to see why the big had only a 6• mally aspirated form or to 350 in a tur• year production stint. But what the bocharged iteration. Yet another conver• Bonanza had in technology and speed, sion long since buried was for a 450-hp the 195 had in classic design and proven Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. Two were on grass-roots technology-something 195 display at Oshkosh last year. Cliff Crabs, lovers would not trade for a flat-engined a longtime 195 owner and editor of the nosedragger any day. Eastern 190/195 Association's newslet• What's surprising about the 195 is ter, believes there is a foreign-registered that even by today's standards, it's a 195 that is used for skydiving and is decent airplane on paper-140 knots on equipped with a 575-shaft-horsepower 16 gallons per hour (at 10,000 feet), great Garrett turboprop. It can reportedly take load-hauling ability, and a spacious five• its pilot and six jumpers to 15,500 feet in place cabin. In a numbers comparison, 11 minutes. Back to reality though-the the revamped 1997 Cessna 182S has a majority of these aircraft are 195s with listed cruise speed of 140 knots and a Jacobs power. fuel flow of 13 gallons per hour, but it Nowadays, taxiing onto the ramp at can carry only four people. Of course, the airport in a mint-condition 195 is the new 182 is a much more user-friend• like pulling up to the service station in a ly airplane with a modern instrument 1929 Duesenberg Roadster. People cir• panel and predictable ground handling. cle like vultures around the airplane, Also, the 195's postwar looking at the classic lines of the big era handbook figures taildragger. Younger pilots may wonder Sam Bel/otte's are far more optimstic how this airplane came from the same 195B contains a than what owners typi• maker as the plastic-clad and strutted good mixture cally see in the real 172 and 182. The proud owner will step of modem world. Paper compar• out and dutifully wipe down the beast for isons are unfair any• while the more curious onlookers ask safety and con• venience and way. What really hooks questions and pass on their comments. enough original people on the 195 is the equipment to classic good looks and am Bellotte of Charles Town, retain the 195's nostalgic feeling one authenticity. gets from flying or even who gets to fly a fully-restored riding in one. when he's not fly• The 190 and 195 ing Boeing 747s across oceans evolved out of the , an ~ Westfor UnitedVirginia,Parcelis aService.lucky fellowGet- efficien t 1930s design by Cessna's '-_J ting Bellotte's 195 to its current Dwane Wallace that extracted more condition took a lot of time, money, and than 1 mile per hour out of each horse• effort. Alphin Aircraft, of Hagerstown, power the engine could produce. The Maryland, and Bellotte himself teamed production 190-series airplanes are all up in the refurbishment of N2105C• metal, unlike the Airmaster's wood, the bulk of which took a good part of 5 metal, and fabric construction. Upon years. In Bellotte's favor was the fact introduction, the 190-series was touted that there was minimal corrosion as "personal business liners" or the because the airplane was based in the "family car of the air." The design was Southwest for the majority of its life. the first production airplane to use the Bellotte believes that his 195 was the spring steel main landing gear designed sixth B model produced. It was built in by Steve Wittman, the late air-racing 1953 as a 1954 model and first flew on legend. Nearly 1,200 of the 190/195s June 27,1953. and military LC-126s were built. Only The first task in the restoration was to 233 were Cessna 190s, which were dis• replace 36 airframe skins and fairings continued in 1953. Production of the that had been dinged over the years. 195 ended in 1954. Afterthe metalwork, it was off to the Differentiating between the 190 and paint shop where the original paint 195 is hard for the casual passerby. If the scheme was duplicated from Cessna's designation is not printed on the side of blueprints right down to the registered the airplane, you can poke your head trademark next to the Cessna name on into the cowling to confirm the identity. the tail. The 190 has a 240-horsepower Conti• "It's pretty much finished now," says nental W-670, a derivative of the 220-hp Bellotte of the project. "It's never truly engine that powers Stearmans. The 195 finished, but the bulk of it is done." The is powered by Jacobs engines of245, 275, last major job was replacing the wind• or 300 horsepower. Engine-conversion shield, which was damaged by paint STCs boosted horsepower to 330 in nor- stripper during the refinishing process.

