I'm I crazy for wanting a Cessna 140A?

I absolutely love my 140... Fun airplane to fly and doesn't hurt the pocket book topping off. :)
 
I love the 140 and have even been flying its baby cousin, the 120, lately.

Here is me last weekend with a new (new to a friend of mine) 140:


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If you want the real thing you should get a Luscombe :rolleyes:

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Damn, I went and looked at a 140 today, I'm totally hooked.....
 
butajena.jpg

Any idea what this might be? This the the left side of a 1949 Cessna 140A panel.
 
Looks like the inside of the old bicycle handlebar bell. Jingjing jingjing jingjing.
 
N2124v said:
butajena.jpg

Any idea what this might be? This the the left side of a 1949 Cessna 140A panel.
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That is the stall warning horn.

Nothing crazy at all about craving a C-140... they are excellent for any pilot who doesn't need a four-seater or to go very fast. I have flown a few- rag wing and metal wing- and they are fun, capable, and not difficult to handle as far as the tailwheel thing goes. Very economical, even the ones with added oomph like an O-200 (a common STC'd conversion).
Shop around; there are still a lot of them out there. And definitely check in with the International Cessna 120/140 group; you will learn what you need to know to find the best one for you.
As for the Luscombe 8: it's true, they are the "real thing", because Cessna basically copied the Luscombe (and wound up making a more profitable airplane based on that design). I haven't flown one, but they are worth considering, and priced pretty much the same. They are also pretty well-supported, particularly by the Luscombe Endowment.
 
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rottydaddy said:
As for the Luscombe 8: it's true, they are the "real thing", because Cessna basically copied the Luscombe (and wound up making a more profitable airplane based on that design).
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That's true and Cessna did it in a way that Luscombe had been struggling to do in the latter years which was to simplify the design so that it would be easier and cheaper to manufacture. If you've ever worked on the early round tipped horizontal or vertical stabs of a Luscombe you know that only a 14 year old aspiring A&P mechanic with skinny 1946 era arms could ever get a bucking bar in there to buck those rivets. But aesthetically the Luscombe is just flat out superior to the Cessna, it begs you to polish it because there is virtually not a flat panel on it anywhere.

The Cessna is a great airplane and a pretty good "copy" but I challenge you to find anyone doing this in a 140.

Oaksey Park
 
N2124v said:
butajena.jpg

Any idea what this might be? This the the left side of a 1949 Cessna 140A panel.
Click to expand...

That is a stall warning horn that goes with the retro fitted electric stall switch in the wing, that is an after thought by some one, because it is not required until the later versions of the 170.

the 140A became the 1948 rag wing 170, and lost the rag wings in 1949.

OBTW, that panel they cut to put it in is as rare as chicken lips, in the uncut version.
Plus the rudder pedals are C-150, the instrument panel overlay is missing and each instrument has eyebrow lights (yuck) and it has the wrong oil temp gauge in it.
 
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Silvaire said:
The Cessna is a great airplane and a pretty good "copy" but I challenge you to find anyone doing this in a 140.

Oaksey Park
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It's not because it couldn't be done though. I suspect that the average owner is in a different profile.

Ryan


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RyanShort1 said:
It's not because it couldn't be done though. I suspect that the average owner is in a different profile.

Ryan
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Exactly, that's what I meant, or that the person apt to do that sort of thing would choose a Luscombe over a Cessna which may have something to do with this picture - not to say that it as well couldn't be done with a Cessna.

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Those old "retro" panels are cool with their yokes and oblong wheels with aged plastic but I remember hearing of one broken horn on an older Cessna yoke. Do they all have reinforcing metal inside?
 
I have been flying the last 140A built with the 42 gal tanks and an O-290 conversion. Has a Nice Garmin Radio and transponder. Just a very nice airplane to fly.
The owner has had it for sale off and on, His wife (her airplane) wants to sell it and he really doesn't. But I am sure he would sell it if the right person came along.
He has intermittently listed it on barnstormers.

