My "New" 1947 140 and my adventure of learning to fly her...

Huckster79

Huckster79

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Huckster79
My name is Ray, I've had my ticket since 2008 and been in a 12 person club since, with a really nice 172 with the 180hp in her. But with a move she became an hour away and flying got less and less frequent and then stopped. "I'll get back to in next spring" happened for three years... One morning I had a dream I was looking at a Cherokee 6 to buy and it was the most wonderful feeling in the dream of, "I can take my boys flying again". I woke up and said I have to make this happen, now, my oldest is almost 16 I either get flying again now or he will only ever remember it as part of his young childhood... Started that day working on figuring out what to buy. Decided on the 120/140 as its very economical to buy, it arguably undervalued, has a good reputation for maintenance, is very economical to fly. With still having the membership in the club, I have access to a true 4 passenger plane so an real basic economical flyer works well to have by home. I also am drawn to the idea of simple flying, I sought out one with nothing but the basics, I have no gyros or VOR and thats how I wanted it...


11/19 I met my new baby, 1859V a 1947 Cessna 140. I don't have a taildragger endorsement so my instructor Jack flew out to Nebraska with me, we live in Central Michigan, grabbed an Uber from the Omaha Airport and drove down to Falls City Nebraska, KFNB, where I seen her for the first time in person. We didn't have time to dawdle so we gave her a good look over, I had had a pre-buy/annual done on her ahead of time, we loaded up and flew to KOTM, Ottumwa IA. Absolutely amazing FBO there, they parked us in a hanger that had housed Stearmans in WWII and gave us a loaner car that still had new car smell for the night. We had one of the best dinners ever at BubbaQs highly recommend the place.. The next morning we took off for C97, Lowell, IN, great little private owned public grass strip with fuel. Gotta call ahead though, Kevin there was great and departed and were home in another 1.5 hours. It all happened so fast and the mission was at hand, I had not taken in yet- THAT I HAD JUST BOUGHT MY FIRST AIRPLANE AND SHE WAS ALL MINE, until I went to radio 6D6 and got a lump in my throat, that this is real. I'm keyed the mike and called, "Greenville Traffic, Cessna 1859V inbound for full stop landing, at her new home, runway 28, Greenville Traffic" wiped a tear out of my eye and smiled ear to ear as we pulled up to the pump. The only issue we had on way home was when some rookie 140 driver decided he should check for carb ice as they heard the c85 is prone, and he pulled the mixture knob instead of the carb heat! Woke us up, and had a good chuckle how I'll never mix those two knobs up again!

My mom, 83, thought I should fix my house up or buy a nicer one before spending money on a plane. After seeing it, she asked if we cud take it to go see my brother in Tennessee, she thinks it will be a fun adventure for her and me. I couldn't be happier.

So I flew all of cruise and taxi'ed but in the spirit of wanting to get home Jack did all the take off and landings, so now my TW endorsement begins... Wx is screwing us up a bit, the turf is covered in snow now and the pavement is a sheet of ice. So we are hoping maybe next week we can get up... I'm looking very forward to learning something new and be able to crack the, "I don't need a training wheel to land" joke at pancake breakfast fly ins.

I got home and the log books arrived, shipped and heavily insured, and what do I find in log book one, but that after her test flight she flew to Michigan, and her first home was about a 30 minute flight from home! I had looked at the logs but only the latter ones in great detail...

So for the Bird:

1947 Cessna 140
Rag Wing (That was a must for me, unless I had found the right 140A)
C-85, but with the STC for 0-200 crank, pistons, etc...
C-150 exhaust
Alternator
710hrs since Major, that was the rebuild they put the 0-200 parts on her.

Jack, who has 22,000 hours with no airline time, was very pleased and impressed with how she flew.
 
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IMG_2766.JPG IMG_2774.JPG
First one is me back at 6D6, others are my boys checking her out. My first upgrades are going to be seat harnesses and stripping of the interior, talked to a 140 driver who said he took carpet and upholstery out and lost about 20lbs... Important to keep theses little gals weight down... Next summer hoping to put new stripes on her more in the 140A style...
 
pigpenracing said:
Nice! I really enjoy my 1947 O-200 powered 140
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Thats a beauty! I love those doors! Really nice 140 you got!

I've been in a friends 120 with the O-200 and that definitely seemed to have a shorter take off roll, but I have heard that the C85 with the O-200 goodies does a lot better than a standard c85 even though paperwork doesn't reflect that.