AOPAPILOT.10l.AUGUSTl997 Bellotte now spends more time fre• quenting fly-ins and airshows. N2105C received Best of Show acco• lades in its horsepower class at the Sun 'n Fun EAA Fly-in last April. In a stroke of irony, one of the many great moments Bellotte has had with his airplane occurred when N2105C took the "Best Classic" trophy one year at the Sentimental Journey Fly-in to Piper Field in Lock Haven, Pennsylva• nia-proof that a true classic isn't bound by any label. Owning a 195. or any classic for that matter, is not without its rituals. The preflight for Bellotte involves pulling the propeller through to ensure The 195'5 split that no oil has col• flaps do little or lected in the radial's nothing to lower lower cylinders. stall speeds. Besides minimizing They do, hUll/• ever. reduce the the smoke on startup. this lessens the risk angle of attack on final so that of hydraulic lock, a the pilot enn see condition that pre• better oller the vents a cylinder's huge cowling. piston from moving because the cylinder is full of oil. If the engine is forcefully moved or started. it's possible to bend a connecting rod. One of the many housekeeping duties Bellotte completes after shut• down is to rotate the propeller (after checking the magneto switch at least once) to such a position that the valve alignment will minimize the chance of oil's collecting in the lower cylin• ders. This will decrease the possibility of hydraulic lock or a smokestorm on the next startup. He then grabs his bottle of Spray Nine to remove bugs and oil and a tube of Flitz to polish out any fingerprints on the polished parts. These little chores don't bother him. It's all part of owning a classic.

rate the 195 from the more popular airplanes of today. Starting Bellotte's 275-hp Jacobs radial is quite differ• Otherent fromlittle startingdifferencesmostsepa•flat engines. The propeller con- trol is in the high pitch (low rpm) posi• tion in order to send all available oil pressure to the engine. The "Jake" has a battery-fed distributor for starting. as well as a standard magneto ignition system. Depending on the tempera• ture, give the engine about four to six shots from the huge primer knob and push the starter button while the key is

AOPA PILOT' 102. AUGUST 1997 in the Off posi• does its best to run tion. After four the airplane off the blades or so, left side of the run• switch the key to way. Besides the Batt to allow the effects of torque, distributor to start the 195's rather the engine. As soon small rudder does as the engine fires, little until a good the key is switched bit of speed is to Both (magneto gained, so a slow and distributor). application of Throughout the power is manda• process, the entire tory-it's also easi• airplane waddles er on the engine. side to side on its Tail-low or wheel spring-steel gear takeoffs are while the seven acceptable, though cylinders decide Too lIot in tile cabin? Roll down tile some feel the air• whether to wake up. pilot's window (above). Piano-key plane is easier to The sight, sound, and switclles for electrical equipment take off from a tail• smell of that radial flallk the huge throttle knob (top). low attitude at about engine bellowing to 55 to 60 mph. life brings a little tingle to the spine. After [n the air, the 195 leaves behind its a few seconds, the engine will settle into cloudy reputation as an easy ground a slow, smooth idle. After the oil pressure looper. It's a big, gentle airplane that is stabilized, the propeller control can be proves mannerly at low and high brought to low pitch (high rpm), and the speeds. Visibility from the front seats is pressure will noticeably drop as oil is somewhat limited out of the side win• forced into the prop hub. dows because your head is up in the Once the engine is alive and kicking, plane of the wing just ahead of the spar. it would be a good idea to begin taxiing A little crane of the neck will allow you soon because the Jacobs overheats to see out of the side windows. readily during ground operations in hot The big Jake effortlessly pulls the 195 weather. No cooling is offered to the through the air, turning a leisurely and engine from the prop because the blade smooth 1,800 to 2,100 rpm at most shanks directly in front of the cowl inlet cruise-power settings. (It seems the are round. Cooling comes from the oil Jacobs engine lives up to its "shaky Jake" and pointing the nose into whatever nickname only during the starting wind there might be. Taxiing briskly can process.) Flying the radial-engined 195 aid cooling, but the visibility is so poor can be likened to driving a car that has a while taxiing that S-turning is big V-8 engine. The high-torque Jacobs required-something you may not want swinging that huge propeller sounds to do while taxiing fast in a taildragger. and feels as if it's loafing compared to Even on a hot day the 195 accelerates the fast-spinning flat engines that more briskly on the runway. Despite full right modern light aircraft use. It's a very rudder trim, the torque of the big Jacobs comforting rumble rather than a high-