Brian
 
Dave Krall CFII said:
Those old "retro" panels are cool with their yokes and oblong wheels with aged plastic but I remember hearing of one broken horn on an older Cessna yoke. Do they all have reinforcing metal inside?
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yes here is pair that were polished.
 

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Those piano key type switches were also popular back in the day of art deco panels. I just did an annual on a old Bonanza and all of the switches look exactly alike including the flaps, gear and ashtray.:eek:

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Silvaire said:
Those piano key type switches were also popular back in the day of art deco panels. I just did an annual on a old Bonanza and all of the switches look exactly alike including the flaps, gear and ashtray.:eek:
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pretty much standard of the day.


They just seem right for the period.
 

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N2124v said:
Any gotchas? I'm going to join the Cessna 120/140 association.
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Do that..there is a wealth of information there. Things I would recommend you watch out for. Carry-thru spars are notorious for corrosion in these things, if they don't have the inspection holes in the top they can be a bear to inspect. Strut attach points on the fuselage develop cracks and have to have a doubler plate installed. Just things to watch out for because they can get expensive to fix. I actually have one in my shop right now getting all of that done so its fresh in my mind. Just my 2 cents
 
Thank you! I was just recommended a local flight instructor that has a Cessna 140. I'm going to call and see if I can go fly with him and get my tw endorsement and some time in one before I buy.
 
I personally think you can't go wrong with a 140. Even more so if it has the o200 or o200 crankshaft in the c85. Can't help but smile every time I fly.. Spent about 135 hours the past year wondering all over the place. :) too much fun.
 
NineThreeKilo said:
Well, a xpdr is something I would want, if you're thrifty and search for a nice used mode C and a good guy to install it, not a big deal, but a few bucks you're going need to take off the plane. Also no xpdr, no flight following / radar services btw
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Actually it can still be done - I've received flight following in my Flybaby, as recent as, yesterday. No transponder. All I have is a handheld radio with external antenna. They just have me do some turns to identify the radar return.
 
Silvaire said:
The Cessna is a great airplane and a pretty good "copy" but I challenge you to find anyone doing this in a 140.

Oaksey Park
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I've done the stop with the tail in the air part of that in a 120 - but not most of the rest.

On the other hand, I've never seen 5 people get out of a 120/140.
 
Wow, I went and started my tail wheel training in an 85hp C140 this morning. What a fun aircraft to fly! I am totally hooked.
 
Ok, I should have my tail wheel endorsement by early next week, cash is in hand, now the hunt begins!
 
N2124v said:
Ok, I should have my tail wheel endorsement by early next week, cash is in hand, now the hunt begins!
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Well, I found a 1948 Cessna 170 tat I am going to make a run at, only problem is it's 1200 nm away! Price is right and will probably need an engine sooner vs. later, but the 170 makes a little more sense.
 
They are fun and allow the pilot to see over the nose. Having back-seat room for a ice-chest a/c isn't all bad either.

N2124v said:
Well, I found a 1948 Cessna 170 tat I am going to make a run at, only problem is it's 1200 nm away! Price is right and will probably need an engine sooner vs. later, but the 170 makes a little more sense.
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Well, I found a 140 just 89 miles from home. I've made an offer so now I wait......
 
N2124v said:
Well, I found a 140 just 89 miles from home. I've made an offer so now I wait......
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I won't spill the beans about the location of your find, but since I know...

If Ron there at the shop has been annualing and fixing that 140, I can give it a thumbs up for being fixed right.:thumbsup:

Ron is a German through and through. Hope that isn't offensive to anyone. His methods are not half-ass is another way for me to put it. If he does not have the time, or can't fix it, he'll turn it away. Particularly non home based aircraft with extreme prejudice.
 
What is a 180h.p. conversion 170 going for nowadays?

I know where there's a sweet one that will be going on the block pretty soon I'm betting. Right now, it's roosting in a dark hangar, waiting on an old pilot with a busted medical, and no light at the end of that tunnel.
 
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