Budget Buys

Cessna made stylish and sporty

The Cardinal story begins with a plot as optimistic as a bird in springtime. It's the mid-1960s, glory years in civil aviation. The economy is strong, gas is cheap, and a surfeit of pilots from World War II and the Korean War are finding happiness in peacetime skies and teaching their friends and family to fly in record numbers.

So let's say you're with the Cessna Aircraft Company, and you know you have a good thing going with the venerable 172. But you and your colleagues want to keep the excitement alive, so your team designs a new airplane that answers your customers' desires. Of course, you want to do it cost-effectively, so you base a lot of decisions on the success you've had while building the 172. Chiefly, you place an order for the same engine — 2,000 150-horsepower Lycoming O-320-E2Ds — assuming it will power this new bird just as adequately as it did the 172.

Hits and Misses

Hits

• Sleek styling makes the Cardinal look as sharp as anything of its vintage on the ramp.
• Balanced control forces lead to stability in cruise and easy controllability in the pattern.
• Wide doors and a low-slung cabin make entry and loading a breeze.
• The Cardinal delivers a respectable cruise speed on just over 10 gph.

Misses

• The powerful stabilator requires transition training for pilots accustomed to other Cessnas.
• The heavy doors can sag and lead to nagging repair problems.
• Most Cardinal owners carry towels to block off leaky window seals in rainy weather.

In most respects, you hit the mark. The new Cessna 177 Cardinal — with its cantilever, laminar-flow wing offering terrific visibility — is a doll to fly, a step above its trusty-yet-pedestrian predecessor. Stepping into the Cardinal is more like sliding into a sedan than climbing into a pickup. A wide panel holds all the latest avionics — we're in 1968, so that includes a choice of ARC, King, or Narco nav/coms and a Nav-O-Matic autopilot. An audio panel and marker beacons are popular options for the IFR cross-country fliers you aim to please. And a large ashtray just right for cradling their Swisher Sweet cigarillos completes the sedan-style surroundings.

But that engine? Big mistake. It can hardly pull this flying Caddy up a Kansas hill.

Luckily, you quickly realize your mistake and set about making the airplane as harmonious as its rakish good looks suggest.

Cardinal lowdown

These days, if you're going to buy a Cardinal — and there are lots of great reasons to make this your airplane of choice — by all means buy one with more than 150 hp. Cessna understood its error and with the second year's model (1969) swapped the O-320 for a 180-hp Lycoming O-360-A2F, keeping the fixed-pitch propeller. The match made the design take to the skies in keeping with its swept style and sleek looks. Since then, most 1968 models have been upgraded to beefier engines as well. The design also went through some other modifications late in the 1968 model year, as part of "Operation Cardinal Rule." The program made 23 upgrades to the original aircraft — in particular, slots were added to the stabilator to improve landing characteristics.

The 177's cantilever, laminar-flow wing is similar to that on the Cessna 210, and it is positioned far enough aft to allow the pilot greater visibility than in previous high-wing airplanes. The strutless design clears the view out of the side. And the view out the front window is fantastic, recalling current composite airplanes with wraparound windshields.

Because the resulting center of lift is further from the center of gravity, the elevator needs enough oomph to counteract the "heavier" nose. So the Cardinal has a stabilator, as opposed to the horizontal stabilizer/elevator combination found on the other Cessna 100-series models. Because the entire horizontal airfoil moves with back-and-forward motion of the control wheel, pitch response is immediate and the amount of change larger. The stabilator is more "powerful" than other tailfeather designs, and leaves some pilots — particlarly those accustomed to the delayed response of the Skyhawk — apprehensive about its quick action and their own subsequent tendency to overcontrol in the flare. As pilots grow more accustomed to the stabilator design, this problem dissolves. However, the stabilator requires additional maintenance.

Control forces in the Cardinal are wonderfully balanced — as the airplane speeds up in cruise, the stick becomes heavier, making smooth adjustments easy. In the pattern, once you get the bird slowed down (Cardinal RG pilots especially must plan ahead for the descent), control forces lighten to make maneuvering a breeze.

In 1970, the sharp leading edges on Cardinal wings transformed to a blunter shape, creating a more docile airfoil. Now pilots could pull back on the stick abruptly without the higher drag and reduced acceleration common to laminar-flow wings — and it paid off in smoother takeoffs. The change to the airfoil eliminated the stall strips required previously. This model year also saw a redesigned cowl, the addition of cowl flaps, and the move to a constant-speed propeller.

