Cessna 177 Cardinal - Flying Pipeline 

The owner mentioned Guy Maher a couple of times. Unfortunately, we lost Guy in an experimental airplane crash in April 2019. He was a huge figure in the Cardinal world and taught a “Cardinal Clinic” every couple of years. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend one. The man’s knowledge of how to operate a Cardinal was second to none. He also assisted me in the purchase of my Cardinal. He will be missed.

Love pilots like this. Stand up easy going guy. All the experience and knowledge in the world without the ego. Class act. Thanks!

This guy is a class act and one heck of a pilot. Happy to call him my friend.

Best looking cessna.

Beautiful Cardinal. A close friend of mine owns the very first early 68 Cardinal to have the slots installed on the stabilator. Cessna came to his private strip here in N.C. and did the field installation. He flies his in and out of his 1400 ft dairy farm strip.

I could listen to this Classy TX gentleman talk airplane all day. Thanks for the inspiration and keep on trucking !

Great video. Love the good old boy mannerisms and with total self confidence but not arrogant.

I’ve watched a couple of your videos and I have yet to see someone on here who is not a genuinely nice person who is eager to share their love of aviation. I like to think that is common of pilots.

By far the best Cessna Cardinal 177 sales pitch I’ve ever heard, and absolutely the finest time I ever had with a cup of coffee. I’m sold! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

"I took her on a flying date". Now his wife. So cute. Good ole flyin boy. :)

Had a Cardinal. It was a dream! As an ex USAF pilot of 105 Thuds, I enjoyed my 177 greatly.

I was the ground contact for many pipeline pilots for over 37 years. My average day was 200-250 miles of driving per day while responding to these pilots to check what they spotted near or on the pipeline right of way. Never forget one call I received. A poor guy had a 4 wheeler accident and suffered a broken neck. He had been dead aprox. 2 days before he was spotted by the patrol plane.

I love the 177. Logged 100s of hours in the late 70s to early 80s in one. Great view out the window and no strut. It was always my aircraft of choice at the club.

I wish I had a friend like this guy. Very classy guy. Enjoyed his talk on his great airplane. Thank You

Love the idea of the channel - interviewing pilots and planes. Shows the world that GA is mostly normal people who do what they have to do to make aviation a part of their life. Nice job Flying Doodles you've earned another subscribe!

My mother worked for a Hardware company for 10 years in the 80’s. The owner, and his manager, who was less than 5 feet tall, and she was in her 60’s, both co-owned a nice ‘73 cardinal, which they bought brand new. I only got to ride in it once, and I had always dreamed of getting my license, and owning that plane someday. Unfortunately, I never got to finish getting my license, and would never own that plane, but I would go to the hanger and look at it, when I was at the airport for a flying lesson. She flew, with some assistance, in her 80’s, until her, and her flying partner, could no longer fly, and then she sold the plane. She bought out the owner’s share, and owned the plane by herself, for many years. She moved away to be closer to family, and lived up into her 90’s. She gave me a box load of flying magazines, and we always talked about flying, and airplanes. I miss her, and that cardinal. I’d sure love to ride in a cardinal again. I noticed you mentioned taking trips to Branson. I play music at Presleys’ Country Jubilee show. I would love to meet, invite you to my show, my treat, for a ride in your cardinal. Send me a message sometime.

One of your best videos. They're all good, this one's gooder.

I have liked the Cardinal ever since I first saw a picture of one. Now I like them better!

Cardinal RG great airplanes! In 1974 I feel back to Wichita and picked up a brand new one it was about $25,000! I only advise is do not buy one without an autopilot because they tend to be One Wing heavy, and don't plan on taking 4 adults and full fuel it will only carry about 660 lb with full fuel. I got an honest hundred forty knots at 10 gallons an hour.

177's have always been the classiest of Cessnas.

