IFR Cessna 140/120

[Brad W]

1st to preface this isn't a "serious" question....not something I am looking to do or seriously considering.... just a curiosity thought over my Sunday morning coffee.

How many Cessna 140/120 types do you think are equipped/certified and flown for modern IFR flight?​

I stumbled on a youtube channel, that I have enjoyed, "fly me to the fun". Not a lot of videos posted but it's a young couple with an IFR equipped Cessna 150 and they have done some impressive cross country trips in it. St Barts from Atlanta for example.

I learned in C152's and have a little C150 time, but it has been a very long time since I've even considered owning one... My last C152 flight was on a windy bumpy day and I remember thinking maybe never again....but that was a different day and I had a different mission way back then.... These youtube vids have sparked a minor "daydream" interest though in such a thing... relatively affordable to buy, economical to fly, very common, and probably good enough if you're not in a huge hurry and have a flexible schedule. I know there are better faster options for more money...but like I said this si just a curiosity thought. I suppose what makes it a bit more workable is the ability for IFR, just light stuff such as breaking through a layer, etc. probably.... And thinking this through a bit a C140 isn't so unlike a C150, in many ways better perhaps, so I wondered....

 

[Tools]

I known a couple that were only a IFR cert away. Had all the stuff. I don’t see any problems with it.

I know a guy thinking VERY seriously about IFRing a Challenger II. I haven’t flown it yet, so jury is still out…

It’s not a “normal” scan pattern, but plenty workable. In some ways, I think kinda smart, the extra slow really does reduce the workload. Plenty stable, trims up nice.

 

[GeorgeC]

Mine came with a 430 and would have been fine for light IFR. @MBDiagMan's, too, I think. Some have six pack panels. No pitot heat on a 140, though.

 

[Steamflyer]

Very few 120/140 are IFR equiped and certified, but there are some out there. Can be very handy in warmer near-ocean climates to allow one to arrive or depart on days when the coastal layer hangs around. Or a cheap way to stay current at 4-5 gph.

91 CFR 205 lists what is needed - no pitot heat involved. However, adding the required instruments to a VFR only 120/140 will probably end up costing about the same as the aircraft itself.

 

[Brad W]

this morning after I posted this, I googled something like IFR cessna 140..... I had forgotten about Stevi Tiresenberg on youtube...not sure how I forgot about her absolutely beautiful C140A project! I don't recall if she ever specifically said if it was IFR certified....but the way it's equipped I can hardly imagine that she would not have done it all the way.

 

[manac]

My 120 was certified with a single nav/com. Probably for the marine layer out in CA. I‘m working on my IFR now and thinking about putting in a IFR gps/com for the fun of it.

 

[texasclouds]

most are flown low n slow, I Fly Roads style

$$,$$$.$$ is why I haven’t splashed the dash with Garmin drip in my 170 whip

 

[Steamflyer]

this morning after I posted this, I googled something like IFR cessna 140..... I had forgotten about Stevi Tiresenberg on youtube...not sure how I forgot about her absolutely beautiful C140A project! I don't recall if she ever specifically said if it was IFR certified....but the way it's equipped I can hardly imagine that she would not have done it all the way.

Checked out the video. Appears that it is IFR - AI plus a TB along with an HSI and a WAAS navigator. Only limitation is that alternate mins must be non-precision in that setup.

 

[IK04]

My C-150 was IFR and I flew it in IMC a few times.

I flew a C-120 IFR once. That was back when large parts of the Central Valley in California was non-radar and I had to make full reports. Never again!

 

[Steamflyer]

My C-150 was IFR and I flew it in IMC a few times.

I flew a C-120 IFR once. That was back when large parts of the Central Valley in California was non-radar and I had to make full reports. Never again!

Remember those days - and you always got the full approach, both down south and up north before they got more radar (which wasn't that long ago).

If the 120 is straight, not to bad in the soup, but if not, less so. Either way, it has little inertia on any axis, so easy to jostle. Of course that's what makes it fun to fly.