nose wheel digs in. One of the aircraft in the Mooney Caravan last year got itself a prop strike just taxiing in the grass. Field was too wet.

I'd still go for it, life is short. But what the other fellows said, any airplane can get into somewhere it can't get out of. A 150 is just a bit more adept at it than most.
 
You get more prop clearance if you convert it to t/w.
 
Dan Thomas said:
Actually, prop makers use 85 HP or so for figuring prop dimensions for the O-200. It's not really 100 HP at all. Other have dyno'd them and none ever got past 95 HP. I flew several 150s as an instructor, and also flew a 95 hp Aircoupe, the last iteration of the Ercoupe, with a C-90 in it. Same power-to-weight ratio as the 150 (assuming 100 HP for the 150) and that Ercoupe took off shorter, climbed faster and cruised faster than the 150s.
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Yep. More anecdata, my friend's C90 120 easily outruns my O200 140A.
 
If you're going to all the work and expense of converting a C-150 with a big engine and a tailwheel, why not just buy a Super Cub or similar and be done with it?

Though I certainly wouldn't mind spending a few hours with a tailwheel converted Aerobat with a big engine... :)
 
Dana said:
If you're going to all the work and expense of converting a C-150 with a big engine and a tailwheel, why not just buy a Super Cub or similar and be done with it?

Though I certainly wouldn't mind spending a few hours with a tailwheel converted Aerobat with a big engine... :)
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OR just buy a 170...
 
Dana said:
If you're going to all the work and expense of converting a C-150 with a big engine and a tailwheel, why not just buy a Super Cub or similar and be done with it?

Though I certainly wouldn't mind spending a few hours with a tailwheel converted Aerobat with a big engine... :)
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Price really. Cubs pull down stupid money for what they are. Can bang an engine on something else a lot cheaper.
 
Grum.Man said:
OR just buy a 170...
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Can't do acro in a 170, at least not legally.

denverpilot said:
Price really. Cubs pull down stupid money for what they are. Can bang an engine on something else a lot cheaper.
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True, Cubs are ridiculous. My point was that there are a lot of better or easier bush plane choices than converting a 150 with a big engine.
 
A 180 HP 150 must be a real kick ass on takeoff. The 150-150 I've flown was fun enough.
 
POA often times has a real hard time with perspective. LOL

The OP just bought a 150 and ferried it across the country. He's curious about its capabilities and realistic ways of enhancing them. All the talk about buying different planes and bolting on big engines on is just noise.
 
Salty said:
POA often times has a real hard time with perspective. LOL

The OP just bought a 150 and ferried it across the country. He's curious about its capabilities and realistic ways of enhancing them. All the talk about buying different planes and bolting on big engines on is just noise.
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^^^ This. I was thinking the same thing...

@Peter Ha, don't worry about other people talking about what *they* can do with a 150. Learn what *you* can do in *yours*.
To become master of the "cool short/soft mountainy places", involves three very different kinds of skills: a) knowing your airplane's performance, b) dealing with soft fields, and c) dealing with mountains.

You can practice (a) by going to *any* runway for some pattern work and taking note of how far it takes you to take off and land. Use the runway stripes as a reference -- it is 200 feet from the beginning of one centerline stripe to the beginning of the next one. Over different practice days, try to notice how the answers change with temperature, field altitude, and weight.
You can practice (b) by going to an airport with a nice grass or dirt runway but that doesn't have a lot of other challenges (like obstacles). I don't know of any in SoCal, but I'm sure someone on this board can make a recommendation... Take a CFI with you if you're at all uncertain about this. Take note of how all the numbers from experiment (a) change when the surface is soft.
You've already gotten some experience with (c) on your epic cross-country... so you already know that negotiating terrain is its own challenge, irrespective of the runway. So fly in and out of some mountainy places that have nice long paved runways, but are in mountains or valleys. I'll throw Kern Valley (L05) as an example near you; it's beautiful, has a great airplane-campground with showers and everything, and a breakfast/lunch cafe on the field. The runway is plenty big, but it's nestled in a valley and you'll have to be "inventive" with the traffic pattern because there's a hill that sticks up right into where the downwind-to-base turn would be. SoCal experts can (again) maybe chime in. Columbia (O22) is farther away for you, but another really great mountain airport. Be mindful of the winds and up/down-drafts. Maybe take a "mountain-flying" course with a CFI, for tips.

