Dear Spar,

We did this conversion several years ago on a 150D we had. We got the
"kit" from A/C conversions in CA, it's on that list of Cessna
conversions. At the time I think it was $5,500 for the kit. There was
a lot of fabricating and blueprints and a lot of labor that scared off
a good many mechanics. We had bought a 150 HP engire reasonably, but
it ended up that there were only certain engine dash numbers that you
could use, and we had the wrong one. It was out of a Super Cub and we
advertised it as a Super Cub engine and made a few bucks on it so that
worked out OK. Then we got the right engine (from a really good guy in
Orlando FL, Dick Waters who deals in engines and is usally our first
place to look, his number is 1-800-366-4746. He's real reasonable and
real honest.) I think the engine was $7,000 and it was real low time.


Then you'll need a different prop. We ended up buying a new one, think
it was $2,300 cause we were going crazy trying to find a used one with
the right numbers. Called a couple of dealers from Trade A Plane and
they said to be real careful. He said he had been buying props that
would check out OK, people would use them a while, and then they
wouldn't check out any more. Like somebody had worked on them and got
it back in tolerance but then just normal use would get it out again.
Scary. So we just bought a new one. We have a grass strip and the
prop is longer than the original prop so it's kind of scary with rocks
and gravel knicks to you have to be more careful.

A instructor did a short field landing on a tar runmay in it and got on
the brakes really hard. The nose dipped down and Tom says the prop
almost hit. He said he closed his eyes cause he was too scared to keep
watching. Probably the air in the nosewheel strut was a little low,
but just keep that in mind. May the extra weight of the engine too
might have added, not sure of the weight difference.

The bigger engine will drink more fuel, so it will cut down on the
amount of hours you can fly. Can't remember the exact numbers but
probably run out in about two hours. Be really great if you could get
the long range tanks, but that used to cost about $4,000 just for the
kit. We never had the money to get the X tra fuel, and you are kind of
limited by weight so if you had more fuel, probably have to fly it solo
legally. So by the time you put all this money into a 150 you could've
probably bought one all done or a different type of airplane.

I usually fly conservatively, so I'd fly at say 50% power instead of
75%. It was so much fun taking off and landing that about all I did
with it. It would climb out at 1,000 to 1,500 FPM at 90 MPH even on
100+ degree days here in Texas. That totally spoiled me. I hate
flying a regular 150 or 152 now. I get out. See if the brakes are
sticking. Carb heat stuck on. How come this thing ain't moving or
climbing. Hope this into has been helpful. Just be careful and
research and make sure you find a good mechanic who can start and
finish the job, we burned out a bunch before we found somebody
competent to do the job. Take care, homesick angel.