Who owns a C162 Skycatcher? Some questions could use help with...

[kicktireslightfires]

Hi Ya'll, Just bought a 162 w/about 600 hours TTSN and thoroughly enjoying it! Have some questions though that I wanted to see if anyone could provide some valuable insight on:

1. The book says 1000rpm for ground idle, but I find it idles a little rough at 1000. It likes 1100 or 1150 more. I've tried leaning and doesn't seem to make a difference. Works great in the air and always passes run-up, but doesn't want to run smoothly at 1,000rpm on the ground. Would a spark plug cleaning or replacing the spark plugs maybe fix it?

2. Anywhere to buy touch up paint? Would love to get a little bit of the white exterior and light gray and dark gray interior touch up paint.

3. The PFD restarts most of the time immediately after starting the engine (which means I can't see my RPM for about 10 seconds after starting). The Odyssey battery is only a year old and always have at least 12v when starting. Sometimes the PFD doesn't restart but usually, it does the second the engine turns over. Just a minor annoyance hoping to get to the bottom of.

4. My iPad starts charging when I fire up the plane but later in the flight it displays “not charging” on my iPad. Surely the 12v outlet is capable of charging an iPad? Anyone else have this issue?

5. Any recommendations for an avionics person in south Florida who can install a GDL-82?

6. Has anyone ever done an all the way around aileron roll in the Skycatcher? Is it possible to do in a Skycatcher? A very experienced 20,000 hour GA pilot told me any plane can go inverted for up to 5 seconds without worry of the engine quitting so if you perform an aileron roll and keep it consistent and don’t stop the roll until all the way around it’s fine. True?

Thanks in advance!

 

[rotormatic1]

Rolls...

 

[Deelee]

Has anyone ever done an all the way around aileron roll in the Skycatcher? Is it possible to do in a Skycatcher? A very experienced 20,000 hour GA pilot told me any plane can go inverted for up to 5 seconds without worry of the engine quitting so if you perform an aileron roll and keep it consistent and don’t stop the roll until all the way around it’s fine. True

Not recommended because of what rotormatic1 posted. Also because of the emotional impact this can have on certain people. I know of a person who flew a plane called the Wong Warrior... they did a roll. Was inverted. Caught it on a wing cam. The owner of the airplane was very very distraught. Anybody want to see the video again?

 

[Initial Fix]

Welcome to the forum

find a good a&p and they can help with the rough idle and paint chips.

the screen reset might just be a battery issue but worth looking into

rolls ? Seriously? Just say no

 

[Salty]

1. I would let my A&P see it before flying again.

2. Again, talk to your A&P

3. this is not normal. See your A&P

4. probably has less to do with the aircraft than it does the lighter adapter

5. Sarasota avionics. Or your A&P. It’s not difficult. I installed the adsb in my buddies 162 with my A&Ps supervision. Pretty easy.

6. Rolling a a 162 is a great way to learn why someone with no aerobatic experience should not roll a 162. The lesson probably won’t help much though since you’ll likely be dead shortly after learning it.

If you notice there is a pattern to my answers. I’d find a mechanic that you can trust and work with them.

 

[GRG55]

6. Has anyone ever done an all the way around aileron roll in the Skycatcher? Is it possible to do in a Skycatcher? A very experienced 20,000 hour GA pilot told me any plane can go inverted for up to 5 seconds without worry of the engine quitting so if you perform an aileron roll and keep it consistent and don’t stop the roll until all the way around it’s fine. True?

An aileron roll is a positive G maneuver throughout - if done correctly. There should be no concern about the engine quitting, and that has nothing to do with being momentarily inverted during an aileron roll.
However, as others have expressed, there should be serious concern about doing maneuvers that are outside the design envelope of the aeroplane.

To the OP:
You'll probably find someone who will tell you the airplane can do it, even if the POH says no. You might even find someone credible that has done it, maybe repeatedly, and is now encouraging you to try it.

There's a concept called "normalization of deviance". I see more of it around my airport than I would prefer - pilots repeatedly doing crazy shzt in their airplanes and bragging about it.

"Social normalization of deviance means that people within the organization become so much accustomed to a deviant behavior that they don't consider it as deviant, despite the fact that they far exceed their own rules for the elementary safety". People grow more accustomed to the deviant behavior the more it occurs.​

I read an accident report a few years ago about a Tecnam P2006T crash that was a double fatal for two experienced instructors. Plane was one of three owned by a university aviation training faculty. The investigators pulled the memory cards from the other two airplanes, combined it with other data including radar, and were able to reconstruct what happened. The instructors were showing each other, and some students, how to put the airplane into an incipient spin entry and then recover from inverted using a split-S. This in a piston twin airplane that in no way is approved for anything like that. But it went on for quite a while, with a growing number of instructors executing the maneuver successfully. Until one day two instructors didn't. Normalization of deviance writ large. You should try to avoid that as a pilot.

 

[bkspero]

4. My iPad starts charging when I fire up the plane but later in the flight it displays “not charging” on my iPad. Surely the 12v outlet is capable of charging an iPad? Anyone else have this issue?

I have a tablet (not an iPad) that displays that message in its notification bar when it is fully charged. Any chance your iPad is doing the same thing? Starting our with less than a full charge (even if it is reading 100% it could be down a few tenths of a percent), then tops up during the flight and displays that message?

 

[kicktireslightfires]

Appreciate all of the feedback. Thank you, all! And just to clarify, my last question was a mere curiosity. I have a pretty realistic view of my abilities and don't think I'm in the top 25% of pilots or even the top 50% to attempt anything aerobatic. (Maybe I'm in the top 90%, ha!) I'm learning and just asking questions.

bkspero, That's not it because my iPad had about 70% charge when it indicated "not charging." I think it's my USB car charger and I'm going to swap it out for a better one.