I did my initial Flight Instructor Certification in a Cessna 177 RG back in 1977, a 1973 model year. It's coming up on 42 years in a couple of weeks 02/18/1977

I was fortunate enough to get some Cardinal time back in the early 80's. A buddy of mine's father-in-law had a 3 series Stinson and was flying it up to an annual Stinson Fly-In in Mindon, Nebraska. Obviously there wasn't room for everyone in the Stinson flying up so my buddy and I got ourselves checked out in, and rented a Cardinal to fly up. I've got a lot of time in Cessna's and I have to say, I/we were very impressed with the airplane overall. If I ever win the lottery and look for an airplane, the Cardinal would be very high on my list. You've got a beautiful example in that airplane!

The Cardinal is by far the best-looking Cessna single, period. Back in the day there was an RC plane modeled after it by Graupner, as I recall. Couldn't afford even _that._ LOL.

Great video. I also have a 73 RG and love it. Everything you said was spot on.

There was another guy named Kent, Clark Kent. And he too was a super man. The reasons are: started young out of a love for flying; owned multiple aircraft which required him to gain new experience (s); probably has thousands of hours in the left seat; gets a thrill from introducing little ones to the flight experience; and has gained confidence that shows without having to wear a big "S" on this shirt. I like this guy, and I like his airplane. My history in ownership is similar: C-182; C-210; Piper PA32RGturbo Lance with T-Tail.

Thanks for sharing your plane Kent! My first private plane flight was in a Super Cub with a friend's dad in Bakersfield, CA. About 1993. His dad flew pipeline inspection his whole life. He said the same thing. He loved flying and loved getting to fly every day in someone else's plane and with someone else's fuel. He told me tons of stories.Thanks for the video Bob!

I'm so glad you're uploading more frequently! I love these videos

Very nice Pilot and 177 Cardinal. Thanks for sharing his life story and taking her up.

I always loved my brothers Cardinal here in New Mexico. After his son went on to fly commercially and he became to busy to fly that left me and old 566. I flew as often as I could while trying to stay in my budget (40.00 hr break-even ) Flew my kids and many others from our church. Flew to the top the mountain at Reserve NM and camped by the little runway with my friend. Cross country trips and so many other memories in that beautiful plane. We had it a good number of years and when he sold it he got the same price as when he bought it years before. 566 eventually went to Europe and I hope the new owners love it as much as I did.

Owned two '76 177B Cardinals with the Lyc 180 and have flown with a friend in his 177RG on extended trips. Best Cessna single engine planes ever made IMO. Never a major problem, visibility outstanding, best of all worlds, and the interior space and ease of entrance is amazing! Economical, easy to fly, ultra low stall speed, these planes had it all.

Saw a link to this video on a recent Cardinal Flyers email digest - very happy to have found it and your channel. Great production quality and content, thanks!

Great interview Bobby... one of my favorites so far.. I think my favorite is still the Red River Landings, and the great drone work on that one. 👍

Love the 177 RG. One of about 1/2 dozen favorite Cessnas.

Love seeing all the recent videos in East Texas, and hearing about airports I’ve flown into lately.

Cool pilot, thanks for showing us your plane sir!

Great vid, Bobby. I think you've added to my commitment to buy a Cardinal RG. Keep the vids coming!

I LOVING this series. Thanks for doing this.

I wonder if he ever has trouble with the gear. I keep hearing horror stories about Cessna retracts. I love the Cardinals. They look way ahead of their time. It's hard to believe they're 1970s airplanes. That engine sounds fantastic with that exhaust.

Flew a friends Cardinal for nearly 3 years, loved it, lots of room and great view. Hope you get to have a go at a Rockwell Commander at some stage

Always enjoy seeing fellow Cardinal pilots on adventures! Keep them coming

I got to fly a 177 long time ago. Loved It. Great airplane. Great Video.

Your videos are an inspiration and getting better with each new person and story you meet. Thank you.

Thanks great video, fun to fly along with you guys. I always loved the Cessna Cardinal.

Great video and testimonial for the Cardinal! Thanks much!

