Cessna 180 Skywagon – TailDragger Tiger OR Pussy Cat

^{The Cessna 180’s continued popularity, even after the advent of tri-gear designs, says a lot for this taildragger’s appeal}

Cessna never intended any of its aeroplanes to inspire romantic affection. However, the iconic 180 bushplane not only found itself a ready commercial utility market; it also captured the hearts of adventurous pilots who identified with its simple and rugged purpose - to reach the great outdoors. Where there’s miles of wilderness, there’s almost always a collection of Cessna taildraggers on wheels, floats and skis.

Cessna sold well over 6,000 180s between 1953 and 1981. Launched in response to calls for more lifting capacity than Cessna’s then top-selling Model-170 could provide, the company was fearful of putting too much power in the nose of such a lightweight aeroplane. It wasn’t without some level of anxiety that the 180’s Project Engineer, Web Moore, chose to hang Continental’s then new six-cylinder O-470 up front. The engines had been developed for Beechcraft’s V-tail Bonanza and then upped in power to 225hp for the US military’s T-34 Mentor programme. It was this engine that was chosen for the Cessna 180.

The new single replaced the company’s Model 190 and 195, which were suffering waning sales in the face of Beechcraft’s V-tail and North American’s Navion. Cessna was initially fearful of launching a single-engined tri-gear product and it wasn’t until two years after the launch of the 180, that a development programme was approved to mount a nosewheel on their 172. A year later, the 182 was unveiled using a modified 180’s airframe - indeed the little 225hp bushplane parented not only the hugely popular Skylane, but was also used as a basis for the company’s Model 210.

The 180 arrived at a time of great advancement within the light aircraft industry. Smaller aeroplanes were being used for business and were thus being equipped with an ever-increasing choice of navigational aids and features, allowing them to fly in adverse weather over longer distances. Despite its utilitarian design, the 180 became the first Cessna to embrace sufficient panel space for the early radios and transistorised Automatic Direction Finders that were swiftly becoming attractive to private owners during the late fifties.

The aircraft itself represented a major upgrade from the 170, so much so that it required an entirely new tail section, even though the cabin offered little extra space. Cessna’s management was sensitive to any adverse handling qualities and even though they could see Beechcraft’s V-tail gaining in popularity, their flight test department was still focused on perfecting the taildragger concept. The new taildragger was steeped in Cessna’s then traditional engineering and marketing strategy, even though the 180 was to later parent not only the 185, but more importantly, the company’s 182 and ultimate Bonanza competitor, the retractable 210.

As the Cessna 180 was being developed, the company went to great lengths to ensure it would have the friendliest handling characteristics, including being easy to land - ironical considering the model’s later reputation. Like the 170 and even earlier two-place 120 and 140, the 180 employed Steve Whittman’s two-piece sprung-steel undercarriage and Cessna perhaps became a victim of their own success when the company eventually adopted tri-gear versions of all its taildraggers. The company was almost obsessive in ensuring the 180 could be three-pointed by an average pilot: they almost completely ignored any notion the aircraft must be equally gentle when doing wheelers. When Cessna started building nosewheel versions, they applied equal vigour in ensuring these were easy to land too - so easy in fact they completely overshadowed their taildragger relatives.

By 1957, the Cessna 180 had received a slightly more powerful engine with a five horsepower increase that was to stay with the aeroplane throughout its production life - indeed, most of the engine model changes throughout the 180 followed Cessna’s attempts to reduce highish airframe vibration levels. As the light aircraft industry matured, so did Cessna, who by the early sixties wanted to introduce more and more models as well as lengthy options’ lists. Despite having been reluctant to place even a 225hp engine into such a small airframe during the early fifties, by 1961 the company had dramatically upped the available power by introducing the Cessna 185 with 260hp - later increased to 300.

On the ground

For those familiar with a 172 and 182, a Cessna 180 is an imposing aeroplane on the ground. Its tall main gear legs hoist the propeller spinner to head-height and although it’s all downhill from there to the tail, the step fixed beneath each door is a necessary addition to climb in and out of the cabin with any measure of grace. Like any high wing Cessna, there’s a climb involved to get to the fuel filler caps to take a dipstick reading - more sedentary pilots need to have a set of steps if this task is going to be completed without cardiac distress. Those more nimble will use the tyres and a pair of narrow steps attached to each side of the firewall.