 

[mondtster]

bkspero, That's not it because my iPad had about 70% charge when it indicated "not charging." I think it's my USB car charger and I'm going to swap it out for a better one.

The "not charging" message comes up when the power supply being used cannot supply the current needed to charge further.

 

[UngaWunga]

wow some of y'all have no sense of humor...

 

[AeroLudite]

Having been around, and, out of curiosity keeping up with the development and certification of the C162, I’m not surprised it FLOPPED.

Realize that two were destroyed during certification spin tests that resulted in a redesign of the vertical stabilizer, elevator, and rudder. Also, the ballistic parachute was redesigned...

Gives me the “willies” just to think about doing unapproved aerobatics....
My biggest gripe with the C162 is the low demonstrated cross wind component.
The whole light-sport concept failed due to low gross weight limit (hence, low x-wind #) and costing 4X original price estimates.
The flight school that owned the one I checked out in wouldn’t let it out of the hangar if winds were forecast above 10kts and greater than 45deg to runway headings. A/C had been previously damaged due to hard cross wind landings. Twice!

Cessna’s first mistake was reinventing the “wheel”. Should have just reengineered the C152 to get it down to LSA specs. Of course “made in China” didn’t help.
If LSA had been 1,750lbs instead of 1,320, things could have been altogether different. MAYBE...
Glad you’re enjoying yours.

re: charger; try another charger/adapter. I have the same problem in a ‘98 Saratoga w/28volt system. AirSpruce and Sporty’s sell an adapter that has correct voltage and amperage for the iPads.Others may as well.

 

[Salty]

Having been around, and, out of curiosity keeping up with the development and certification of the C162, I’m not surprised it FLOPPED.

Realize that two were destroyed during certification spin tests that resulted in a redesign of the vertical stabilizer, elevator, and rudder. Also, the ballistic parachute was redesigned...

Gives me the “willies” just to think about doing unapproved aerobatics....
My biggest gripe with the C162 is the low demonstrated cross wind component.
The whole light-sport concept failed due to low gross weight limit (hence, low x-wind #) and costing 4X original price estimates.
The flight school that owned the one I checked out in wouldn’t let it out of the hangar if winds were forecast above 10kts and greater than 45deg to runway headings. A/C had been previously damaged due to hard cross wind landings. Twice!

Cessna’s first mistake was reinventing the “wheel”. Should have just reengineered the C152 to get it down to LSA specs. Of course “made in China” didn’t help.
If LSA had been 1,750lbs instead of 1,320, things could have been altogether different. MAYBE...
Glad you’re enjoying yours.

re: charger; try another charger/adapter. I have the same problem in a ‘98 Saratoga w/28volt system. AirSpruce and Sporty’s sell an adapter that has correct voltage and amperage for the iPads.Others may as well.

I’ve landed the thing many times with a direct 20 knot crosswind. It can handle it. It’s not easy for a student though. There’s nothing wrong with the plane other than the limitations any Lsa has.

 

[Palmpilot]

Having been around, and, out of curiosity keeping up with the development and certification of the C162, I’m not surprised it FLOPPED.

Realize that two were destroyed during certification spin tests that resulted in a redesign of the vertical stabilizer, elevator, and rudder. Also, the ballistic parachute was redesigned...

Gives me the “willies” just to think about doing unapproved aerobatics....
My biggest gripe with the C162 is the low demonstrated cross wind component.
The whole light-sport concept failed due to low gross weight limit (hence, low x-wind #) and costing 4X original price estimates.
The flight school that owned the one I checked out in wouldn’t let it out of the hangar if winds were forecast above 10kts and greater than 45deg to runway headings. A/C had been previously damaged due to hard cross wind landings. Twice!

Cessna’s first mistake was reinventing the “wheel”. Should have just reengineered the C152 to get it down to LSA specs. Of course “made in China” didn’t help.
If LSA had been 1,750lbs instead of 1,320, things could have been altogether different. MAYBE...
Glad you’re enjoying yours.

re: charger; try another charger/adapter. I have the same problem in a ‘98 Saratoga w/28volt system. AirSpruce and Sporty’s sell an adapter that has correct voltage and amperage for the iPads.Others may as well.

What parachute?

 

[midwestpa24]

The whole light-sport concept failed due to low gross weight limit (hence, low x-wind #) and costing 4X original price estimates.

That, but I also think the LSA market failed due to over saturation of the market as every manufacturer ever heard of came out with one, and it wasn't a very big market to begin with due to the low gross weight and cost for a new LSA. Kind of like the VLJ market that was supposed to be big, but went flop. Some models never even made it to market like the PiperJet, others withered up and all but disappeared like Eclipse Jet.

 

[AeroLudite]

The original intent was to certify the a/c with a parachute. During testing, the chute failed to deploy in first accident. Second failed to release after impact. Drug the plane over a half mile, into a fence. Ballistic chute deployed due to a/c entering an unrecoverable flat spin.
Cessna offered the chute as an option, then deleted it as a cost savings measure.

Not a good platform to use for experimenting with aerobatics.
Check out Wikipedia.

 

[skyking3286]

The responses are here because just asking the question about doing a roll in a trainer or any non-aerobatic airplane really calls one's judgment into question.
I fly RC planes to get that out of my system! Otherwise, rent and get some instruction in something designed for that. We keep safe by following
procedures and limits. The Skycatcher is a light plane designed for a certain flight envelope.

The C162 has a weak nose gear and firewall structure if you read the reports on incidents. Keep the yoke stick back when
landing and keep the approach speeds spot on. There aren't too many around so be a good custodian of the plane for
future generations! Cessna already crunched too many of them by themselves!