Help me decide if a Pacer fits my mission

[mmoyle]

The first time I saw a Pacer...didn’t know what it was. Was In Iliamna..fugly oxidized dull red. Three guys got into it. Looked like your average Alaskan miners..rough looking, full on scruff....in carharts boots and a ball cap...none round. Short take off and was a good thousand feet before they got to the end of the runway... I was like...one day I’m going to have what ever that thing is...fast forward quite a few years... my 1950 Pacer with the 125 hp would do that with me and one round passenger.. but it had a bench seat at the time..wouldn’t want to sit in the back with the bench seat all the way back..now has spilt seats. With a short person in the right front..and the seat forward a bit...an adult can sit comfortably behind them..


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[JPerkins]

Another option to ponder would be a C-170 with a 180hp Lycoming and constant speed prop. Couple of them up here and they perform quite well.

[andya]

During my restoration couple years ago, I had the 180 hp O-360 installed.
I don't go back woods much so I don't need the really short field capability.
I went with a 60" prop pitch, I fly our of a 3350 elevation field, hard surface.
With two and baggage breaking ground in 1000' takes no skill at all and climb
performance after lift off is at least twice as good as my O-320 / 150 hp was.
Typical cruise is 125-128 knots at any altitude, approx 10.5 gph.
Recent trip to CHD, full fuel, me and an overnite bag, break ground in 600 feet without flaps.
Regardless of what you choose, grass will take a little more room.

It will go faster but fuel flow is higher, at high altitudes above 8000' it turns close to redline.
I brought it home from Medford , Oregon, tried to fly at 5000-5500 with high power to (23-24" manifold pressure)
to break in rings with new ovhl O-360 (Eddie Trimmer STC) and it was indicating 140-145 IAS at those
altitudes. XC cruise now that it is broken in I am usually at 8500 & 9500 (mountains get in the way here)
using 19" MAP, RPM is about 2600 to 2650 leaned about 80-100 rich of peak, and it provides a consistent 125 TAS
with two of us and baggage.

[Glen Geller]

A Cherokee 235 might fulfill your mission quite well.
My buddies have one and have flown in/out of 3500' AGL backcountry strips with a good deal of gear.
Performs much like a C-182 but rides like a Buick (your wife might like that.) 1400 lbs useful load.
Room for a lot more avionics than most Pacers/Tri-Pacers, makes a more honest IFR platform if you like that.
It's everything Cherokee 180 owners wish they had.
Just keep the grass mowed short in your field.

https://www.risingup.com/planespecs/...plane422.shtml
https://www.trade-a-plane.com/search...-type=aircraft

GG

[Jeff J]

A fixed gear Cardinal may work for you. They cruise around 135 kts. It would have to be a newer model with at least an O-360 to get the takeoff performance. IO-360 would be better. I have a buddy with an RG and it seems to do pretty good.

[DJ Balla]

How would a super Stinson 108 compare particularly at cruise? Seems that is often listed online as an option to the pacer worth comparing but I get mixed data on the speed...

[Jeff J]

I like the Stinson 108. A friend of mine owns a very nice example of one and I ferried a somewhat less than pristine example for a couple of friends who bought a restoration project a while back. I don’t recall if they have 150 or 165 hp but both were 5-10 mph slower than (Tri)Pacers I have flown.

[Pacer42Z]

In my opinion, speed is a bit over rated. How many 500+ Miles trips do you do each year? Do the math, an airplane doing 130 kts. vs. a good clean 160 HP Pacer doing about 110 kts will get you there about half an hour earlier.

My two kids grew up in the Pacer and we did quite a few trips within 300 NM. We always got there in comfort.

Juergen
Pacer N3342Z

[CamTom12]

My Experimental Pacer was built for speed and will do about 145 mph flat out, wide open throttle, with a 74/60 metal prop. 160 hp O-320.

I agree with many of the other posts here: I feel no need to burn the extra gas for that speed. She settles into a really nice 130 mph cruise at 7 gph. On a 500 mile trip, what’s the extra 30 minutes get you?

For my mission, I wanted a taildragger (because I think they’re cool), and something with decent short field performance (family camping trips), good range (family visits, we’re spread pretty far out in the US), as well as good cabin space and side-by-side seating (wife’s input. Basically a requirement.).

Wound up with a Pacer, which checks all those boxes pretty good.

[DJ Balla]

My Experimental Pacer was built for speed and will do about 145 mph flat out, wide open throttle, with a 74/60 metal prop. 160 hp O-320.

I agree with many of the other posts here: I feel no need to burn the extra gas for that speed. She settles into a really nice 130 mph cruise at 7 gph. On a 500 mile trip, what’s the extra 30 minutes get you?

For my mission, I wanted a taildragger (because I think they’re cool), and something with decent short field performance (family camping trips), good range (family visits, we’re spread pretty far out in the US), as well as good cabin space and side-by-side seating (wife’s input. Basically a requirement.).

Wound up with a Pacer, which checks all those boxes pretty good.

That sounds like a perfect plane! Almost anything will be a utility improvement over the Ercoupe that I have now but my original mission was Acro and speed...an RV6 or RV7 fit perfectly until I realized that my family actually likes flying with me. That is why I still would like to go as fast as possible but you are right; 120 vs 130 l, etc isn’t really much difference.

is your pacer fully custom or is it a “specific” EX version? It sounds almost ideal for where my mission has evolved.