1953 Cessna 170B Model
As a relatively new airplane at the time, it proved to be a comfortable and economical aircraft for our family. With a four-place cabin and a six-cylinder Continental O-300 engine, it easily cruised at steady speeds of over 125 MPH. We lived in Phoenix, Arizona, and often flew out to Los Angeles, CA for weekends or business.
The trip was usually about 3 easy flight hours from start to finish and the fuel costs were equivalent to those one had to pay to drive an ordinary four-door sedan on the identical trip. But it took a full day’s 8 or more hours to make the same journey by car.
Airline trips to Los Angeles took MORE time, because of the wait at the airports before departure, and the wait after arrival. Furthermore, in the Cessna 170B, we could fly directly to any town’s smaller airport near LA where we had our business or other activities. On the other hand, the airlines only flew into the larger commercial airports such as either LAX or the Burbank airport, and those airports were rarely close to where we needed to go.
In any event, this story and video surprised me insofar as they showed an entirely different sort of utility for which the same model aircraft might be used. And yet the airplane is now some 70 years old!
Here we go: Let’s watch “The Most Highly Modified Cessna in the World!” It’s just over 16 minutes long. I know this particular airplane from stem to stern, but had no idea, when modified this way, it was capable of almost flying at only 20 MPH airspeed – – – without stalling! Seeing is believing. Watch this remarkable 70-year-old Cessna 170B do the impossible.
If you would like to learn how to get this level of unusual performance out of your own Cessna 170, then you can take advanced BUSH training from the school: BUSH AIR is located at the Kidwell Airport (1L4) Cal Nev Ari, Nevada, USA. Their phone number is: (928) 460-3987. The video is thanks to the pilot, Larry, who posted it and who runs this interesting site: Back Country 182 in Washington state. Tel: 206-453-9116