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Cargo Pods
I have been considering selling my Skymaster only because I am cubeing it out with 3 children and baggage.
So I started to think and the only reason I was going to sell was that I needed more room in the third row for the current 8 year old and the motors were getting up there in time since reman. They currently have 1200 hours, all compressions are in the 70 and I burn about a quart every 12 hours. Why sell this great plane if I can find a solution. I was headed in the Seneca 3 direction, when I discovered the availability of the cargo pod. I have to say I have not seen much discussion on them since I have been here and would love to hear what guys think about them pro and con. What I have heard is 3-4 mph decline in TAS and once you put them on, you should not take them off. Thanks and I look forward in staying in the Skymaster Brotherhood. Rick 
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#2
05-14-04, 03:44 PM
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Rick:
I don't have any first-hand info, but I have never heard anyone say anything bad about them. It has a negligible effect on speed. Just make sure that, for the type of trips you make and with the added weight of the pod, there is enough weight left for the stuff going in the pod; I say this because for longer trips, with 5-6 people inside, my calculations suggest that there is no useful load left. One final point is that at the OKC Skymaster meeting there was a fellow who flew in from Guatemala (Central America) who has twice belly landed with his pod on. Not a nick of damage to his airplane, only to the pod. He was suggesting that the pod is a cheap insurance policy against landing with the gear up. Aside from used ones, I believe that there are two current sources: Ray Torres' RT Aerospace and Owen Bell's Aviation Enterprises, both listed in the "Websites" link on the Home page of this website. Ernie
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#3
05-14-04, 04:03 PM
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My first 337 had a cargo pod on it when I bought it. I can confirm all that Ernie wrote as correct. Frankly, I wasn't sure I could see any speed difference with and without it. It is hard to see 3mph on an airspeed indicator. They are very light, I recall it will subtract about 50 lbs from your useful load. They are great for skis, coat bags, etc. Really heavy items would not work, the pod is not strong enough for them (but I had a Cessna stock pod, check with RT and Owen about the load limits on theirs).
Once you put it on, leave it on. It will take four hours, a ton of screws, and a bit of cursing to get it on. It is best to seal it with RTV or similar to prevent water getting in, although perhaps a new pod would have a better solution. But you do not want to take it on and off for different loads. Besides, the speed difference is neglible. A Seneca 3 will carry more load, but nobody can see outside, a significant disadvantage for a family, in my opinion, but of course, that depends on what is important to you and yours. I took mine off and sold it for $2000 (in 1996) because I needed the money more than the space. So buying a used one, although hard to find, is a third possible source for you to consider. Kevin
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#4
05-14-04, 07:34 PM
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My plane came with one when I bought it, but it was off. This spring we had it put on. It is a massive job, has a ton of screws, will hold 300#, has a negligible affect on CG., and I don't notice a difference in speed. There is a difference in single engine climb. On front engine only, you notice not much climb left. That was consistent with what Cessna reported when the created it. One thing on my plane that I have not seen on others is a longer breather hose, that dumps the stuff to the bottom of the cargo pod, lessening the chance that you'll get engine goop (that's a technical term) on the inside of the pod. Mine is sealed with RTV Black, it is a good seal. No leaks. I used to store my tie down stuff in a bag at the back of the plane, it's now in the pod. It will hold an amazing amount of stuff. Make sure it is soft sided, because, at least on my plane, there's an antenna on the belly that is inside the pod. Not certain what the antenna is for, but there is no difference in how the radios all work.
About gross weight. Mine says 4500 max take off, and 4400 max landing. I have been at max takeoff. I don't know about other years. Mine is a 69. Oh, the reason for not taking it off, is because it's a big job. To put it on, you have to balance and raise it with a couple of floor jacks. You have to keep it perfectly aligned to make it fit, and it's big. It's also semi flexible. At least on the floor, waiting to be put on. If you take it off, you have to do the same thing, then clean all the RTV off. Significant amount of time involved. As Lin and Chachi both have said, a gear up with a cargo pod on limits the damage to the airplane. I also opinion that on a soft field, you'll get less damage to the rear prop from the front prop, because the pod really is close to the ground, about the same as the prop. Oh, we went to the trouble of putting ours on because we routinely take out one of the middle seats, and put the dog cage there. We put in one of the last row seats, so we can hold 4 people and the dog. After that, there isn't much room for luggage. Last edited by WebMaster : 05-14-04 at 07:36 PM.
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#6
05-14-04, 10:45 PM
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We are a family of six, with my 7 and 2 years old boys, 1 year old daughter, my kid`s nana, my wife and me; believe me, we fly quite a lot all together with lot of stuff that can be arrange up to 300 pound capacity.
I added a used pod about four years a go for $2500. It`s just the best thing I have done, converting my 337D to a real 6 seater. There is not a speed penalty as I can recall, and with almost 1700 usefull load and long range tanks, I fly with my whole family for short vacations ( that`s lot of luggage with little kids) up to 490 miles away, with plenty fuel to go back another 180 miles before refueling. We use to fly in and out of short un pave sand compacted strips with no penalty in performance with the pod ( I have Horton stol ), and had notice less damage in the rear prop from this operation. If I would have another kid maybe I would look for an Aztec E or F.
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#8
05-25-04, 04:27 PM
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I went thru the exact same thought process after our third child and ended up with a pod. Couldn't be happier with the decision. As mentioned above (as long as we use soft bags) we can fit all of our stuff underneath and have plenty of room inside. Also, with young kids and wife, I'm never even close to gross max with full pod.
I fly 80% solo and was worried about "suffering" the performance loss just for the few times I needed the extra room. Like above- I have noticed zero cruise penalty (altho slight climb penalty). My only two problems are 1) I did not seal the pod well and am now getting breather residue leaking in and 2) It is a bear to keep clean of exhaust residue (pipes blow right onto it).
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#9
05-25-04, 05:49 PM
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I have the same problem keeping it clean. However, it is fiberglass, so I have no problem using Simple Green on it, and it does wonders cleaning fiberglass.
When I had a boat, I kept it on a bay on the ocean, and the only cleaner the marina sold was Simple Green. It worked wonders cleaning the fiberglass boat, and does the same thing for the fiberglass pod.
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