I'm looking forward to my TW training, so she can be fully fully mine as in I can pilot her, just her and I... Plus I love the learning process and the challenge. I'm hoping now my plane is local I spring for hour of instruction here and there, as even though I'll technically have my endorsement I also know there is much more Jack could teach me more than the bear requirements... he told me hes going to get me to be a good tailwheel pilot then he's going to talk me into putting her on floats :)
 
My 140 3 points real nice. I did 1 wheel landing since I had it and don't see a reason. I 3 point it on every landing. Just a tip....
 
pigpenracing said:
My 140 3 points real nice. I did 1 wheel landing since I had it and don't see a reason. I 3 point it on every landing. Just a tip....
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20 degrees of flaps I've been told works well for 3 pointers, what do you say?
 
I just sold one of the nicest 140's in existence. It also has the C=85 with the O-200 crank conversion. Also flow ported and balanced. Cruises 120mph and climbs 800 fpm at gross. I've been flying 140's for 35 years and still enjoy them. It is a three point airplane and I rarely use flaps as they don't do much. Have fun with yours,
 

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yakdriver said:
I just sold one of the nicest 140's in existence. It also has the C=85 with the O-200 crank conversion. Also flow ported and balanced. Cruises 120mph and climbs 800 fpm at gross. I've been flying 140's for 35 years and still enjoy them. It is a three point airplane and I rarely use flaps as they don't do much. Have fun with yours,
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Wow that is a beaut! My exterior is pretty plain Jane, hoping doing the 140a schemed stripes on it helps, and getting rid of that ugly "fan" painted on the tail... I think I'll stick with Blue, I love the red but prefer it more on the cream white than this absolute plain white... We are thinking of finding the right color in vinyl and then get paint to match the vinyl, just to hit the piano hinges and such where vinyl couldn't go...

How big a deal is it to get the rudder rebalanced, so I can get rid of the fan and put the solid stripe on it?
 
I seen some very high time 120/140 pilots tip their aircraft up at little to no provocation.
the best safety addition is a pair of wheel extentions.

Fun as hell aircraft tho.
 
Tom-D said:
I seen some very high time 120/140 pilots tip their aircraft up at little to no provocation.
the best safety addition is a pair of wheel extentions.

Fun as hell aircraft tho.
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Wheel extensions???? I always thought that was a really dumb thing to do. If you fly the airplane correctly there is no need.
That's like making the gear extra wide on my Pitts :(
I know people that wreck motorcycles. Is it a good idea to put training wheels on those :D
 
Tom-D said:
I seen some very high time 120/140 pilots tip their aircraft up at little to no provocation.
the best safety addition is a pair of wheel extentions.

Fun as hell aircraft tho.
Click to expand...
It's funny that nearly ALL of the 120/140 owners in the owners group will tell you to take them OFF. There are some nasty things that they can do to the gearbox over time and they aren't really THAT much of a help in the club's experience... https://www.cessna120-140.org/
And yeah, my old bird had the extenders on when I owned her, but I'd take them off if / when I have another one.
 
RyanShort1 said:
It's funny that nearly ALL of the 120/140 owners in the owners group will tell you to take them OFF. There are some nasty things that they can do to the gearbox over time and they aren't really THAT much of a help in the club's experience... https://www.cessna120-140.org/
And yeah, my old bird had the extenders on when I owned her, but I'd take them off if / when I have another one.
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How easy is it to make advice when you have no skin in the game.
 
Looks like you got yourself a nice little 140. The little Cessna's are inexpensive, simple to maintain and fun to fly. Yes, the little Continentals love to make carb ice, at least with the Stromberg carbs.
Now go and join the Cessna 120/140 club, or at least get online with them.
You can spend some nice time cleaning, painting and fixing it up the way you want your plane to look like. Have fun!
 
Congrats! Welcome to the Cessna taildragger club! There really aren't better planes out there. If I'm honest I had a bit of a tear-up the night I got my Skywagon home, the fulfillment of a decade long dream... Plane ownership is really something special and quite humbling. I flew a 140 once out of Sidney Nebraska, it was by far the sweetest flying plane I have, to this day, EVER flown. If you're ever in Southern Wisconsin I'd be happy to trade rides :).

@GeorgeC Recently purchased a 140a, so you're in good company around here.
 
