With so much down time in recent weeks, our mechanic was able to catch up on some of our backlog and upgrades to N759ZU are now complete!

Here is a list of new goodies:

1. Gross weight increase to 3100 lbs:  This is ~150 lbs more than before!  Note, only land with 3100 lbs during emergencies, and if you can, burn off extra fuel to reduce the load before landing.
2. Horsepower increase to 252 hp (up from 230 hp):  This is the John Jewell 182-252 STC, which basically modifies the carburetor and allows the beefy O-470-U to run at a higher RPM (i.e., higher redline).  This upgrade is supposed to increase the cruise speed by 5-8 knots at gross weight and increase the climb rate by 400 fpm between 7,000 and 11,000 feet.  It should also make the engine last longer.  Note the 131 knot ground speed at 4,500 ft MSL and only 23″ MP by 2300 rpm.  Push up the rpm a bit higher and go faster!  (Keep doing what you already do to watch EGT and CHT to not run over-rich or too lean, and as always, mind your cowl flaps.)
3. Rosen visors:  No longer do we have to battle those cheap, puny Cessna stock visors.  We have good visors for those beautiful, sunny morning flights to the east or picturesque evening flights to the west!
4. 8’s on the mains and larger nose gear:  For those of you who like to fly in the backcountry, now 9ZU has Cessna 206 size gear.  This is large enough to take a slightly rougher strip than we would prefer on the stock gear, yet not large enough to rival that of a sasquatch!