Airplains 300Hp IO 550 D Cessna 182

[rudrasolanki 0]

Hi! 
We are a small DZ in India. We are getting our second 182 and upgrading it to Airplains STC IO 550 Engine(300Hp). 
I'm looking to understand which prop suits best for skydiving ops and if there is anything else we need to know when we do this. 
Airplains offers 3 props...

We are very excited about this and going to be very far out for any further upgrades to the aircraft once its reaches India, so thanks in advance for any and every suggestion or learning there is out there from the past. 

Blue skies

Rudra

[SCS422 33]

I'm pretty sure you are going to want the long prop, you won't care about cruise you just want to get to alt. as quickly as possible.  Which ever one that can grab the most air is the one you will want.

Edited September 24 by SCS422

[JoeWeber 3,021]

7 hours ago, rudrasolanki said:

Hi! 
We are a small DZ in India. We are getting our second 182 and upgrading it to Airplains STC IO 550 Engine(300Hp). 
I'm looking to understand which prop suits best for skydiving ops and if there is anything else we need to know when we do this. 
Airplains offers 3 props...

We are very excited about this and going to be very far out for any further upgrades to the aircraft once its reaches India, so thanks in advance for any and every suggestion or learning there is out there from the past. 

Blue skies

Rudra

I've flown and operated both a 182 and a 206 with 550's in jump op's. Absolutely you will get the performance increase you hope for, especially under 10K. More than concerning yourself with which prop will get you a few feet more of climb rate, think about engine cooling. Have Airplains answer that issue. You are stuffing 10 pounds of engine in a 5 pound bag so air flow across your cylinders is critical. Get good cylinder head temperature and oil temp gauges and then slowly go after best climb performance.

[JoeWeber 3,021]

8 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

I've flown and operated both a 182 and a 206 with 550's in jump op's. Absolutely you will get the performance increase you hope for, especially under 10K. More than concerning yourself with which prop will get you a few feet more of climb rate, think about engine cooling. Have Airplains answer that issue. You are stuffing 10 pounds of engine in a 5 pound bag so air flow across your cylinders is critical. Get good cylinder head temperature and oil temp gauges and then slowly go after best climb performance.

Also, I had the Hartzell grey blade on the 182 and the McCauley on the 206. Again, you'll be a hero up to 10K. Stick with that and you'll turn a lot of loads and make money. Believe you have a 12.5K machine and you'll be wasting the investment. 

[RiggerLee 63]

Svin formerly of Skydive Dallas, not sure if he's still around there he had a hanger on the airport, would be a good resource for you as he has built several such planes for people over the years. If Feisty, a DZ owner from Missouri, is still around he can give you performance stats for every STC out there. I think he would tell you that upgrading the engine is a good move and he would probable tell you to get the WingX extensions next. You really want the aspect ratio during climb. I would tell you to prioritize them. And I'd probable get Hornner wing tips for it as well. Once upon a time there was a STC for spoilers as well but as I recall they were a nightmare on maintenance. But they did speed the decent and make the landings more forgiving.

I would tell you that you want as long and as wide of a prop as you can get but compatibility and balance between the prop and engine are critical.

You might look into options for a larger nose wheel for better clearance on the prop. Was there an STC to put a 206 fork on the nose to allow you to run bigger tires? And I think there was something for a bumper on the nose shock, A piece of hose with clamps, to limit travel and help protect the prop as well?

What other mods have DZ's used in the past?

 

Lee

[JoeWeber 3,021]

21 hours ago, RiggerLee said:

Svin formerly of Skydive Dallas, not sure if he's still around there he had a hanger on the airport, would be a good resource for you as he has built several such planes for people over the years. If Feisty, a DZ owner from Missouri, is still around he can give you performance stats for every STC out there. I think he would tell you that upgrading the engine is a good move and he would probable tell you to get the WingX extensions next. You really want the aspect ratio during climb. I would tell you to prioritize them. And I'd probable get Hornner wing tips for it as well. Once upon a time there was a STC for spoilers as well but as I recall they were a nightmare on maintenance. But they did speed the decent and make the landings more forgiving.

I would tell you that you want as long and as wide of a prop as you can get but compatibility and balance between the prop and engine are critical.

You might look into options for a larger nose wheel for better clearance on the prop. Was there an STC to put a 206 fork on the nose to allow you to run bigger tires? And I think there was something for a bumper on the nose shock, A piece of hose with clamps, to limit travel and help protect the prop as well?

What other mods have DZ's used in the past?

 

Lee

Lee, with respect, I have pretty much done it all with the stuff you mentioned. I re-submit that the best mods for the bigger engine are money spent on Cylinder Head temp systems, not believing that it is a 12K machine, and pilot training. 

[Phil1111 1,260]

On 9/24/2025 at 1:18 AM, rudrasolanki said:

Hi! 
We are a small DZ in India.....

Rudra

How is the skydiving business in India? Does cheap Russian fuel make its way down to the airfield or is it taxed away?

[JoeWeber 3,021]

11 hours ago, Phil1111 said:

How is the skydiving business in India? Does cheap Russian fuel make its way down to the airfield or is it taxed away?

Like you care. We're trying to help a guy do something serious and make good decisions. 

[Phil1111 1,260]

7 hours ago, JoeWeber said:

Like you care. We're trying to help a guy do something serious and make good decisions. 

Why wouldn't I care? It must be profitable because they are doing such a conversion on a second AC. It must be well managed to consider such a modification rather than just getting by with a second machine.

Others must be curious about our sport in a area of the world that gets no coverage here. 

[RiggerLee 63]

In the past there have been thriving skydiving scenes in what on their surface would appear to be unlikely places. South Africa had a large community with multiple manufacturers. One of the best canopy designers ever came out of New Zealand.  I think it would be cool if India became another hub. I didn't even catch that that was where you were from initially. 

There is also a mod to install a larger oil cooler for 182s. It's almost mandatory here in Texas. Is that already part of the engine upgrade? I don't recall the details?

Lee

[JoeWeber 3,021]

Just now, RiggerLee said:

In the past there have been thriving skydiving scenes in what on their surface would appear to be unlikely places. South Africa had a large community with multiple manufacturers. One of the best canopy designers ever came out of New Zealand.  I think it would be cool if India became another hub. I didn't even catch that that was where you were from initially. 

There is also a mod to install a larger oil cooler for 182s. It's almost mandatory here in Texas. Is that already part of the engine upgrade? I don't recall the details?

Lee

I'm pretty sure the 550's comes with a larger oil cooler and better oil pump. As I recall now I had the Scimitar prop on the 182 and it was fine.