Another great video, I have been flying a Cardinal rag for about a yr now and love the plane. Thought commentary was very accurate.

Loved the Cardinal ever since I was a kid. Beautiful strutless wing and raked windshield.

Very nice airplane probably Cessna's best single,nicely filmed too,thank you for uploading.

This might be the best aviation channel. Loved every video.

Loving the new channel Bobby! Thanks!

My family had a 1977 RG. Loved the airplane. Had 450 hours in it.

Thank you both, especially you, Kent.

Great information. Really a good man to hang out with. I could talk planes with guys like this all day long. thanks.

I have some PIC time in a Cardinal and I'm kinda embarrassed to admit how much I learned about a Cardinal in this video. Great guy to talk to and learn from! Thank you for one of your best videos so far!!!

Seems like a real nice guy.

Kent is awesome! I'm warming up to the 177RG. Great looking plane.

What a nice gentleman. And a very great aircraft.

I’ve got some time in both the Fixed and retractable gear 177. I’m also above average in height and the 177 has a lot of room. The negative thing of those big doors is they leak quite a bit. Both air and water. My 172 was much quieter than the 177s I flew in. Beautiful plane. Thanks for the video and stay safe! Bill in Utah

The cardinal truly is an unsung hero of single engine piston aircraft.

Loved flying with Kent. What gentleman. Sincere thanks

Another great one Bobby! Brought back memories of flying with a friend in his Cardinal RG from Palo Alto, CA up to Napa for dinner, then flying home at night with perfectly clear skies and all the SF Bay Area lit up. Flying over the GGB at night was simply indescribably beautiful (no struts, gear retracted, uninterrupted view!). thanks!!

Love the Cessna 177. Beautiful aircraft and an excellent pilot.

I remember flying one of these back years ago. One of the fbos had one for rental. Always loved the plane, great flyer. Nothing bad to say about it what so ever. And ya gotta love that close to the ground feel when you get in! Bravo.... thanks!

I just found this channel last week and I absolutely love it. It's been hard for me to find informative flight reviews like this until now. Great channel 👍

What a great ambassador of flying. A very well done video. Thank you.

This was a really enjoyable video. I would love to fly with Kent anytime. And yes, Guy really knows his stuff. Helps me out a lot.

Kent seems to be a very nice guy and his airplane looks so good. Enjoyed this video. Thanks!

Great video an an interesting insight into Pipeline flying!

Great VIDEO! Love the 177 and the pilot was right on

Love him and his stories!

Thanks for an informative video Bobby. Like most people, I've heard of the Cardinal RG , and even seen a few, but never knew a lot about them. Now I know a little more. Also seeing and hearing Angelina County brings back good memories. In the early 90's the airport was the final leg, before returning home to central Louisiana, during my long solo cross country. I enjoy this series of videos, as well as Sailing Doodles. Say hello to Laura and the dogs!!

Great video! Thanks for posting!

Enjoyed learning about the Cardinal 177 terrific video

Great video! I interrupted my training more than 20 years ago but I'm now getting back in: I've purchased a block of lessons, made an appointment for my medical, and renewed my AOPA membership. You're among the channels keeping me inspired.

A buddy of mine and I got to take a cross country flight from the Galveston TX area to Nebraska in a C177. We were both very impressed by the airplane. It was very comfortable, had LOTS of room in the cockpit, and performance was more than adequate. I can certainly understand why folks would like the plane.