Eventually, when you're comfortable with (a) and (b) and (c) separately, you can start combining them together. Expand your comfort zone, but one step at a time. I live in Alaska, and flew a 150HP 150 for a while, and I am still slowly expanding my own short/soft/mountain comfort zone.
Have fun!
 
kath said:
^^^ This. I was thinking the same thing...

@Peter Ha, don't worry about other people talking about what *they* can do with a 150. Learn what *you* can do in *yours*.
To become master of the "cool short/soft mountainy places", involves three very different kinds of skills: a) knowing your airplane's performance, b) dealing with soft fields, and c) dealing with mountains.

You can practice (a) by going to *any* runway for some pattern work and taking note of how far it takes you to take off and land. Use the runway stripes as a reference -- it is 200 feet from the beginning of one centerline stripe to the beginning of the next one. Over different practice days, try to notice how the answers change with temperature, field altitude, and weight.
You can practice (b) by going to an airport with a nice grass or dirt runway but that doesn't have a lot of other challenges (like obstacles). I don't know of any in SoCal, but I'm sure someone on this board can make a recommendation... Take a CFI with you if you're at all uncertain about this. Take note of how all the numbers from experiment (a) change when the surface is soft.
You've already gotten some experience with (c) on your epic cross-country... so you already know that negotiating terrain is its own challenge, irrespective of the runway. So fly in and out of some mountainy places that have nice long paved runways, but are in mountains or valleys. I'll throw Kern Valley (L05) as an example near you; it's beautiful, has a great airplane-campground with showers and everything, and a breakfast/lunch cafe on the field. The runway is plenty big, but it's nestled in a valley and you'll have to be "inventive" with the traffic pattern because there's a hill that sticks up right into where the downwind-to-base turn would be. SoCal experts can (again) maybe chime in. Columbia (O22) is farther away for you, but another really great mountain airport. Be mindful of the winds and up/down-drafts. Maybe take a "mountain-flying" course with a CFI, for tips.

Eventually, when you're comfortable with (a) and (b) and (c) separately, you can start combining them together. Expand your comfort zone, but one step at a time. I live in Alaska, and flew a 150HP 150 for a while, and I am still slowly expanding my own short/soft/mountain comfort zone.
Have fun!
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Read the POH and pay attention to the takeoff distance stuff. There are notes about temperature and altitude and wind and types of surface. Once you start adding 10% for this and 15% for that to the "standard" takeoff distance, you start learning about limitations and what they really mean before you go and prang the thing trying to get out of some marginal place. Just landing and taking off from random places doesn't tell you anything about the airplane's capabilities when it's hotter or the wind's dead or the strip is at 4000' ASL or the grass is 6" long.
 
Dana said:
Can't do acro in a 170, at least not legally.



True, Cubs are ridiculous. My point was that there are a lot of better or easier bush plane choices than converting a 150 with a big engine.
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most 150hp C150’s lose their aerobatic certification with the big engine.
 
Peter Ha said:
Hey folks,
I removed my wheel-pants and wondered if STOL takeoff and landings are possible on my 150? Looking to land in those scenic soft-fields near valleys and mountains.
Click to expand...

Be mindful of the nose wheel bolt. The bolt takes the load and has been known to bend or break.

My 150 has the heavy duty nose wheel and strut (nose wheel held in place with a real axle, out of a 182 I think). Also has the Horton STOL kit.
 
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