Huckster79 said:
My name is Ray, I've had my ticket since 2008 and been in a 12 person club since, with a really nice 172 with the 180hp in her. But with a move she became an hour away and flying got less and less frequent and then stopped. "I'll get back to in next spring" happened for three years... One morning I had a dream I was looking at a Cherokee 6 to buy and it was the most wonderful feeling in the dream of, "I can take my boys flying again". I woke up and said I have to make this happen, now, my oldest is almost 16 I either get flying again now or he will only ever remember it as part of his young childhood... Started that day working on figuring out what to buy. Decided on the 120/140 as its very economical to buy, it arguably undervalued, has a good reputation for maintenance, is very economical to fly. With still having the membership in the club, I have access to a true 4 passenger plane so an real basic economical flyer works well to have by home. I also am drawn to the idea of simple flying, I sought out one with nothing but the basics, I have no gyros or VOR and thats how I wanted it...


11/19 I met my new baby, 1859V a 1947 Cessna 140. I don't have a taildragger endorsement so my instructor Jack flew out to Nebraska with me, we live in Central Michigan, grabbed an Uber from the Omaha Airport and drove down to Falls City Nebraska, KFNB, where I seen her for the first time in person. We didn't have time to dawdle so we gave her a good look over, I had had a pre-buy/annual done on her ahead of time, we loaded up and flew to KOTM, Ottumwa IA. Absolutely amazing FBO there, they parked us in a hanger that had housed Stearmans in WWII and gave us a loaner car that still had new car smell for the night. We had one of the best dinners ever at BubbaQs highly recommend the place.. The next morning we took off for C97, Lowell, IN, great little private owned public grass strip with fuel. Gotta call ahead though, Kevin there was great and departed and were home in another 1.5 hours. It all happened so fast and the mission was at hand, I had not taken in yet- THAT I HAD JUST BOUGHT MY FIRST AIRPLANE AND SHE WAS ALL MINE, until I went to radio 6D6 and got a lump in my throat, that this is real. I'm keyed the mike and called, "Greenville Traffic, Cessna 1859V inbound for full stop landing, at her new home, runway 28, Greenville Traffic" wiped a tear out of my eye and smiled ear to ear as we pulled up to the pump. The only issue we had on way home was when some rookie 140 driver decided he should check for carb ice as they heard the c85 is prone, and he pulled the mixture knob instead of the carb heat! Woke us up, and had a good chuckle how I'll never mix those two knobs up again!

My mom, 83, thought I should fix my house up or buy a nicer one before spending money on a plane. After seeing it, she asked if we cud take it to go see my brother in Tennessee, she thinks it will be a fun adventure for her and me. I couldn't be happier.

So I flew all of cruise and taxi'ed but in the spirit of wanting to get home Jack did all the take off and landings, so now my TW endorsement begins... Wx is screwing us up a bit, the turf is covered in snow now and the pavement is a sheet of ice. So we are hoping maybe next week we can get up... I'm looking very forward to learning something new and be able to crack the, "I don't need a training wheel to land" joke at pancake breakfast fly ins.

I got home and the log books arrived, shipped and heavily insured, and what do I find in log book one, but that after her test flight she flew to Michigan, and her first home was about a 30 minute flight from home! I had looked at the logs but only the latter ones in great detail...

So for the Bird:

1947 Cessna 140
Rag Wing (That was a must for me, unless I had found the right 140A)
C-85, but with the STC for 0-200 crank, pistons, etc...
C-150 exhaust
Alternator
710hrs since Major, that was the rebuild they put the 0-200 parts on her.

Jack, who has 22,000 hours with no airline time, was very pleased and impressed with how she flew.
Click to expand...
Congrats!!! Great looking plane! Welcome to POA
 
Looks like you have a nice one there! Your post took me back in time almost 50 years to when I flew mine from Ohio to California and back. It was a '46 with wheel extensions and Jetstream wheel pants. Had just been painted with a new interior. It was a cream puff! White with light gold pin-stripes. White leatherette interior, black carpet. I recently looked her up with a Google search and found her up in Alaska. She's been run hard and put away wet since we parted:
​

Don't let this happen to yours, keep her!

About those extensions--they put the "spring" in spring landing gear. Much harder to control, i.e., you need to be a better pilot. With those balloony tires, you may not need them, I dunno.

Good flying to ya!

​
 
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Tom-D said:
How easy is it to make advice when you have no skin in the game.
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Tom, have you owned and given tailwheel instruction in a 120? I don’t understand your “skin in the game” reference. I’ve probably flown 4-5 different 120s with students with and without extenders, and like I said, mine had them. Yes, you can flip one, but there are real downsides to the extenders, too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hi @Huckster79 , beautiful plane! Congrats!

We're somewhat neighbors btw...I'm over at D95. I met my DPE this past summer at 6D6 for my instrument checkride...nice field, with cheap(ish) gas, if I recall. I also remembered there was a sign for hangar rent there when I was there, and seemed that it was very reasonable...

