Skyartech Cessna 182

[dk_aero]

Well, after repeatedly fighting the weak nose gear on this ship (flying off a dirt runway), I finally surrendered and converted it to a taildragger...

I actually think it flies better now (was slightly tail heavy) and handles much better off rough fields.

~ DK

[Leo L]

I'm glad that you are enjoying your Cessna. The one that I had, about 3 years ago, was terribly underpowered. I spent more than the original cost of the plane trying to get it to fly well. It flew, but never well. On the few occassions that it flew, the front gear would pull out upon landing on dirt and/or grass, no matter how gentle the landing. I was determined not to let the plane beat me, but I eventually gave up the fight. I know that the Artech Cessna, which is also sold by ParkFlyers, has a split following: half the people hate it and half love it; no one in between.

[dk_aero]

Well, I was definitely not enjoying it with the old nosegear!

I've heard of the power problems with the brushed version, so when I saw the 1530Kv brushless outrunner version (with 1300 mAh 3S Lipo), I thought I'd give it shot.

Power is no problem with this one... It's pretty darn fast but throttles back for some nice cruising. Landings are a bit fast, and since I fly from a dirt runway, didn't fair too well for the nose gear (it's a terribly setup on this bird). After JB welding the nose gear and trying different ways to stiffen up the steering linkage, I gave up (well, actually became very aggravated ) and thought I'd convert it to a taildragger. It works great (apart from the minor inconvenience that the tail wheel is not steerable) and I think it actually looks better.

Has anyone else done this to their Cessna?