The engine went through one more change in 1973, to a dual-magneto system in the Lycoming O-360-A1F6 "D." The cowl bore another iteration that removed the flat plate area from under the spinner, which Cessna claimed reduced drag to the tune of three extra knots. Optional 60-gallon fuel tanks and improved door sealing rounded out the year's updates. In 1975, a new prop allowed for higher continuous rpm, up to 2,700 rpm. This meant 75-percent power could be carried up to 10,000 feet, for higher cruise speeds at that altitude. In 1978, the last run of Cardinals got a 28-volt electrical system.

The Cardinal RG debuted in 1971 with a 200-hp Lycoming IO-360-A1B6 and benefited from the straight-leg's permutations. Few changes were made through the 1978 model year — also the last for the RGs — with the exception of a similar "D" engine-model update and 60-gallon tank option in 1973.

The RG used an electrically actuated hydraulic pack gear system based on that of the Cessna 210, but project engineer Ted Moody and his team eliminated the main-gear doors — the additional noise and drag penalty caused by the open wells would not be as great at 160 mph as it was at the higher speeds on the Cessna 210, according to William D. Thompson in the book Cessna, Wings for the World.

While the wide Cardinal door allows for easy loading, the weight of the door tends to cause sagging over the years. The RGs suffer more from sagging doors than the fixed-gear models; this is probably attributable to the higher cruising speeds and greater flex induced. Some owners opt for custom-made hinges to solve the problem. A second area of door-wrought concern is the seals, and various fixes abound for all Cardinal models. Keep in mind too that these airplanes were built during the Royalite era, and some of the fit and finish in unrestored models is showing wear. Interior plastic parts can be ordered through PlanePlastics in Alva, Oklahoma ( www.planeplastics.com), and these are constructed of thicker plastic than the standard Cessna parts — those that Cessna still stocks, that is.

A variety of STCs exist for both models, from the obvious — a three-blade prop (either McCauley or Hartzell) — to the more exotic. Micro Aerodynamics has a vortex generator kit for the 177 that, judging from owner response, lowers stall and approach speeds and improves the Cardinal's already fine slow-speed handling.

RG owner Brian Corliss used to fly for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, flying circles around hot areas and providing air support for a variety of covert operations. Now he uses his 1977 Cardinal, N77177 of course, to travel and visit airports and pilots in his role as Northeast regional representative for AOPA. His pretty red-and-white RG is the one shown on these pages and one of those flown during our flight tests.

Corliss has redone the interior on his Cardinal. Some trademarks of the design remain, however — he gave a friendly caution about the pilot's door handle while I was getting situated in the airplane for the first test flight. The handle's fragility makes it come off easily in an unsuspecting pilot's hand, especially one used to slamming the doors on other 1970s-vintage Cessnas.

Dave Friedrich, owner of National Airviews, an aerial photography business in Hagerstown, Maryland, flies the fixed-gear Cardinal shown in our photos. The airplane was the right start for his aerial-photography operation. Friedrich spends most of his time flying low and capturing commercial real estate — from plants to prisons — on film. He found the Cardinal, a 1978 fixed-gear, in sad shape after a bad landing on a wet grass strip a few years ago, and then bought it for $15,000 and put another $40,000 into restoring it. During the process, he modified it for his business with two removable windows. Even with the money he's put into N99NA, he figures he can expect to see $20,000 in profit when he sells it.

Cardinal costs

The low-cost, fixed-gear 1968 Cardinal is the real bargain. The average retail value according to AOPA's Aircraft Valuation Service by Vref is $38,000 ( www.aopa.org/members/vref/). But consider that a 180-hp conversion adds $1,500 to that value, and it's an upgrade you really want to have. The 1969 177A goes for $43,000 and includes the Cardinal Rule updates that should have been retrofit to any 1968 models. The 1970 177B jumps to $48,000 retail, and prices continue on up until you hit a high of $63,500 for a 1978 fixed-gear model.

Folding the legs away always costs more money, and when the RG was introduced in 1971, it went out the door for nearly $10,000 more than a similarly equipped straight-leg model, at $32,200. Oh that those prices still held true today, but it could be worse. That same 1971 bird fetches roughly $58,000, with the last RGs made in 1978 valued around $75,000. Of course, new paint, a new panel, and other goodies add to that base price, with really sharp Cardinals edging at the $100,000 mark.

Joining the flock

Every airplane has its fan club, but arguably few are as close-knit and attentive to detail as the Cardinal Flyers Online. If you're thinking of buying a Cardinal, go to the CFO Web site ( www.cardinalflyers.com) and get to know the clan.

