Q to AirVenture?

[JohnSBA]

Any 172Q going to AirVenture?

Anyone flying, or know someone who's flying, a Cessna 172Q to Oshkosh? It's looking like we'll be going in our 1983 N66111, and I'd like to connect with someone who has a Q. We bought her in January, have sailed through first annual, and now have some niggling things to work on. It would be extremely helpful to compare our trusty "Tripp" with another Cutlass II (no, not the "gutless" retractable).

If no Q is there, maybe we can at least find someone who's known one. Could even stop along our flight path there and back from SBA-OSH, then up to Canada across to BC, hopefully AK and then home down the west coast (we'll of course be blogging it, and I'll probably post our tentative flight path sometime soon). Any help or comments are welcome.

 

[steingar]

Have a stroll around the North 40 after you arrive, there will probably be dozens. Owners are usually pretty chatty about their aircraft.

 

[AuntPeggy]

Cessnas 2 Oshkosh will have 2 large tents in the North 40. About 80 aircraft are registered for the mass arrival.

 

[JohnSBA]

Thanks for the helpful and encouraging replies. Clearly there will be clouds of 172s at Oshkosh. We're looking forward to meeting other 172s and their owners, and will surely see some 1983 models.

It's the Q in my question that I'm still wondering about, and hoping someone might be able to definitively answer. Because if no 172Qs are going to Oshkosh, maybe we can find another way to meet one. There seem to only be 40 registered, with two of those being in UK, according to this type search.

From what I've seen online the 172Q "Cutlass II" is a stock 160hp 172P Skyhawk, but with an extra 20hp that was only built for the three years 1983-86 and didn't sell well. I wouldn't be surprised if there were more 180hp Skyhawk upgrades registered than our stock Q model. Sort of a poor man's 182, she has a useful load of 1000#, 122kt top cruise@gross, significantly higher service ceiling than a Skyhawk, and a max range over 800nm. We typically fly with 3 hours' fuel and 400# of us and our stuff. The flying club stock 172M with 160hp we used to fly might climb 500fpm at sea level on a good day and top out at 9kMSL with that load. Our stock 172Q easily makes 1000fpm with that load and we haven't yet gone to her ceiling. On a hotter than standard day we once took her up to 10.5k with that load and were still making 850fpm. Another day with the same load plus Dad's frail 140# we easily made a transit over the LA Class B at 10.5k. Not bragging, just clarifying why that letter Q is meaningful to us.

The significance of Q in my question though, has to do with the differences in cowling and everything else firewall forward. Plus little questions like why we sometimes hear prop wash in the overhead air vents during taxi. It would be very helpful for us to actually see a 172Q, talk to an owner, and if possible meet an A&P who's familiar with them. The latter seems most likely, given the amount of Cessna expertise that's one of our main draws to Oshkosh.

 

[gprellwitz]

I presume that you're already planning to stop by the Cessna Pilots Association booth, and are members of CPA. This would be a good question to raise in their forums, too.

When I first read the thread title I thought it might be something for Matt to answer about the Dash 8 Q400s!

 

[JohnSBA]

I presume that you're already planning to stop by the Cessna Pilots Association booth

Yes, and I visited the CPA office in Santa Maria a few months ago. It seemed rather sleepy there, so it will be great connecting with some enthusiasm at the AirVenture booth.

Our plan is to arrive Friday, but we might try to stop by the departure point for the Saturday mass Cessna arrival just for the fun of it. Before buying our 172Q in January, I was MX Officer for the SB Flying Club's AA5-B Tiger. I enjoyed the enthusiasm and mutual support of the Grumman Gang and AYA. It will be great to connect with some of that, if it exsits, in the vast 172 world. My impression so far is that because 172s are so commonplace, they're taken for granted rather than celebrated for how well they fulfill their perhaps more mundane mission. I do miss flying Tiger 140kias with the hatch open, and watching heads of the airport rats snap around to gawk as we taxi up.

What I celebrate now with basically the same 0360 engine is flying "low" and slow at 6gph (with 125kias when I need it), the Q's 1000# useful load, a fabulous panorama in open air with the window stop screws removed, confidence in finding 172-familiar A&Ps everywhere, and a large umbrella everywhere we go.

When I first read the thread title

Thanks for mentioning that. I've (I think) updated the title to make it more clear. Update: Looks like only the title on my first post changed, and the thread title remained unclear. I'm going to start another Topic and link it here.

 

[Nneuromancer]

I hope you found some one, and had a great time. If your up for the sun-n-fun for 2014, I should be there on the 5th with a 172Q!

 

[JohnSBA]

I hope you found some one

Alas, no. I didn't hear of any other Qs there. Plus the downpour got us diverted to camping at Fond Du Lac and taking the bus, so we missed a lot.

and had a great time.

Yes, thanks. It was even more fun than we hoped. On a later flight to Quebec I met an owner who was jumping with joy when he saw us taxi in past his Q. I gave him my contact info but never heard from him, so maybe one of these days I'll look up the airport name and try to reach him.

sun-n-fun for 2014, I should be there on the 5th with a 172Q!

How tempting! Alas, it appears unlikely we'll be going. Any chance you'll be coming to CA or anywhere west of the MS River? If so, please contact me privately (preferably via my blog) so we can try to set up a Q-in.