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That's all rather curious.

Rick, how much of your experience do you feel is attributable to the 180HP and how much do you feel could be contributed by how the conversion was done on that particular plane? A sample size of one is a pretty limited basis for judgement on something that can have a lot of variance from example to example.

When I bought my 150/150 conversion from Del-Air, Harry Dellicker mentioned that most people were buying the 180HP conversion rather than the 150HP conversion. For a minute there, it made me wonder if I had made the right choice. I stuck with the 150HP conversion because I already had an engine, a mechanic I worked with had experience with both and preferred the 150HP conversion, I was concerned about the increased fuel burn since I did not have the financial means to increase the fuel capacity on my plane, and 150HP seemed to be enough to do what I wanted to do. All turned out to be true except I know little about what a 180HP 150 flies like. There don't seem to be any 180HP owners active in this club.

I've been very happy with my 150HP conversion and have no regrets. I have wondered, though, if one could do with 180HP what I do with 150HP, enjoy the extra power to take off, climb, and higher service ceiling but pull the power back and enjoy good economy.