While the Cessna Pilots Association (CPA) mentors all Cessna owners and provides a wealth of advice and information on the 177 and 177RG, including type-specific classes, the CPA does cover all Cessnas. And sometimes a unique bird made in relatively small numbers tends to get lost in the crowd — when you're kin to the Skyhawk, 4,296 is small. Paul Millner, whose first airplane was a fixed-gear Cardinal and who now owns an RG, sent an e-mail digest to a few Cardinal owners at the beginning of 1997. When Keith and Debbie Petersen launched their Cardinal Web site in mid-1997, the two entities joined forces. The organization officially became the Cardinal Flyers Online in 1998, with incorporation coming in early 2000. That original digest, still carefully edited by Millner, goes out roughly 350 times a year to more than 1,500 subscribers.

The Web site constructed by Keith Petersen features rich anecdotal experience, culled from Millner and Petersen's combined 35 years of Cardinal ownership and significant input from other owners, on diverse subjects that range from avoiding the Cardinal crowhop (the porpoise that occurs when a new 177 pilot tries to land it in a crosswind like a 172) to recently posted service bulletins and mechanical issues. CFO assists new buyers in selecting the right Cardinal, and hooks up members locally to find the best 177-specific instruction and maintenance. And like any good club, it hosts numerous fly-ins and get-togethers throughout the world, throughout the year.

Millner, an engineer by profession, found aviation the perfect outlet for his inquisitive mind. "Here was a new technical subject, related closely to an enjoyable passion — I like to fly! — and it was ripe for development. So many of the obvious, straightforward questions I asked didn't have technically satisfying answers. Aha! A challenge."

Millner owned his fixed-gear Cardinal for 16 years and 1,800 hours, modifying it extensively with a new interior, paint, engine, avionics upgrades, and a turbocharger conversion. By working alongside the maintenance technicians, he managed a lot of the effort himself. "I think it made me a better and safer pilot, particularly when things would start to go wrong or even to be able to distinguish right from wrong or anticipate that wrong was coming and get something fixed before it was systems going bump in the night," adds Millner.

The Petersens came at flying from another angle. Early on in their marriage, they moved to the Chicago area and were spending a disproportionate amount of their limited time together working on their new house. "We needed to have some fun, something new we could learn together," recalls Debbie. "It was learn to fly or learn to golf. The next day I saw an ad for ground school and signed us both up."

They owned a Cessna 152 at first, then bought their Cardinal RG in 1987. They decided on the RG as opposed to the fixed gear because, according to Debbie, "it went a little faster — and the men think it's sexy." When a son and a daughter came into their family, the kids were soon flying, taking their first flights when less than two months old. "When the kids were little, the extra big doors were a plus for getting the car seats in and out," says Debbie. And she appreciates the lighter control forces: "I don't have to muscle it around all the time" like a Cessna 210. The good visibility is conducive to learning as well. In the summer of 2000, the Petersen family traveled over Monument Valley and traced the Grand Canyon from Lake Powell to its outlet. "What a geography lesson to give, how the canyon starts so narrow and spreads as it goes," says Debbie.

But getting the kids accustomed to an airplane has its downside. When their daughter was little, she would get cranky after 25 Pin.utes in the car, complaining, "Daddy, couldn't we have taken the airplane?"

So the Cardinal story has a happy ending: That flying Caddy that Cessna envisioned hit its mark after all.

E-mail the author at [email protected].

Airworthiness Directives — A Selection From the Past 15 Years

Cardinal FG and Cardinal RG

AD 86-19-11. To eliminate the possibility of engine power reduction because of contaminated fuel, install quick drains in the fuel reservoirs and wing fuel tanks if not presently equipped in accordance with Cessna service letters.

AD 86-24-07. To prevent engine power interruption because of loss of attachment of the engine controls, install a drilled steel bolt in accordance with Cessna service letter.

AD 87-20-03. To assure proper engagement of the seat locking mechanism and to preclude inadvertent seat slippage, measure each hole in the seat tracks for excessive wear.

AD 96-09-10. To prevent oil pump failure replace the sintered iron oil pump impeller and shaft with a hardened steel impeller and shaft.

AD 97-01-13. Inspect fuel, oil, and hydraulic hoses.

AD 2000-06-01. The fuel strainer assemblies on the affected airplanes were manufactured with the fuel standpipes incorrectly installed in the assembly housing top. Measure the visible length of standpipe in the top assembly of the fuel strainer assembly for the correct length and replace if necessary.

Cardinal FG

AD 86-26-04. To prevent slippage of the pilot/copilot shoulder harnesses, inspect the upper shoulder harness adjuster for the presence of a retainer spring and remove if installed.

Cardinal RG

AD 88-12-12. To prevent power loss or engine stoppage because of water contamination of the fuel system, install a fuel strainer quick drain control in accordance with certain STCs.

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