The 180 set a Cessna trend in countering varying stick forces with artificial handling aids. This particular model thus motivated an all-moving tailplane trim set up, which was needed to provide acceptable control forces in the landing configuration at different flap settings, as well as reducing trim drag in cruise. It was particularly desirable during a go-around with 40-degrees of flap deployed. The handling issues were aggravated by the new taildragger’s hefty six cylinder O-470 engine, which weighed almost 60 kilos more than the Cessna 170’s powerplant. The company spent a long time devising a satisfactory (to them) control circuit, with the objective of making the new model easy to land. Cessna also dumped the pretty curved fins that had adorned all their singles. The company realised that squared-off profiles not only aided directional control on the ground, but were becoming fashionable, especially as the profile had been adopted by the soon to be launched and much admired model-310 twin.

With some two inches of extra cabin width over a Cessna 170/172, there’s sufficient ... Click here to Read more

Palmietfontein Part II

The Airport Manager

Palmietfontein was probably unique in having only one airport manager during its existence. Maj HH (Harry) Campbell took charge as airport supervisor (as the post was known then) in July 1946. A Johannesburger by birth, he was seconded to the RAF during WWII, where he served with No 216 Sqn based in Egypt with detachments all over the Middle East and even for a period in the Far East. Valentias, Bombays, DH.86As, Lodestars and Hudsons were used till 1943, when the main type in use switched to the Dakota Mk.IIIs and IVs. His experience with transport aircraft stood him in good stead with his new post.

As airport supervisor, he would sometimes have to deal with extraordinary situations. A local cycling down a track to Vereeniging found a barbed wire fence blocking his path. On the other side was a nice wide road heading in the right direction. Lifting the bicycle over the fence he re-commenced pedalling – the going now much improved. Suddenly a Dakota appeared back tracking up the runway. Our hero dismounted, moved off onto the grass and raised his hat as the Dakota passed. He re-commenced his journey, but now the Dakota once again reappeared – going much faster  on its take-off run. He hurriedly moved out of the way and again doffed his hat. It was at this point that Harry Campbell loaded him in to the airport station wagon and put him on the right road.

On another occasion, Harry was called by the ATC to ask him about the new equipment which had arrived on the runway. There was a wagon with sixteen oxen, a driver, a load of hay, a voorlooper, an agterlooper – the whole bit. They were also on the way to Vereeniging. They were duly encouraged to vacate the scene – smartly! Just before the airport fence was improved, Harry had to intercept a gentleman driving a car at breakneck speed down the main runway. The driver then led him on a chase in between the hangars and parked aircraft before Harry managed to head him off. It turned out that he was a mentally unstable individual who had evaded his minders and had borrowed a car for a joy ride.

The Sky Tramps

SAA was not the only operator of internal and external services after WWII. Many ex SAAF pilots and others decided to start air transport businesses after the war. Like tramp steamers of the merchant marine, they plied their trade with varying degrees of success. They were based at various airfields in the Witwatersrand area – mostly at Rand- but also at Benoni, Wonderboom and Randfontein. War surplus Dakotas, Fairchilds, Lodestars, Ansons and Dragon Rapides were the main types operated. A few operators, like the Aircraft Operating Company and Commercial Air Services (today Comair), who operated from Rand Airport managed to turn their fledgling operations into well run airlines/operations. Others, flying poorly maintained aircraft and with perhaps less of a business plan, turned to overloading, smuggling and even gun running and other shady operations to survive. Most of these collapsed within a few years. Those that used Palmietfontein as an operational base are briefly detailed here.

