I don’t post enough pictures of our Cessna 185. This is my father-in-law‘s plane. It’s a 1961 model which was the first year Cessna built the 185 and the serial number is 190. The airframes on these early model 185s were light and the original engine was the 265 horse power Continental IO-470-F. It soon became apparent that more horse-power is always desired, and the 300 horse IO-520 became the standard. Most of the early model 185s were upgraded over the years to the bigger engine. N7680Y was converted to an IO-520 back in the 1970’s and she is a real performer. In addition to the larger engine, 80Y also has the Wing-X STOL kit which increases wing surface area by 12.4 feet and lengthens the wing span by more than 3 feet. The Wing-X STOL (if installed with the IO-520 engine) also increases gross weight from 3200 lbs to 3525 lbs. N7680Y also has the sportsman leading edge cuff on the wings, as well as VG’s (vortex generators), and the Roberstson STOL kit. The Robertson STOL kit droops the ailerons with the flaps to increase the amount of lift created when flaps are applied. This is a very effective modification that significantly changes the way the plane flies. N7680Y is a joy to fly with her leather interior and sporty feel, I always crawl out with a big smile on my face.
There is no magic conversion and all these modification have their draw backs. I’ve generally found that the more money a pilot spends on a modification the more unbelievably awesome the modification becomes. In other words a pilots opinion is virtually worthless if they have very much green stuff invested. I’m “old school” in my belief that the best way you can spend your money is by buying avgas and staying proficient. There is one mod I think you can never go wrong with … bigger tires.