Some advice: don't get too much work done to that plane until next winter. You're not going to want to lay it up right off the bat, but get out there instead and fly! Maybe we'll see you around this summer at the fly-ins/pancake breakfasts. I try to attend one or two every month from May to September, and go to a few out your way (I think Miller/Sparta has a nice one).

Oh, and like yours, my plane had a "homecoming" as well. My '66 Cherokee was sold brand new at my home field, D95, in 1966. It stayed on the field until about 1974, when it was sold off to a guy in Ohio. It stayed around the mid-west, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, then back to Indiana, before I bought it and brought it back "home". There are old pictures in the FBO, from the late 60's, that show a PA28. I'd love to find out that they are pics of my plane (its had a paint job, so it's hard to tell if its my plane in the pics).
 
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tawood said:
Some advice: don't get too much work done to that plane until next winter. You're not going to want to lay it up right off the bat, but get out there instead and fly!
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Because this is PoA and we can't have agreement... I disagree. Do whatever work you'd like to do. A lot of people say to wait for the first annual to do work, but I've done a tremendous amount to the plane so now my annual won't be so bad. I left no squawk unfixed, and added safety equipment (engine heater, 406ELT, BAS harnesses). All things I wouldn't feel comfortable waiting an entire year for.
 
pigpenracing said:
My 140 3 points real nice. I did 1 wheel landing since I had it and don't see a reason. I 3 point it on every landing. Just a tip....
Click to expand...
When I flew a 120, I wheel landed it purd near all the time.

Tom-D said:
I seen some very high time 120/140 pilots tip their aircraft up at little to no provocation.
the best safety addition is a pair of wheel extentions.

Fun as hell aircraft tho.
Click to expand...
If you have the original Grabyear brakes, the best safety addition is a set of Clevelands. Personally I would pass on the extensions based on my experience in a '46 120 without.
 
All of the light 2, 3, 4 seat tail draggers land just fine wheel or 3pt. Just a matter of personal preference. Heavy taildraggers, well then it starts to matter more depending on which one.
 
RyanShort1 said:
Tom, have you owned and given tailwheel instruction in a 120? I don’t understand your “skin in the game” reference. I’ve probably flown 4-5 different 120s with students with and without extenders, and like I said, mine had them. Yes, you can flip one, but there are real downsides to the extenders, too.
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I've owned a 140 with extenders and without. I'm of the opinion they should never be on a plane. If you have them and don't take them off, I can almost understand, but if you don't have them, keep it that way!

They add a lot of weight to the tail. They've been shown to cause unusual torque on the already weak gearboxes. I also felt like it was a lot easier to taxi without them. This is a highly debated subject on the 120/140 forum, but I'm guessing it's at least 80/20 for removing them. BTW, go to the 120/140 Forums if you haven't. You'll get the best advice about your plane.

As far as owning and flying a 140, I loved both of mine. Easy to fly, cheap to fly, and really good looking planes. I wheel landed mine mostly because it seemed easier to do. I 3-point most planes, but preferred wheel landings in the 140.

The only advice I'll give you is don't go with the 140A paint scheme. Go with the original paint scheme. These 120/140 guys really don't like you changing it.
 
Lowflynjack said:
Go with the original paint scheme. These 120/140 guys really don't like you changing it.
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O5NtAhszwggLLZh2Sujq6n_DPMZ_8nHib_cCIIkIIpu66Y0BU5N5X-kfpIWK3LGyfhKalGcoq08gRgJFtiHZcMYJr4QklQFJoZP8bQrROMYry_rCxVJ71TFNt6IjL2ZjvZpKPh-WTPochZO7EGrpEYQuNwOOWPy6owLKK8nK_37DVMdwZ21BHjZ9bQih8jgsBgMW9Gs6RS1ZrI_gXiPFgqXfCkN1iNTGJiJglsbgCfdV6_3U1AEqREpA_-XnQVn0C8EcoLVEOpCLoRxk6l_mq5DLJ0yQke_R5eO38Ud3eeDGPdMBAgUcZCTbu7klFcuarxrJK9iqYMq__pmO3GRhRhhwL3nY8AH43DptXOl079PFdvT1440mbHDpwEqE9QDdFEpS5N2m98dsg2nnXanTY55h2bJir5KYuJmmX9w-gkeAalL6iz2cPwd-cZSLiyY1zHXR0FQ34H53ZgykdP0M258SYynHRBkb1LLKm217pdADOmHk7AL6fpej_8hDAhILca0hFxOIKkGHOOIR7SFHpmhPVOvo5YBSlRWfH-aw3N-y5gxCQVyPi5uF77ZcCd41l38gIY_3rC67WfZYc3dBqPdq1Hii4bwwgtdCkBdDIMZAmYcG5rvPI-9XS7GYbUY0NEPnYQs3RdMc3JhvQT5Biy83=w1403-h938-no
 
In my experience you can paint the plane whatever you want - BUT if you want it to have higher resale value, it often matters if there is a trend in the community, like with the 120 / 140 community.
 
