EAA Triple Five Flier Volume 40 Number 11 | Page 3

Join us, all friendly people invited, click below or
read the QR code on your smart phone.

'The journey is what brings us happiness not the
destination.' Peaceful Warrior

Hey folks,
This month, I’ve got kind of a philosophical observation to make.

Table of Contents

On Veteran’s Day, Doug Newton had to ferry a really
nice Cessna Cardinal up to Double Eagle, where it was
to receive some electrical repairs. Nothing related to
flight operations was amiss; just needed a cleanup on a
noisy intercom circuit, that sort of thing. Jerry Gaber
followed in one of the club 182s, which the three us
then used for the return trip after the Cardinal was
dropped off.

President’s Corner …………………………Pg 3
TFR Airspace Shell Game.................... ........Pg 5
Chapter Meeting ...........................................Pg 7
October Breakfast ........……….....…...… .Pg 10
Waiex Photos …………………………,.….Pg 13

The 177/Cardinal is a really interesting airplane model.
(I was only five or so when Cessna first began selling
them, so forgive me if pontificating about them makes
me sound like an obnoxious newcomer.) Cessna originally intended it to replace the 172, and initially
planned to sell it as the “172-J”. The Cardinal comes
with a considerable list of advancements that Cessna
thought would really appeal to buyers: A sleeker appearance, a new cantilever wing free of struts, bigger
doors, etc. It only takes a few seconds in the front seats
for anyone to appreciate the improved visibility compared to a 172, both under and over the wing. Everyone says the Cardinal handles better, and depending on
the model, some perform a lot better too.

El Paso Aviation Hall of Fame ………...….Pg 20
New Mexico Airstrip Network …………....Pg 21

Warn er Engine Announcement …………...Pg 23
Advertisements ............................................Pg 24
Tech Page ………………………………....Pg 38

But Cardinal production ceased in 1978, and Cessna
still builds 172s. What happened? Among its other advanced features, the Cardinal came with a new laminar
flow airfoil, and an all-moving tail. These are good
performance choices, but made the beast behave somewhat differently than the 172. Some pilots got into expensive or even fatal accidents with them. I don’t think
the 172 is inherently safer; it’s just more familiar to
more people. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly or own a Cardinal, but apparently enough flight schools did that Cessna abandoned the design.
A similar story happened with Porsche, only with a
twist. The original air-cooled 911 came out in 1963,
and remained in production until 1997. Of course, the
car evolved considerably during that time. But if you
ever drove any of them, you were pretty much familiar
with the way all the rest of them would behave. The
engine was hung out behind the transaxle. Having so
much weight there made for spectacular traction under
acceleration, and good weight distribution under brak3