The Cessna 1954 170B based at Theale was G-AORB. Owned by same group since 1987. Great little plane, good short field and reliable. Carb air a must as 0-300 very prone to ice on descent. Several valve sticking episodes in the early days, but no problems after new cylinders fitted. As with many old tail draggers, could be a handfull in a crosswind, especially on hard runways.
(The POH bans sideslips with full flap. Wondering why,one of the group did the test pilot bit at a safe height. At the third attempt in a hefty full flap sideslip the control wheel appeared detached from the elevator and the nose dropped rapidly through the vertical, recovery taking 200/300 ft. Lesson learned.)
Now D-AORB based near Bremen. Replaced by the aforementioned C-180 G-AXZO which was demolished/vandalised by some gentlemen in a Jeep Cherokee a couple of years back.
The group my be a bit miffed to be called old codgers!
Last edited by cessnapete; 11th Jan 2015 at 04:22.