Building the Hangar 9 Cessna 182 Skylane
Hi Scott,
I am having that same debate with myself right now.
This is what I have considered so far. The main problem being the discrepancy in the weight of the plane. The Instruction Book says 16.5 to 18.5 LBS the website says 13 to 16 lbs.
A Saito 180 develops 1.85 HP
I have an OS 160 Gemini twin that says it will develop 1.9 HP
An RCS 140 gas engine develops 2.95 HP and develops 15.62 lbs of static thrust. Its displacement is 22 cc which is one less than recommended
An RCS 180 gas engine develops 4 HP, its displacement is 30 cc which is below recommend max.
RCS makes the 180 in both rear induction and front carb models, I have not checked the distance from the fire wall to the front of the cowl, but the rear induction motor is 7.3 inches long and the front carb version is 5.75".
I am lean toward gas be cause I know that I will have the extra power that might get me out of a problem and I can always throttle back to achieve scale like flight, but I am still undecided as to which to go with.
The 120 will have even less power and I guess if you keep it light it should fly well. My major concern about the 182 is that it is so wide it is like flying a bus so it may need more HP to haul it around the sky.
Have you looked at anything else at this point? I'm leaning toward the RCS 180 and once I measure the distance from the firewall to the front of the cowl I will make my decision.
Post some pictures if you have them. I'm sure there must be a bunch of guys building this airplane that would love to see them.
Andy