DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — Power Flow Systems reported recently that the Tuned Exhaust System it developed specifically for Cessna’s Cardinal 177RG, at the behest of the Cardinal Flyer’s Online (CFO) owner’s group, is now flying on about 20% of the fleet.
Initially, the company was reluctant to pursue the costly and time-consuming STC process for the RG airframe, officials noted. This was due to an internal analysis that indicated there were too few 177RGs in the GA fleet to constitute a viable market.
It was only after “considerable and persistent persuasion” from CFO’s principals that Power Flow re-considered and introduced its STC’d system for the 177RG in 2009, officials noted.
Since that time, more than 180 of the firm’s Tuned Exhaust Systems have been shipped and are now flying on 177RGs worldwide.
Chief among the documented performance improvements for the RG are a 10-15% improvement in the rate of climb and an increase of 2,000 to 5,000 feet in the service ceiling, allowing RG owners to cruise higher and faster, with maximum fuel efficiency.
I share Jerry’s experience in my ’76 Cardinal RG. Operated it for 50 hours after purchase on stock exhaust and then installed the PF exhaust. Noticibly smoother idle and easier start. Power difference as well with the improvements Jerry notes. I recently installed a new IO-390-A1A6 engine and the PF is performing well on it also.
I previously had an FG Cardinal with PowerFlow exhaust, and although I had no before/after experience, it was a very quite engine at idle & ran better than stock performance numbers.
Very well built, and simply elegant design, looks like it will last a long time – I’ve had mine on the RG for 4 years & almost 800 hours.
As one of those 20% Cardinal RG owners who have installed the PowerFlow exhaust. I have to say it’s clearly the most cost effective upgrade for a Cardinal RG.
I have documented before and after TAS and fuel consumption comparisons. I gained between 8 – 10 knots up to 10,000′, with the TAS gains tapering off at higher altitudes, to a 3 knot gain at 18,000′.
My total fuel consumption over 300 hours since the PowerFlow install has dropped 3/10’s of a gallon per hour. This is total fuel consumed divided by total tach time over this 300 hour period, compared to 8 years worth of fuel consumption data from before the install.
The plane climbs a consistent 20% faster up to the service ceiling, and my cylinder head temps have dropped 20 degrees.
How can anyone not love results like this? Adding a PowerFlow should be a no-brainer. It truly will pay for itself.
PS: I’m not affiliated with PowerFlow in anyway, nor do I have any vested interest in the company. I’m just one very happy user.
I wish they had done this sooner, I’d probably still have my Cardinal. I installed a PowerFlow system on my Cherokee and it made a huge difference. It was everything that was advertised. The exhaust on a Cardinal RG always looked like an afterthought. Very restrictive and not efficient.