AOPA PILOT· 104. AUGUST 1997 pitched racket. an ding the 195 is the stage at much trouble with the 195. The airplane's huge wing does not which pilots get themselves "It's more challenging to handle on have any dihedral, so it lacks a bit of roll into the most trouble. In a the ground than any other airplane I've stability. Rudder use is a little more nec• report obtained from the AOPA flown," said Russ Luigs of Houston, who essary than in other big , and Air Safety Foundation, one half owns a prize-winning 195. "It took me rudder trim is necessary after large L of all 195 accidents were about 50 hours of dual to feel confident power changes because of the Jacobs' labeled as "loss of directional in a crosswind." The 195 has a non-lock• torque. In the pattern, the 195's split control" or ground loops. Most ing tailwheel, although an STC for one is flaps reduce the aircraft's angle of attack occurred during the landing rollout. The available from Ray's Aircraft Service of to give the pilot a better view over the 195 has a fairly heavy rear end and a CG Porterville, California. Ray's specializes cowling on final. Otherwise, the flaps that is far behind the main gear. Couple in 195s and has jigs for all the major air• don't do much of anything. Aside from that with the fact that the pilot is sitting frame parts. It seems that owner Ray these minor differences, it behaves pret• almost exactly on the pivot point and it Woodmansee has seen enough pranged ty much like other big Cessnas. is easy to see how people can get into so 195s that he decided to come out with a lockable tail wheel to help curb some of the ground looping incidents. "I don't know if I really needed it, but it's certainly given me a lot more confi• dence on final with an 18-knot cross• wind," said Luigs of the locking tail• wheel that he had installed on his 195. As any 195 owner wiII tell you, once the tail-wagging starts, it takes a lot of fancy footwork from an experienced 195 pilot to stop it. Because of this behavior it's awfully hard to find an instructor who's willing and able to check you out in a 195. Even pilots with thousands of hours in tail wheel airplanes manage to get bitten by the 195's ground handling. Adding to the problem is the 195's (-«JI!r}\~JJlr1ijl relatively narrow-track spring-steel main landing gear. All but the greasiest tJllJ D1J¥Jj 'oie of landings will result in at least a little bounce. If the landing is fast and hard, commitment it'll spring you right back into the air. PILOT PA 400-3BL: PILOT CADET Check logbooks carefully for repairs to HEADSET FOR the main-landing-gear box and wing to details. INTERCOM CHILDREN tips-the telltale signs of a ground loop. WITH Full-featured perfomlance Cessna attempted to curb some of It takes a lot to get a great EVERYTHING for the young aviator in idea off the ground. We YOU NEED •• the ground-control accidents by intro• training. should know. Through ducing the crosswind landing gear. This This portable • Red & Blue Earcups technological innovation, VERSATILEintercom has a , , ~•. • Extra-small Headband unique device allows the main wheels attention to detail, and 3-\Vay Control Switch for perfect fit to caster about 15 degrees when pro• perseverance, we've taken (PILOT-ALL-CRE\ V) • Newly Designed voked by a side load. According to communication equipment for enhanced cockpit Air-Foam Headpad 190/195 aficianados, you either love it performance to new communications. Separate • lVliniature All-Flexible or you hate it. One advantage of the heights. Volume Controls for pilot Mic Boom with and crew. crosswind gear is better ground visibili• PILOT PA 11-20: PA 7 Mic OUR HIGHEST • 4-Station • Oversized Air-Foam ty when there is a crosswind from the NOISE-ATTENUATING • 3-\Vay Control Earseals right. If a sufficient sideload can be pre• HEADSET • Back Lighting • 2- Year sented during taxi to unlock the gear, The choice of pilots who • Battery or DC Power \\'arranty the airplane can