Pan African Air Charter

Early after WWII, a group of ex SAAF pilots, headed by Maj Charles Keary and their associates, purchased a batch of six ex USAAF Douglas C-47s (Dakotas) from the  American Foreign Liquidation Commission in Cairo. They were registered ZS-AVK to AVO and ZS-AYB. Repainted in Pan African Air Charter livery, ZS-AVL left Cairo with 21 passengers aboard, piloted by Capt Stan Clegg and landed at Rand Airport on 22 May 1946. The new company was backed by two Johannesburg businessmen, John & Charles Keyser. A batch of 22 Fairchild Argus IIIs (ZS-BAK – BBB, ZS-BBD – BBH) was also purchased from the FLC plus two more Dakotas in 1947 (ZS-BRW & BRX). Initially services were flown from Rand Airport, the first one being ZS-AVL to Croydon on 11 June 1946. The company’s maintenance base was at Wonderboom but later operations were flown from Palmietfontein.

Air Prospectors & Transport Corporation of SA Ltd

Backed by New Union Goldfields and with directors J ilne, EW Bayliss and Dr ME Long, this company started up late in 1946 with Proctor V, ZS-ATX, (in which the author had his first flight) and six ex SAAF Avro Anson Is (ZS-BGY – BHD) which were converted to civil use by Aircraft and General & Precision Engineering at Port Elizabeth. In the event only two of the Ansons, ZS-BGY & BGZ, were actually converted. ZS-BHD was later rebuilt for Westair Transport, while ZS-BHB, (ex SAAF 4479), remained as a landmark at PE, slowly decaying until the end of the 1950s.

The company acquired a DC-3 ZS-BRX in 1947, but merged with PAAC in the same year, retaining the PAAC name. A proposal for a freight operation out of Palmietfontein using three Curtiss C-46 Commandos (ZS-DBG – DBI) and two Lancastrians (ZS-DBJ – K) came to nothing, but an affiliation with the British company, William Dempster Ltd led to additional charter services being operated with two Avro Tudor 5s, G-AKCC & G-AKCD, which were based at Randfontein, but operated from Palmietfontein. A plan to register them locally in 1950 as ZS-DEW & DEX came to naught and the aircraft were returned to their owners, PAAC being disbanded. Most of the DC-3s had already been sold either to Israel or Burma and the Fairchilds to various local owners. A few of the latter survive today.

One of the pilots for PAAC was an irrepressible character named Syd Excell, infamous for one day walking into the Civil Aviation Council’s offices and firing shots in the office of Col F.C. Elliot-Wilson, demanding the return of his pilot’s license which had been revoked for one or other misdemeanour. On 12 January 1949 he was flying one of PAAC’s Dakotas, ZS-AYB, on a charter out of Geneva, when the weather closed in over the Mediterranean at night and he could not land at Malta, his destination. A diversion to Rome produced the same result, as did a return to Malta. He then decided to try for El Adem on the North African coast. With the fuel almost gone and the coast not yet in sight the order was given to don life jackets. However they were one short - Syd had a girl friend aboard who was not on the passenger list!

A break in the clouds created a moonlit patch of water and Syd decided to ditch while still having power. A successful ditching was carried out and when the occupants jumped into the water, the level was found to be about 2 foot high. They had landed close to the coast at Ras-El-Tin, not far from El Adem.

Suidair International Airways

Capt Harry Hill started Suidair in August 1946 with  capital of ₤75000, having purchased two ex RAF Lend Lease Dakotas and a Fairchild Argus III from the FLC in Cairo. The Dakotas, still in military markings (KG513 & FD814) were ferried south, the latter carrying Fairchild (KK561) as cargo. They arrived at Benoni aerodrome on 11 October. The Dakotas were registered as ZS-BCY & BJZ, the Fairchild as ZS-BJK. The purchase by Harry Hill was somewhat of an impulsive buy – he had actually been asked to purchase aircraft for PAAC on commission. Initially based at Benoni, the maintenance HQ was moved to Wonderboom while operations started at Rand Airport, later moving to Palmietfontein. Suidair leased a Bristol 170-2A Wayfarer, ZS-BOM, from March to September 1947 followed by a Bristol Freighter, ZS-BVI/ till January 1948. They were also the first to take delivery of a Vickers Viking, when ZS-BSB was christened “Rex” by the High Commissioner, Sir Evelyn Baring, at Palmietfontein in August 1947.

