Getting my CSEL in a Cessna 150

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mryan75

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mryan75
Hi all,

I’m in a flying club with a very nice Cherokee 180, and a solid Cessna 150. The 180 has a GTN750, dual G5s and soon, a Garmin autopilot. The 150 has the Tailbeacon ADSB out, and steam gauges. I’ve thought about getting my Commercial, and I have a friend in the same club doing it right now in the 180. I asked him why and his response was basically that he couldn’t take himself seriously getting a commercial certificate in a 150. I didn’t quite understand that notion, but he also said that as a primary student, he once did a stall in a 150 (purposely) and it nosed over almost into a spin and scared the crap out of him. That I do understand.

So my dilemma is, which plane to do the Commercial in. The 180 costs almost exactly 50% more per hour than the 150. Both have new engines and are well-maintained. The 150 has better availability.

I got my IR in the 180, I’m much more familiar with it, and at 6’3 220lbs, it’s obviously more comfortable. And regarding the spinability aspect, in my opinion I think if you can’t fly a 150 without crashing it, ya probably don’t deserve to call yourself a commercial pilot.

I’m a somewhat apprehensive pilot (VERY safety-conscious), 300+ hrs. TT, and I would say my stick and rudder skills are above average. I am not Chuck Yeager.

Part of me thinks the 150 would be easier to do the commercial in simply because it’s slower and would therefore give you a bit more time on the maneuvers.

But cost-wise the 150 is a steal at $60 an hour wet.

So my question is, do you guys see any reason to do the commercial in the 180 rather than the 150? Because I really don’t.

And an old instructor of mine said the maneuvers were not hard, that 10 hours of dual should be sufficient. Would love to hear any feedback on that.

I appreciate any thoughts and feedback in advance.

Mike
 
I’d suggest the 180 due to your size. Both are super easy to fly and the 150 even is more of a pu$$y cat than the 180. They don’t get any easier than a 150.
 
I am voting for the Cherokee only because of your size and weight, but if you have a smallish CFI and Examiner and are comfortable enough in the 150 then go for it.

Brian
CFIIG/ASEL
 
To me, doing your commercial in a C150 is like doing your IR in a plane without GPS in 2022. You do it to save money or to brag about it later.
 
I was all for the C-150 up until I read your weight. The 150 is great for building time economically. Also great for acquiring good solid stick and rudder skills. But man, you'll be over gross with any normal sized CFI or DPE unless you have some kind of simple weight management system, in which case you might be the first one ever. Go with the Cherokee and get some dual in a Citabria or Decathlon, IMO.
 
Thanks for the input, fellas, 180 it is. I have very little time in the 150 and most of it solo, la de da sightseeing. So even though I know it’s not much of a performer I really don’t know how it handles weight and loads and such. My prospective CFI probably weighs about the same or a hair less than I do.
 
mryan75 said:
Thanks for the input, fellas, 180 it is. I have very little time in the 150 and most of it solo, la de da sightseeing. So even though I know it’s not much of a performer I really don’t know how it handles weight and loads and such. My prospective CFI probably weighs about the same or a hair less than I do.
Click to expand...

You'd have to measure fuel with tablespoons in that case.

Enjoy the 180 and please report back to us.
 
I'm planning on doing CSEL in a 150 this year. The reason? I own one. I weigh 155 but even still I anticipate finding a dpe that will fit may not be straightforward.
 
Go for the 150. I got mine in a PA-22 Tripacer. Even more user friendlier than a 150 with its interconnected controls. The 135 hp models are dogs. The 150 & 160's are spicier and better load carriers. Good luck finding one.
 
My initial CFI flight test was in a C-150 and the examiner had me demonstrate the commercial maneuvers.

I think he was just messing with me since doing Chandelles and Lazy Eights in a C-150 is a weird experience after flying high performance airplanes. We had to use the 150 to do the Spin demo anyway...
 
I did my single commercial in a C-152.

Of course I had already done multi-commercial.
 
If the Cherokee is getting a 2-axis (or better) autopilot soon, it sounds like a TAA, allowing you to check that box if you don’t have 10hrs of otherwise qualifying experience for 61.129 (a) (3) (ii).

So if you need the 10hrs, I’d say just do it all in the Cherokee.
 
The 150 takes a long time to climb to altitude to do maneuvers, or even just pattern work, meaning that you get less training per hour. If it's enough less, you're not saving any money at all.

Good for spins, though.
 
Dan Thomas said:
The 150 takes a long time to climb to altitude to do maneuvers, or even just pattern work, meaning that you get less training per hour. If it's enough less, you're not saving any money at all.
Click to expand...
I suppose that is true in Denver or Colorado Springs but in the lower elevations the performance isn’t THAT much worse than a 172.
 
6ft 3in in a 150 (not a 152?)

That seat only moves back so far.

Also a 150 has about 400lbs useful load. 400-220 = 180lbs.

CFI, Fuel, Student :: Pick TWO
 
Even though I owned my previous Lance (PA32R-300) when I got my CSEL, I used a 152 for training and most of the exam. It was purely a cost savings issue. I picked up the examiner at KORL in the 152, did all the main work, then we dropped by my base (X07) and picked up my Lance and I flew him back to KORL. This was back before the TAA option and I was required to show him I could handle a complex aircraft. FYI, I did get enough training in the Lance so that if the examiner asked, I could repeat any part of the test after we swapped aircraft.
 
Biggest problem with commercial training in a C150 is that it's so slow your pivotal altitude for 8s on pylons can easily go below 500 feet.
 
mryan75 said:
Hi all,

I’m in a flying club with a very nice Cherokee 180, and a solid Cessna 150. The 180 has a GTN750, dual G5s and soon, a Garmin autopilot. The 150 has the Tailbeacon ADSB out, and steam gauges. I’ve thought about getting my Commercial, and I have a friend in the same club doing it right now in the 180. I asked him why and his response was basically that he couldn’t take himself seriously getting a commercial certificate in a 150. I didn’t quite understand that notion, but he also said that as a primary student, he once did a stall in a 150 (purposely) and it nosed over almost into a spin and scared the crap out of him. That I do understand.

So my dilemma is, which plane to do the Commercial in. The 180 costs almost exactly 50% more per hour than the 150. Both have new engines and are well-maintained. The 150 has better availability.

I got my IR in the 180, I’m much more familiar with it, and at 6’3 220lbs, it’s obviously more comfortable. And regarding the spinability aspect, in my opinion I think if you can’t fly a 150 without crashing it, ya probably don’t deserve to call yourself a commercial pilot.

I’m a somewhat apprehensive pilot (VERY safety-conscious), 300+ hrs. TT, and I would say my stick and rudder skills are above average. I am not Chuck Yeager.

Part of me thinks the 150 would be easier to do the commercial in simply because it’s slower and would therefore give you a bit more time on the maneuvers.

But cost-wise the 150 is a steal at $60 an hour wet.

So my question is, do you guys see any reason to do the commercial in the 180 rather than the 150? Because I really don’t.

And an old instructor of mine said the maneuvers were not hard, that 10 hours of dual should be sufficient. Would love to hear any feedback on that.

I appreciate any thoughts and feedback in advance.

Mike
Click to expand...
If you’re getting a Cherokee 180 with dual G5s, a Garmin AP and a GTN 750 for $90 an hour wet, that’s an absolute steal. Unless your absolutely tight on cash I would choose the well equipped Cherokee.
 
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