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I live in Southern Indiana and a private pilot that owned a J-3 Club 15 years ago and sold it because of raising family, work, and lack of time to fly. Now since I am in my 50's it time to enjoy flying again and I have been renting Cessna 150?s and 152?s at the local airport at Huntingburg, IN and Washington, IN. I would love to purchase again but just waiting for the right plane or maybe going to build. I love the Cessna 150-152 Club and reading the forum. The site is just full of great information.

I have questions about what would be the best ANR headset and audio frequencies for flying the Cessna?s 150 and 152? I have been looking at the Lightspeed QFR-XCc ANR headset but wanted to make sure that they would be OK in the Cessna?s. Or maybe I do not need the ANR just the passive attenuation.

Also I would like to build a grass strip on my farm, which I have room for a good 1200 feet open on both ends. Would that be enough length for take-off for the 150-152? I am at 500ft MSL.

Don

Hi Don;

I'm in the same boat with you on the headsets. I'm in need of upgrading to a newer model. My old Dave Clark H10-30 has just about given up the ghost. I've gotten years of good service out of it, but its definitely not a new fangled model. The Dave Clark works well in the 152 and pretty much everything else. There are so many copy cats out there, its hard to tell which ones are at least equal to it in function with the same reliability.

With your 1200 ft. strip, I can say that there's lots of folks who operate stock 150s and 152s out of strips that long. However, careful planning will always prevail when it comes to considerations of density altitude and weight & balance. A STOL kit will sure help out on a stock airplane. You mentioned possibly building a 150 as opposed to purchasing. If you decide to build definitely go with the 150 h.p. engine and the STOL kit. That way, you've got the closest thing there is to a helicopter and the runway length is a non-issue.

Shelby.

Shelby. Thanks for the reply. If I decide to build it would not be a 150 but a Zenith ZODIAC XL with a 125HP. I will keep that in mind when shopping for a 150-152 to look for the STOL kit. We had a strip at the farm when I had the Cub and it is very convenient.

Don

Don,

Well...it has been said before many times, but only one company in my book and thats Lightspeed. I have two old set's of the 20K's that still work like new 5 or 6 years later, and was so impressed I bought two QFR Solo's (passive) for the back seat of my Cardinal.

I wore the QFR's one time, and was amazed at how quite and comfortable they were for a non-ANR set. Incredible.

DC's are a great set, but I couldn't wear them for more than an hour until I thought my head would pop. The LS's are much more comfortable.

One think with LS's (except QFR's), if you are tall, the nice padded top makes them kind of high in the cockpit. I found them to be okay for me at 5'8", but taller folks may have trouble. The QFR's are not like that however.

My headset is a David Clark H 10-34, I love them! The ANR sets are amazing, but I cannot justify the cost.

I'm with Jeff on this one..."Lightspeed" is all you need to know if money is any consideration. Living near an aviation supplier has afforded me the opportunity to go in and tryout (in my airplane) any headset or handheld equipment I want to compare products. I can almost guarantee you the bottom of the line LS like I have, the XL 15 will make you very happy. Or the QFR. Either one. The way I see it, IF money matters why spend a dollar you don't need to. If not, get a Bose. They're Heaven on a long XCountry. But then for $1000 wouldn't you expect that? Also, Lightspeed has top of the line customer service.

Sounds like the LS might be the way to go. I was using a set of Pilot PA-21-90 and need a set for passener so I get the new ones. I have a local aviation supplier that will sell me the QFR ANR?s for 275.00 or the 15XL for 340.00.
Thanks,
Don

I bought "reconditioned" LS ANR 25 from the company web site and feel I got a good deal. 25 have the same padding as as their top model(used to be) but don't have a jack for a cell phone. Too bad they are not made in USA.
I think you are asking for trouble to fly a 150 off 1200feet grass unless you have absolutely no obstructions at all. Why not make the runway 2000feet?
Take a look at the POH of a 150 then figure you need a couple hundred feet more, don't try to match the published figures.
It gets pretty hot out there doesn't it? Winter should be alright but those lazy days of summer will make the 150 more lazy than you want to know. I'd bet the Cub got off sooner so you could build airspeed faster and is better in rough fields.
Landing will be no problem but brakes don't matter when you're sliding on grass. You will have to be particular about airspeed and where you touch down.
150's fly from 9B1. That is slightly over 1600 with some obstructions but it is beautifully paved. Better not be over gross taking off though.
The alt is only 285ft, temps year round stay kinda cool, seldom get above 80's and only stay in the 80's for a couple months in summer, mornings and evenings are usually cooler.
When you say no obstructions better mean none at all, put a remote controled gate in your fence, move the shed, cut the trees, leave an unplanted swath if it's corn, whatever. You'll leave the ground later from grass and need room to build some airspeed in ground effect to climb. You will want to see the end of the runway as you come in because it matters where you touch down.
While density alltitude and weight matter a lot in a 150 and these kit planes all have glowing statistics don't expect to match the performance of a company test pilot maxing it out for the sales brochure, density altitude matters to them too.
9B1 has trees at one end, I'd guess about 1800 or 1900 feet from the start, but there is a grove in the tops of those trees and for some reason things just can't seem to grow any higher than a certain point. This is a fairly cool paved place too remember.
At the other end there is a stop sign on the chain link fence about two feet from where the pavement ends. They can't add a gate because of a busy road and it seems every once in a while someone can't read the Stop sign when they are landing, so they hit the fence, then kinda stop. I guess they come over the trees too fast and haven't made up their mind about exactly where and how fast they intended to touch down yet. They sort of surprise themselves when the trees stop and they pass over the end of the runway then don't read the sign! Hardly anyone goes off the other end because they can see better in that direction I guess, but it may have to do with the usual wind direction too.
Cessnas land there easily, little or no brakes, but every once in a while brakes save the day. That runway has quite a few skid marks.
9B1 is great even with the trees at one end, but you're talking about lots higher density altitude, no pavement, and 400 feet less runway, so no obstructions better mean just that. Why not longer? I think you can do it but wouldn't expect to clear 50 foot obsticals for at least 2500 feet. Course I'm just guestimating that figure off the top of my head, too bad about the Cub.
Plan this project out scientifically and err on the side of caution. Building a runway is not to be taken lightly. What about prevailing winds? What you can do on a given day may not be the same as every day. They say you can get old or you can be bold, but very few ever get to be old and bold.

Hey Don,
I took my own advice and looked up some T/O figures in the POH of a '77 150M for you. It says to add 15% for dry grass runways.This is figured at 1600,max gross.
At 30c/86f on dry grass you need 989 feet (860+15% for grass) and should clear 50 feet by 1744feet from a pressure alt of 500agl. I extrapolated between S/L and 1000 feet from the numbers it lists for for 30c to figure 500 feet.
At 104f/40c I figure you'll need 1064 (925 plus 15%for grass) and will clear 50 feet at 1872feet.
BUT; at 95f/35c I figure you need 1027 to roll(893+15%for grass) and will clear 50feet by 1808.
So I'd say you can fly from 1200 feet if you are careful and there are no obstructions.
My figures may not be perfect. I did figure this in a hurry, but made three examples. I'd welcome criticism. The lack of obstructions make a big difference, I was thinking about how those trees look.HA HA.
The landing figures are no problem at 52kts/ 40 flaps.

Lucky Duck Thanks for all your advice and time for figuring the distance on my strip. I know that 1200 would be cutting it short but like I said it is open on both ends with no trees or powerlines for at least 4000 ft just corn or beans. And you are right about getting hot here in the summer. Maybe I should look for a Champ or Cub again but I always enjoyed flying the better-equipped Cessna 150?s.
Don