Watched the 'pipeline patrol' for years here in east Texas (L'view area). Amazing group of pilots. Sadly there's been a couple or more fatalities through the years due to various reasons and one being guy wires to cell tower just as he mentioned to watch for. Loved the video and thank you for sharing.

glad you all was talking about lean of peak. need to learn more about this for my Cherokee 180

Great Cessna Cardinal, Pilot and presentation of them Bobby!👍🇺🇸Cessna should introduce a modern, updated version of the Cessna 152, 172, 182 and P206 and keep as affordable as possibly can. Suggestion: Replace the 152 with the 172 airframe, replace the 172 with tne 177's airframe, replace the 182 with the P206 airframe and bring back the P210-P TC as the flag ship piston high wing. Offer optional JT-A option for all models and optional T-handle throttle on ALL of them. Got that Textron/Cessna? Get the old's jigs out, some carbon fiber, sharpen pencils, do some redesigns and get to work!🙏🇺🇸💪

Oh yeah, I love the 177RG. I flew all over California in one and the thing I remember the most is the visibility. With many other Cessna's you really have to learn forward to look left or right. Thank you for the video, I always enjoy them. 👍

Such a beautiful plane. One was parked on the apron where I did my private licence. Did many a casual walkaround of it, just admiring.

fantastic interview terrific job good job Mr pilot

Great video and interview. The pilot was much like your favorite uncle. Very competent and really easy going. Love the Cardinal. My favorite Cessna. Sleek and modern looking even today. The RG takes it to a new level. A Cardinal in good shape is hard to find, except through the Cardinal owners website. Those who own them, don't want to sell them. I had heard of helicopters doing pipeline duty, but not so much fixed wing aircraft. Sounds fascinating. Thanks for the excellent video.

What a nice looking Cardinal. I flew a Cardinal regulary when I first started flying back in the late 1970's. I got my constant speed and retractable endorsments on it. It was a great aircraft. Now, 40 years later I have experience on 20 single types and 11 twins types. The Cardinal would have to be my favorite single. Nice to see yours in action.

Back in the late '80's I worked at KMQJ (Mt. Comfort, Indiana) as a lineman and got to know a gent who flew the pipeline in a C-177 (Orange in color as I recall.) He seemed to love his job, too! Great share and brought back some good memories. :)

The Cardinal RG was always one of my favorite Cessnas to fly.

Good stuff! Love the plane! Man I love watching this stuff!

First flight was in my Grandpas 177RG when I was 3. 17 now and about a month away from my checkride. An amazing airplane with amazing memories.

Like the paint job. I rented a C-177RG for many years. Loved every minute of flying it. Good speed, low fuel burn, good view with high wings.... just a lot to love about it.

Great stuff, Bobby. Thanks.

Many comments before said it, yet, I need to reiterate, amazing idea getting around and interviewing these great gents, I wish it would’ve occurred to me..., thanks for the work putting into the making these vids, subbed.

Another great video! My plan is to get my Commercial in the spring, found a school at AFW that offers a 177 for rent and I can't wait to get checked out in it. Always loved the look of the Cardinals.

Loved it. Loved flying it years ago.

Great video! That pilot is loaded with knowledge

Man, your videos are top notch FD. Awesome stuff.

Kent - Just bought my '76 Cardinal 177B FG. One of my pieces of research was your video. I trained in PA28 low wings and can't tell you how thrilled I am with the way the Cardinal flies. My milk run is 6R3 - KOCH so I'll tip my wing to you. Maybe I'll see you at Angelina Cafe. Beautiful plane! Great video as well.

In my opinion the best interview/flight you've done. Cool guy there!!!!

I think I've seen this 3 times so far. Excellent video!!

Another nice video and pilot. Thanks!

Kent's history sounds like me and my son. I soloed in a Cub on my 16th birthday on November 3,1944. Then along came my son, Steve, who soloed a glider on his 14th birthday and soloed in a Citabria (couldn't find a Cub for him to fly) on his 16th birthday. He had been flying the almost identical 177rg Cardinal that I owned but wanted to actually solo in a taildragger. A year later he took his Private license ride in it.

I think i just found my dream plane....hes 6,3 and fits easily in there! And with the cylinder temp monitor system in place that 177 is just a beast haha

The 177 is a very unique airplane. They are fun to fly, but require respect on landings. Another virtue of the 177 are the doors that open 90 degrees-many paraplegics selected this airframe as it allows easy access from a wheelchair.