RyanShort1 said:
In my experience you can paint the plane whatever you want - BUT if you want it to have higher resale value, it often matters if there is a trend in the community, like with the 120 / 140 community.
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Yep, make her your own. That's really what I meant. What looks good to you may not look good to the next guy and in the 140 world I've found most guys seem to like the original schemes or slight variations. Some go with a traditional scheme, but also paint the bottom of the cowling to hide some of the grime.

In 2015, a few of my fellow 140 fliers greeted a couple of guys flying from Argentina to Oshkosh. People would see the plane and says things like, "That's bright" or "It's certainly colorful." To them it was a work of art and that's what matters!
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Thanks to all!

I think the only upgrade I want/need to do right away is the harness system... I don't think BAS is available for mine so looking at Hookers... I figure I'll have it done in February when its super nasty up here anyway usually...

I did join the 120/140 association before purchase and one member in particular took me under his wing, no pun intended, to help make sure I made a good purchase and he was able to give me a list of "Extras" to check out that may not be part of a normal pre-buy/annual that were of particular interest to a 120/140 buyer. I had the full annual done as otherwise it was due in June and with short Michigan Summers I would rather be sending her into annual in winter months than beginning of summer. All I could envision an annual in June was something it needed would be a part that wasn't super simple to find and I'd waste half the nice summer months in the maintenance hanger...

The existing striping is closish to factory, the A striping isn't much different but just a bit "sexier" I think. Plan at the time is keeping her long term, and with doing the stripes in vinyl someone can take em off with a hair dryer if they so choose...
 
tawood said:
Hi @Huckster79

We're somewhat neighbors btw...I'm over at D95. I met my DPE this past summer at 6D6 for my instrument checkride...nice field, with cheap(ish) gas, if I recall. I also remembered there was a sign for hangar rent there when I was there, and seemed that it was very reasonable...

Maybe we'll see you around this summer at the fly-ins/pancake breakfasts. I try to attend one or two every month from May to September, and go to a few out your way (I think Miller/Sparta has a nice one).
Click to expand...

Yea I think we are $4.30 a gallon... I'm in the old hangers right now, they are rough but she is out of the weather. I'm on the waiting list for one of the nicer hangers that have full cement, not just a pad, etc... This one i'm in you couldn't make it much of a hang out spot as its all sand besides the pad and walls between planes but not up the rafters, and a heavy chain pull door... I'd like the full cement so I can put an old couch, fridge and a work bench and tools in it...

But yea hope to meet you at a fly in, as I envision that her main mission most of next summer! :)
 
RyanShort1 said:
Tom, have you owned and given tailwheel instruction in a 120? I don’t understand your “skin in the game” reference. I’ve probably flown 4-5 different 120s with students with and without extenders, and like I said, mine had them. Yes, you can flip one, but there are real downsides to the extenders, too.
Click to expand...
The most common accident in the 120/140 aircraft is the nosed up accident, and there is probably a multitude of way to do this.. And we all know there is down sides to every thing, you get nothing for free. but when you consider that the major up side to wheel extenders is, it makes it very hard to nose one up. And the advantage to that is the cost of repairs to the prop, cowl, engine, and most likely the gear boxes them selves.
Also we all know there are superhero pilots here that have a bazillion hours trouble free and never had a close call. but we aren't all in this group we try to eliminate the risks when we can.
And YES, this an opinion, because I see the results of pilots that have F--ed up.
And just for Ryan, I do have a bunch of 120/140 time, and J-3 time, Relient time, C-170 time, and a bunch of others.
 
Congrats, and welcome to the tailwheel club! If they revise the Light Sport MGW upwards, I'd consider getting a 140.

BTW, that yellow bird above looks an awful lot like a Luscombe.... just sayin'!
 
Tom-D said:
This is what you get when you have a different opinion.

Talk about hypocrisy.
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No. That is what you get when you criticize someone for doing exactly what you did.

You avoid it by not discounting someone else’s experience with an ad hominem attack.
 
hawk25u said:
Are some of you married to each other???
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Seems like huh! Give a pretty common opinion that some here give advice when they have no responsibility for it .. and ... holy scat. its the same as you kicked them in the ego.
 
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