Hard steering

A 7146 prop is much better than a 7198. You will lose climb performance that you cannot get back. If you want more cruise speed, you can carry additional RPM to get it without hurting the engine with minimal extra fuel flow. After flying out of my farm runway for decades with power lines on one end and trees on the other, I decided that I had to clear the obstacles before I could cruise. You can't have too much climb when you are caught in a downdraft from the hills. Don't ask me how I know. I have a 6946 Sensensich on my Cessna 150. I climb 100-200 FPM better than any other 150's on the airport and cruise just as fast. It takes rated RPM to achieve rated horsepower. We have little enough to begin with. Why climb out with 70 HP when over 80 is attainable? It is also easier to get to a higher cruising altitude, which is safer in an emergency.

William, crazy things happen throughout the ‘Coupes’ years for sure. I have also found my problem. Grease hard as a rock in the steering collar. Almost had to chisel if out. Works fine now. Mine has a 7146 prop, and I’ll get it to 7148 with the overhaul. Otherwise it flys well.

Thanks for your help on this. I’ll bet you learned a lot in your venture
Too!

Gale
Here is my experience along your line . . . I bought my coupe several years ago and was disappointed in the airspeed and climb performance. Indicated always around 85 knots and climb around 250fpm. VERY hard steering on ground when turning right . . . I bought a new overhauled engine, bought new 7150 prop , had carb overhauled . . . to no avail. Just had my annual and my new shop found the nose gear was binding and was scewed to the left in flight. They serviced the gear and broke it loose from the binding. This problem was found when I had wheel pants installed. I now get 100 kts indicated but still weak climb of only 250 fpm (probably because I fly at gross weight/ payload) After over 3 years of misery I now have a performing aircraft . . . hope this helps

Good point. We did that today and saw that the wheel didn’t drop quickly nor fully, so I suspect something bent. Going to fully service so we’ll get to the cause. Thanks...

My first step would be to have someone weight down the tail and take the weight off the nose gear. If it is still hard to turn the nose wheel, then something is binding. Then disconnect the steering rod at the gear, and see if the binding is in the control column or the nose gear. You can then at least verify your in-flight perceptions on the ground where you can wiggle and jiggle things.