Eventually Suidair, by this stage under the umbrella of President Motors, acquired two more Vikings, ZS-BWT & DDO, and three more DC-3s, ZS-BXZ, BYH & BYI. Of the latter, only ZS-BYH went into service, BXZ going to Mercury Aviation and BYU remaining unconverted until rebuilt as ZS-DFB for Tropic Airways. An Avro Anson, ZS-BVH, (ex 4483) was never converted for civil use, while plans to acquire a fourth Viking (ZS-BSC) and two Convair CV240s remained unfulfilled and by the end of 1950, Suidair was no more.

Mercury Airways

During 1946, Fillery’s of Johannesburg, headed by one GT Gordon Fillery, tendered for three Avro Ansons as well as eight Oxfords. The former were registered as ZS-BKL – N and the latter, ZS-AUF – I, BOC & D respectively. GT Fillery, who owned a Fairchild F-24R, ZS-BEN, must have been disappointed with his purchase, as only the three Ansons were able to be put into service.

The Oxfords had been standing in the open at 7 AD, Port Elizabeth since 1945 – i.e. some two years inactive. Jack Weinronk, an ex WWII SAAF bomber pilot, had been smitten since he met a Johannesburg girl who was on holiday in P.E. and was desperate to renew the acquaintance. He offered to fly an Oxford from PE to Benoni for its new owners. The aircraft was, however, in poor condition. A run up revealed a mag drop and poor boost performance. There were also missing instruments and peeling paint on the exterior. Ninety miles after take-off, over Middleton, one of the propellors split and Jack had to return to PE for another.

Eventually the dilapidated Oxford reached Bloemfontein. After refuelling, the take-off became interesting, considering the reduced power output of the two Cheetah X radials. The Oxford hit the boundary fence and staggered away. Flying most of the way in ground effect, Jack had to climb to 200 ft AGL before lowering the undercarriage for landing at Benoni. Luckily the brakeless Oxford stopped before reaching the airfield boundary. Upon inspection it was found the bottom RH longeron was broken and the two left ones were cracked. That ended the Oxford Saga. Oh yes – Jack did get the girl – and married her.

The US Naval Attaché’s DC-3/R4D, then came up for sale, which Mercury purchased as ZS-BNB, along with two more Cyclone engined DC-3s in the USA (ZS-BTN & BTO). The first did not last very long and after suffering an engine failure in flight, force landed near Malakal and was written off. The pilot was Capt Swift. Three more DC-3s were purchased ex USA, ZS-BWX, BWY & BWZ in 1947. All were destroyed in crashes the following year. ZS-BWX piloted by Capt Lesueur at Orly, France, in bad weather on 20 November, BWY into Spitzkop, near Vrede on 15 May 1948 (Capt JN “Babe” Smith & 12 passengers killed) and ZS-BWZ between Wadi Halfa and Khartoum after an in-flight fire on 12 October. Luckily all survived the latter.

Mercury’s DC-3s were named Skyliners and were offering excursion fares to the UK and various centres in Europe for ₤220. The low cost fares offered by Mercury and other operators led to a ban on low cost airlines from operating into the UK. The spate of fatal accidents and this ban no doubt had an effect on Mercury’s operations but nevertheless they announced the purchase of two DC4s, ZS-BXS & BYA. The former example returned to the USA and the latter went to El Al in Israel.

An interesting acquisition which didn’t arrive was a batch of three Boeing S-307 Stratoliners, ZS-BWU (1995), ZS-BWV (2003) and BWW (2001). There was also to be a Viking ZS-BWY.

Sky Taxis

Based at Benoni Aerodrome, Sky Taxis started operations at the end of 1946 with Globe Swift ZS-BKO, and a Proctor Mk.V, ZS-BSR. On 20 September 1947, a Handley Page Halton, ZS-BTA (civil version of the Halifax bomber) arrived at ... ClicK here to Read more

Reg Review: September

Largest of the newly registered aircraft this month is the Boeing 767-266ER, ZS-IJB, which re-uses a registration once worn by a Britten Norman Islander. This aircraft was a familiar sight at Jan Smuts in days gone by when it was ZS-SRC and was operated by South African Airways. It will presumably fly in Inter Air colours (or be leased to another operator). The other Boeing, the 737-3S3 ZS-SPU is one of the growing fleet of 737-300 series which the company has been acquiring and which it has started operating in its own right, as opposed to just leasing them out. ZS-SPU has a very long pedigree, having started with Air Europe on 7 March 1988 as G-BNPB. The aircraft has since been registered in the UK, Canada, Spain, Philippines, USA, Indonesia and the UAE and has operated with such diverse companies as Odyssey International, Philippine Airlines,   Debonair Airways, British World Airways, National Jet Italia, Astraeus, Air Asia, Adam Air and Silver Air.