be taxied in a crabbed • Pilot Isolate Switch depend on the highest • Super • Fail Safe Mode position and the pilot will be able to see quality while in the air. Lighrweight what's ahead. As a spotter's guide, if a • PA-9 Electret Mic •• 3-Year \Varranty @11.5 oz. • 5-Year \Varranty • Measures 4"x 5" 195 has wheel fairings, it most likely • Super-Cushion xl 5/16" does not have the crosswind gear. Headpad • Weighs 16 oz. For more information or Interestingly, although the ASF acci• • Air-Gel the dealer nearest you, dent report revealed that most ground Earseals call us toll-free at loops were directly attributed to the', 1-888-GO- PILOT. • Weighs 15.9 oz. pilot, a number of the incidents PILOT A VIOIYICS occurred following apparent brake fail• WE LISTEN, SO YOU CAN HEAR. ures or lockups. The airplane's original PILOT A\10:-'1CS' 10015 ,\\uirlands Blvd.Unit G.\n;ne. C:~ 92618' Tel, (714) 597-1012 Fax(714) 597-1().l9 E-mail: [email protected] • http://www.pilot-a\;onics.com brakes were not very effective and were expensive to maintain. Because of this, WRITE IN NO, 1B3 ON READER SERVICE CARD AOPA PILOT' 106. AUGUSTl997 many owners opted for a Cleveland engines from its Payson, Arizona, site. plane has undergone. Some will fetch wheel and brake conversion kit. Sharing Apparently military-surplus Jacobs more than $]00,000, and many owners many of the components that stop engines from World War II are still avail• simply won't put a price on their] 95s. heavier twin Cessnas, the Cleveland able. Support of the Continental-pow• As with any airplane, there are as brakes are very effective-occasionally ered airplanes is a little less certain. many reasons to buy a ]95 as there are too effective, flipping some] 95s over on Stearman suppliers would be a good not to. "It's like standing in a ham• their backs. source here, since the W-670 is used in mock," relates Luigs, who says that you many Stearmans. could probably get into a ]82 and fly it the same way that the ]95's Prices for 190s and ]95s are currently around for less money and trouble. "But clean strutless lines win over teetering in the $55,000 to $60,000 [the] 95] is extremely enjoyable to fly the hearts of many pilots, the range, according to the Aircraft Blue• and has a soul that people respond to." interior's classic look and book-Price Digest. These figures will "It's a classic, it's beautiful, and] like practicality deserve the same vary greatly, with price depending on the radial engine," says Bellotte, who IN praise. As you open the cabin the degree of restoration that the air- also thinks the performance is very door, a step flips down from the belly, inviting you into the cabin. Rear seaters can simply plop into their sta• tions, and there is ample room for the crew to navigate their way between the front seats to either forward perch. A roll• down window, which can be opened in flight, is operated by a small crank on the pilot's left sidewall. And pilots who believe that real airplanes have control columns that come out of the floor won't be disappointed by the ]95. The three• abreast backseat is luxurious for two, although tight for three. Under that seat resides a gasoline-fired heater for quick Moon Taught Me the heat on the ground and in the air. Value of Good According to owners, the huge 5-gallon oil tank above the front-seaters' feet Simulator Training" keeps toes warm in the wintertime with• Gem Ceman, Capt. USN, Ret. out the aid of the combustion heater. Gemini/Apollo Astronallt, The baggage compartment is large Owmr/Operator enough to swallow a litter of suitcases, "After three trips into space and and it can be accessed from the fold• two trips to the moon, you might think down back seat. The only major short• that the ability to handle engine-out coming of the] 95's interior is that it's instrument approaches to minimums tough to see out of-especially from the comes standard with the title of front seats. astronaut. The truth is that no matter If you have any thoughts of purchas• what your level of experience is, there ing a ]90/195, here's what the experts is no substitute for good training - the have to say: kind I get at SIMCOM. The classroom "Plan on finding a 195 instructor, not and simulator sessions are terrific and just a tailwheel instructor," said Luigs. with only two students to one instructor Larry Bartlett of Pagosa Springs, Col• I definitely came away feeling more orado, suggests getting tailwheel train• confident about flying my airplane ing in a Luscombe as preparation for and managing its systems." the ]95. Bartlett authored Taming the Taildragger. a book about tailwheel fly• Call SIMCOM before you make your next ing that includes much discussion simulator training decision. A free video about the ]95's habits. There's also a tour is available on request. version available on videocassette. 