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Bush plane 10

togaflyer

Well Known Member
My son and I want to do some back country camping. A nice bush plane would be great to have, but so would a Hughes 500D. To bad the budget doesn’t allow this. We watched a U Tube how the -10 beat out a Cessna 182 in almost every category so we thought how about removing the wheel pants and tossing on larger diameter tires.

Looking for any major negatives with this. Negatives I see are low wings so you need to be aware of hazards to the wing, slower, because of drag. Considering how a Cessna 182 performs, except for the low wings, the -10 out performs the 182 in most categories. The 182 is a decent back county plane, so the -10 should be equal or better. Has anyone made their 10 a back country type airplane for a trip?
 
A lot depends on your definition of “Back Country” Flying in Idaho, many consider Johnson Creek a back country strip - until they fly into some of the REAL out of the way places - then Johnson Creek feels like DFW!

Any RV can get in and out of Johnson, Big Creek, or similar. Deadwood? That’s another story......
 
This would happen with high or low wing....

How do props handle weed-whacking?

Aluminum vs carbon fiber?
 
Having previously owned a 182, now a -10:
The 182 has more cabin volume. The -10 can carry more weight (both planes with full tanks) but you need to watch the aft cg. Only real downside (assuming you’re not going somewhere where wing clearance from brush is an issue) is the landing gear. Fairings are close to the ground, I’d remove them. Unlike the 182, the fairings on the -10 actually work, removing them will slow you down. I haven’t taken the -10 into any rough fields. My gut instinct is that they won’t fare as well as the 182’s stock wheels. Now if you put on larger wheels, and keep the weight off the nose, you might have something.
 
This would happen with high or low wing....

How do props handle weed-whacking?

Aluminum vs carbon fiber?

Lycoming defines a prop strike as “ Sudden RPM drop on impact to water, tall grass, or similar yielding medium where propeller damage does not usually occur”

among other conditions...
 
Just a cautionary story. A few years ago, an RV landing at Bar-10 (inside the Grand Canyon) caught a wingtip on a tumbleweed which caused a runway excursion that nearly flipped the aircraft. It ended up being disassembled and taken out on a trailer to be repaired. Other low wing craft had landed safely (though one had some green stains under the wing) but the RV sits a little lower. Bar-10 is partially paved but they had not cleared the sides of the runway that year, yet, as it does not affect the Twin Otters that usually operate there. Now we check before planning a visit. So, don't pay attention just to the landing surface but also what is around it.
 
Damaging the wheel pants is my main concern. So I figured If I flew with them off, might as well get larger diameter tires. I have the Dresser tire retreads so they are slightly larger then stock. I’m not sure if you could go larger on the nose without any modifications. That is the deciding factor on going with larger. If I can’t go larger on the nose, without modification, I would run with what I have. Johnson Creek looks like a typical grass strip so wouldn’t remove the pants for that. Third option is fly with the pants on and remove them if needed and just toss them in the back of the plane.
 
Wheel pants

I met a man at Johnson Creek that flys a Harmon Rocket in the backcountry. He has RV-10 wheels and pants on his Rocket. He recommended not removing wheel pants on the RVs to avoid damage to the bottom of the wings, flaps, and tail. The pants keep the rocks from flying up. You may damage the pants, but they are much easier to repair or replace. I think removing the nose pant would be ok since you have that in the air almost all of the take-off roll and the fast part of the landing.

I found that I really liked having an aft CG while flying on backcountry runways.

-Andy
 
Look up pictures of the Cessna Caravan mud guards. Something similar could be created easily at low cost. Then you're not damaging wheel pants or the under side of the wings. Can't imagine they'd be very aerodynamic, but better than a dent in the flap.
 
Wasn't there another thread posted on this?

https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=194016

Anyway, one man's sip is another man's gulp. If you are considering a -10 as bush plain, then I suspect we have very different definitions of "Bush".

I'll break it down like this:

1. Maintained grass. Like Johnson Creek. Little chance of potholes and rocks. Sure, an RV-10 can go here.

2. Unmaintained grass. You can have gopher holes or hidden rocks, but should be okay. In this world a 182 is still okay since Cessna nose gear is VERY strong. If you stay lucky a -10 would work.

3. Gravel. Some soft gravel can really suck rocks into your prop, while other gravel is like a road. I don't like buying props, I largely avoid gravel in a nose-dragger.

4. Gravel bars. These have sand/large rocks. Lots of people fly these in 182's, but then again, you can put an 8.50 on the front of a 182, and 29's on the back. I doubt the rv-10 nose gear would fit/survive an 8.50 on the front.

5. Random dirt that seems flat. The trouble with this is that it's not usually flat, and there are things hidden that are easy to hit. Prop clearance and big tires are insurance for when you hit something, and you will.

6. Rocky flat spot next to a river or something that is short and full of obstacles. Basically, not at all an airport, or even straight, or flat, but you want to land anyway.


So, out of my so called 6 levels of bush flying the first 3 could be an airport, and the last 3 off airport. I'd probably not operate a -10 past #1, while I'd totally take a 182 with a landis fork into 1-3. At #4 I'd require a tailwheel and probably want 29's for insurance, with 5-6 perhaps wanting bigger tires and playing the risk management game.

Calling a -10 a bush plane is like calling a minivan a truck. Sure you can put wood in it, but it's not a truck. It can't remotely do what a cub can do safely.

In order to give myself some credibility, I randomly appear in this video:

https://youtu.be/nZjKRiTZySo?t=248

I have the orange 170. Watch all of the bush planes land here and consider if you would take an RV-10 into here, and know that this is a very mild strip that everybody is super comfortable with.
 
Definitely wasn’t looking to make the -10 a 4x4. Was thinking more on the line of Vlad’s travels in his 9A. But the 10 is larger and heavier then the 9A. Always looking for new adventures. But not looking to take it past common sense operations. I built the plane to travel in, not trash it in. :)
 
In reference to the above post, I fly into #3 gravel all the time, prepared gravel runways. Those runways do a number on airplanes! The nosewheels kick gravel up against the belly of the plane, taildragger main gear throws rocks up onto the flaps for low wing or the horizontal stabilizer for high wings. Turning around and any power above idle sucks rocks up, especially with a crosswind or any tailwind. Tires get sliced up, paint gets chipped and dented. Once had an unlucky rock jam into a brake caliper about 10' past the touchdown point. The tire lasted another 50' before popping and scooping gravel up inside the tire.

Not trying to deter anyone, just be aware of the hazards and expect the extra wear and tear.
 
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