Two Cirrus SR22s are reflected in this month’s listings, ZS-AFM (originally a Miles Hawk) and ZS-SPR. Another brand new aircraft is the B200GT, ZS-BGT using a registration formerly carried by a Tiger Moth. ZS-BUL (formerly a Handley Page Halton of Sky Taxis) will no doubt wear Red Bull colours, while the new Grand Caravan ZS-XXL wears an approximation of the pre-war US Navy colour scheme, complete with yellow wing top surfaces and red chevron. The Ayres Turbo Thrush is interesting in that it was originally delivered to the Policia Nationale Columbia (PNC) on 4 January 1990. It became s/n PNC-3174 with code T-09 but was withdrawn from use in 2008. More recently it was with Lane Aviation Inc., Rosenberg TX, before coming to South Africa as ZS-SPV. The CAA seems to have had a little fun with the BAe 146-200 ZS-SFZ, re-instating it no less than three times after its return from the Comores where it was D6-BJH. We say good bye to the SAA Boeing 747-4F6, ZS-SBK, which has been sold as VQ-BHW.

Turning to the NTCAs, the Cub ZU-FHJ was one of those imported from Mocambique by Ian Popplewell and Brian Zeederberg in November 1989 and has been undergoing a protracted rebuild at Lanseria. It was formerly operated by the Aero Clube de Nampula as CR-AEC and C9-AEC.   The Sting, ZU-NRC, though c/n 005, is the first production example to be registered locally, (though at the time of writing, not yet completed) and a number of others are on the way, some being supplied as kits. C/n 004 will be the demo aircraft and will be ZU-TAF No.2 in a bright red overall finish. We lose Bantam B-22J ZU-FFC which has gone to Tanzania but gain a new example, ZU-FIU.

Further aircraft for the SA Civil Aircraft Register are known to be:- BAe 146-300 G-OAJF (E-3118 to be ZS-SOU), BAe 146-200 G-UKLN (E.2069 to be ZS-SOW) Beech 1900D N881SK (UE-88) and N92SK (UE-92), Boeing Stearman A75N-1 N707DB (75-3674), Cessna T206H N60220 (T20608627), Cirrus SR22XL N144CK (3626 to ZS-DSG (2)) and Cirrus SR22 N989PW (0802). The P-51D Mustang, N72FT, was due for delivery at the time of writing along with a Hawker Sea Fury. Both were scheduled for assembly in Port Elizabeth/Port Alfred.

Perspex windscreens can be really hard to keep clean. They have to be cleaned with great care as they scratch and haze easily.

I am generally sceptical of expensive gunk in a can, but I was given a can of VuPlex to try and so took it with me round Botswana and tried it on my glider. The dusty and bug-filled conditions of Botswana were a real test of the product, as is the canopy of a glider whose steeply raked angle shows any imperfections.

To my surprise, I was really impressed, and so handed it around to others to try and they were equally impressed.

VuPlex claims it was designed for use within the aviation industry and delivers a fast, safe, and effective solution to plastic maintenance. Some cleaners use abrasives to remove dirt and scratches. This not only introduces more scratches to the surface but over time weakens the plastic through constant material removal. VuPlex says it works in reverse to this process by penetrating the dirt and grime in the surface and adding a fine layer of filling material that leaves the surface protected, adding a lustrous finish to clear and coloured plastics. It really does seem to make canopies gleam like new.

VuPlex says it is a preventative as much as a cure. If VuPlex is applied when plastic is new, it protects the surface from premature aging. If the surface is already damaged with fine scratches and in-ground grime, VuPlex will restore the surface and clarity, leaving a finish that is polished and protected.

This is one product which really works and I am happy to endorse it.

See Vuplex.com or contact Craig Flanagan:

VuPlex South Africa

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