Username Protected wrote:
Is a C140 a good plane for a first time owner who just wants to fly VFR and fly to local airports? Or are they getting too old and difficult to maintain? Trying to get some preliminary information on them.
The C120/C140 is an excellent airplane for a first time owner. Of all the high wing Cessna taildraggers, it has the most balanced and sensitive flight controls and will handle the most crosswind on pavement, which is always a TW consideration. Flies with finger tip pressure properly rigged and trimmed.
It will typically have a C-85, a stroked C-85 (innards from an O200 that effectively makes it more torquey), or an O-200 conversion. Personally think the stroked C-85 is the best fit. The C-90 is also on the TCDS so may be present on later C140s. Don't baby the baby Continentals - they don't like it.
They are very easy to maintain. However, you would want to have any candidate looked over by someone who knows the breed. There are only a few ADs, but a few of them can be expensive to fix. That said, in the past 75-80 years, most examples will have been ground looped and/or flipped over at least once. Tail corrosion needs to be looked for like any Cessna tailwheel aircraft.
Personally prefer the C120 as it does not carry around 22# or so of flaps and mechanism - just slip if high; the split flaps, like on the C170, aren't terribly effective anyhow. However, they built about three times the number of 140s as 120s.
As to the gear. From 1946 through about mid-1947 the aircraft had the original, symmetric gear which has the axle the furthest back. These aircraft can also be distinguished sometimes by having cast rather than stamped rudder pedals. They are a little more nose heavy, but there's a reason that the landing checklist has "heels on the floor" as step five. Do that and they'll be no problems. Extenders were/are available but I don't like the twisting torque they could cause on the gearbox or attach points. Later models swept the leg about 3" forward so they are a little less tippy and side-specific. Still keep the heels on the floor!
There are about a half dozen STCs to metalize the wings. The feel of the fabric wing is more pleasant IMHO. Also, some of the metalization STCs kept the drag wires and some did not; if they are missing from a plane that is supposed to have them, there's a potential issues. I would go fabric. That does rule out the 140A, which is a TW 150 and really a different airplane. They only built about 500 of those.
Parts are widely available, some still from Cessna, many from Univair, and others from BAS and other wreckers.
Anyhow, my two cents; have flown all the Cessna taildraggers (ok, not the Bamboo Bomber) and the 120/140 are just sweet.
