Alan Quackenbush
~~Article topic: Cessna 172 tailwheel conversion~~
The idea of selling my beloved Cub was not very palatable, but the hunger for something with more speed, range and load-carrying ability was also undeniable.
There had been nothing greater in the recent past than 1000 feet agl out over the southern California high desert floor with the door and window open in the breeze, but I was starting to long for flying excursions with an actual destination in mind, ones that could be shared with others at reasonable speed and comfort. And since I had gotten bitten by the golfing bug, visions of a club-bag size baggage compartment started to haunt my daydreams. However, not being independently wealthy, my resources would limit me to the ownership of one aircraft at best.
Let's face it. The J-3 Cub is one of the finest basic flying machines ever conceived, but was never intended to be alive and well at over 50 years old, much less a mount for the weekend wanderer. Training was it's forte, and I often wonder about the actual number of aviators who got their initial introduction to stick and rudder in this wonderful airplane, or at least have an entry in the anals of their logbooks recording a visit.
What to do, what to do!
If I WAS to sell the Cub, the new steed would have to have certain things about it that drew me to the J-3 in the first place.
It had to be a taildragger...case closed! The invention of tricycle gear was, in my humble opinion, a perfect example of technological advancement gone awry! (A taildragger 757? Now THERE'S an interesting visual!)
Simplicity. I loved that about Piper's little jewel. Not a wasted line in it's form, nor a wasted gauge on it's sparce utilitarian panel.
Those rounded tailfeathers. I had always loved the Cub's tailgroup. Square and angular is fine for some, but it's round and sensuous for me. Very subjective, I know, but perceived beauty is most assuredly always a factor when a pilot is drawn to a certain airplane.
Solution? Enter the Cessna 170B. Four seats, old-world round tailfeathers, simple functionality, electrical system for starter and nav/com equipment, those incredible Johnson-rod controlled "barn door" Fowler flaps, and room for a partner or two AND a couple of golf bags! Only one caveat. Good examples are notoriously hard to find. I had looked at some offerings over time and there was always something that turned me off. Too pricey, too much corrosion, poor repairs to past ground-loop damage, too far away from my home base, and the list went on.
I thought one day that if only the sister ship of the 170, the venerable Cessna 172, drug it's tail rather than it's nose, wouldn't that be a great possible choice? I even had a nice affordable example close by that had the bonuses of a wide-deck 180 horse Lycoming with constant speed prop and lots of cool radio gear. Square tailfeathers, but what the heck, other than that and the position of the steerable wheel, it was basically the same ship. I could live with square. But I couldn't abide that big wheel on the front!
Of course at this point you are thinking "Texas Taildragger", and so had I. I even borrowed the 1956-vintage squaretail 172 in question (I knew the owner, my father!) and flew to an airshow at Merced in central California one weekend to look at their demonstrator. But something about the conversion didn't look right to me. The shape of the gear. Something. They also told me that they don't sell the kits for the older 172, the mod had to be done at their shop. Being an A&P myself, that pretty much sent the idea down in defeat.
Timing is everything, and about then I came across an ad in Trade-A-Plane placed by a guy named Ron Fravel who held an STC for a 172 tailwheel conversion using all stock 170-180 parts. The main gear structural areas of these airplanes are basically identical, except for some additional pieces. And just as important, from the photo in the ad I knew if I went this route the finished product would look right.
Problem solved! I sold the Cub, purchased the 172, sent off to Ron for the necessary paperwork and plans, and started compiling a list of needed items. The basic idea was to "tailwheel-ize" this 172 as cheaply as I was able, so the inclusion of used, or "experienced" parts wherever possible was the way to go. I found some gear legs, used gearbox parts, entry steps, a Scott tailwheel assembly from a derelict 170B, and the rest I ordered right from Cessna. The work went in a straighforward fashion, with most of the effort concentrated on constructing the early Cessna-looking stinger on the tailcone to attach the tailwheel spring and Scott 3200 assembly, as it required complete removal of the tail surfaces.
A before and after shot can be seen below. The completed project airplane was a joy to fly and a delight in the ground-handling department. It proved in the end to be a wise decision, and an option I would consider if you are looking for what I was. There are far more old square-tail 172/175's out there than 170B's, so if you can live with square instead of round, or if you want something a little different that causes a stir when you pull up to the pumps, the Fravel 172 Taildragger just might be what the doctor ordered.
Now, if it just had a radial engine. But that's another story!
Alan Quackenbush...
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