1-800-272-0211 "Get insurance first," said Crabs, of the Eastern ]90/195 Association. Most insurance companies want to see ]0 hours logged in the airplane before issuing insurance, says Crabs. The SIMCCJMTRAIIVIIVG CENTERS ]90/195 association and the Interna• Great Pilots Make Great Choices tional ]95 Club are havens of informa• Orlando, Florida and Scottsdale, Arizona tion for owners of these airplanes. 7500 Municipal Drive' Orlando. Fl32819' Tel: 407-345-0511' Fax: 407-345-1282' www.simulator.com Jacobs Service Company still whole• SUPER KING AIR' KING AIR' BARON' TWIN CESSNA' CHEYENNE' NAVAJO' AEROSTAR • PILATUS PC-12 heartedly supports and overhauls its WRITE IN NO. 186 ON READER SERVICE CARD AOPA PILOT' 107. AUGUST 1997 competitive with airplanes on the cur• Bill Thompson, the test pilot on the 190 and feel of the 195 can easily make you rent used market. Regarding the air• series, why they didn't put a locking tail• fall in love. The airplane takes you back plane's ground handling, Sellotte says, wheel on at the factory," Crabs related. into that exciting era when general avia• "In the 5 years that I've owned it, I've "His reply was that the airplane is a tion airplanes were almost as fast as the been waiting for it to [ground loop]." pussycat compared to an AT-G, BT-13, airliners and offered a freedom that no Sellotte thinks the reputation is unde• or PT-17 of the day. He, too, believes other mode of transportation could served for an otherwise excellent air• that the reputation stemmed from offer. Of course, we can't go back to the plane. He figures $85 an hour for flying pilots who learned to fly in airplanes good old days, but flying a 195 is cer• N2105C, a figure that is comparable to a with the training wheel in the front and tainlya big step in that direction. 0 I82-which rents for more than $90 an who never learned proper directional hour at some flight schools. control in the first place." E-mail the author at pete.bedell@ Likewise, Crabs believes that the Whether or not the 190/195 is for you aopa.org. 195's reputation is clouded by the is a dilemma that may be hard to solve ground looping debacle. "I once asked until you fly in one. The sound, smell, 1954 Cessna 195B Current market value: $60,000

Specifications Powerplant Jacobs R-755B-2, 275 hp Recommended THO 1,200 hr Propeller Hamilton-Standard constant speed, 78-in dia Length 27 ft 4 in Flight Simulation Technology at its Best Height 7 ft2 in Wingspan 36 ft 3 in Wing area 218sqft Wing loading 15.3Ib/sq ft Power loading 12.llb/hp Seats 5 Cabin width 3 ft 10 in Cabin height 3 ft 10 in Empty weight, as tested 2.1681b Maximum gross weight 3.3501b Useful load, as tested 1.1821b Payload w/full fucl, as tested 732lb Maximum takeoff weight 3.3501b Fuel capacity. std 81 gal (75 gal usable) 4861b (450 lb usablc) Fuel capacity, w/opt tanks 100 gal (93 gal usable) 600 lb (5581b usable) Oil capacity 20 qts Baggage capacity 2201b, 17.9 cu ft

Performance Takeoff distance, ground roll 800 ft Takeoff distance over 50-ft obstacle 1.605 ft Rate of climb. sea level 1.135 fpm Max level speed, sea level 154 kt Cruise speed/endurance w/45-min rsv. std fuel (fuel consumption) @65% power, best economy 10,000 ft 143 kti4 brs (96 pphl16 gph) Landing distance over 50-ft obstacle 1,345 ft Landing distance. ground roll 551 ft

Limiting and Recommended Airspeeds Vx (best angle of climb) 65 KIAS Vy (best rate of climb) 87 KIAS VA (design maneuvering) 109 KIAS VFE(max lIap extended) 95 KIAS(large lIaps) VNO (max structural cruising) 154 KIAS VNE(never exceed) 173 KIAS V51 (stall. clean) 54 KIAS Vso (stall, in landing configuration) 53 KIAS

For more information regarding Cessna 1901195s. contact the Eastem 1901195 Association, 25575 BIII• terml!. North Olmstead. Ohio 44070; or the 1ntema• tional 195 Club, Post Box 737, Merced. Califomia " 95340. All specifications are based onmanufacllIrer's calClllations. All performance figures are based on standard day. standard atmospllere. sea lel'el. gross weight conditions unless otlzerwise noted. PO Box 4837 Tel: (407) 2777700, Fax: (407) 277 7623 Winter Park, Fl32793 E-Mail: [email protected] WRITE IN NO. 108 ON READER SERVICE CARD AOPA PILOT· 108. AUGUST 1997