N9453V

I ferried a P28R-201T from Grass Valley, CA (GOO) to White Plains, NY (HPN) about a week ago. I used my usual route of heading further south to avoid the highest terrain and possible icing. The stops I did were Lake Havasu City, AZ (HII), Albuquerque, NM (AEG), Wichita, KS (ICT), Champaign, IL (CMI), Cleveland, OH (BKL). It was a 2 day trip with 18.7 hours of flight time. -Andrew

NAFTA has been great for the US and Canadian economies and has had little impact to the Mexican economy. Trade between the US and Canada is also significantly higher than trade between the US and Mexico. -Andrew

Which variables are you referring to? New prop, engine overhauled/inspected as good as new, new smooth belly, new step, new antennas... I'm curious which part or parts you feel cannot be repaired to the same level as when it left the factory. My plane had a gear up and a prop strike before I bought it and there is no way to tell unless you read the logbooks and see that the repairs were done by Dugosh. -Andrew

The data I've seen is that most (if not all) spring failures occurred from the single bad batch where the ends were bent after heat treating instead of before. As well, those failures were all in the down position. I have also seen anecdotal evidence of cases were the spring was replaced improperly and a gear up landing subsequently happened. This is unlikely though, for those of using a reputable MSC. If an aircraft is using for flight training and doing touch and go's all day, I'd agree that 1000 hour replacement is probably a good idea, but I think it's a hard case to argue that waiting to 2000 hours is a greater risk especially with the risk of maintenance-induced failure. Also, a gear up landing properly executed rarely results in any injury. In a Mooney, that's a new prop, engine goes back to Lycoming/Continental, new step and a new smooth belly. Not much of a big deal so long as the aircraft is properly insured. Why's that? I've seen Don Maxwell's work repairing geared up airplanes and there is no difference as far as I can tell.

There are some MSC's that feel the 1000 hours is excessive and instead listen for chattering. Mine finally exhibited that chattering after 12 years and 2500 hours since last spring replacement so I just had it replaced this annual (for the Avionics Products actuators it's now $802). -Andrew

They waived the facility fee for just 7 gallons of fuel. -Andrew

Yep, I've flown into the same FBO in the same week in both the Mooney and a Citation II. I've gotten the same great service both times. -Andrew

Yes, MIA is $10/night last I checked. Easy in and out, you'll land 8L or 26R. $26 landing fee, but at OPF I was quoted an overnight fee of $50/night. -Andrew

The reason is simply they no longer have repair parts for the non-WAAS 430. They can still do all repairs for the WAAS 430. -Andrew

Who is it currently insured with? If you are planning to live in the US long term, you may want to consider importing the aircraft and get an N-number. Maintaining an aircraft under FAA regulations is less expensive than under Transport Canada ones. If you keep it C-registered, you'd need to have a Canadian AME sign of your annual as well. If you aren't a US Citizen - you would likely need to a create a holding company (C Corp) for the aircraft. It's legal for the C Corp to have 100% foreign ownership so long as 60% of the flight hours are in the US. I'm a Canadian citizen and I have my aircraft setup this way. Let me know if you have any questions. -Andrew

Looking through my records, the KCS-55A install (before I bought the plane) was 35 hours, so I'm unsure why people are saying it's MORE labor intensive to install than the Aspen. -Andrew

The 530W does not graphically show your intercept angle since it does not know your heading. On an HSI, your CDI is superimposed over your heading indicator so you always see the number of degrees you'll have to turn to intercept your FAC. If you only fly a few approaches per year in light IMC, you probably won't see the value in an HSI but if you fly hundreds of hours in hard IFR including flying down to minimums, you'll see it reduces your workload immensely. I've not met a single professional pilot who didn't think so. Btw, a used HSI can be had for maybe $2000. -Andrew

How does that give HSI-like situational awareness? Adding the 430W/530W into your scan for a precision approach inside of the FAF actually increases pilot workload instead of decreasing it. The CDI on the 430W/530W is really just a backup of your physical CDI fails and shouldn't be used for flying an approach under normal circumstances. An HSI overlays both CDI and glideslope over your heading indication, neither of which are shown on the 430W/530W. Many studies have shown that the HSI dramatically reduces pilot workload. -Andrew

Unclear at this point... the FAA has said from the beginning they have said that all aircraft operating internationally should equip with 1090 ES. -Andrew

Yes, but some of us fly internationally a lot... the only countries adopting UAT are the US and China. Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, etc have said they'll only use 1090 ES. -Andrew

If you routinely hand fly approaches right down to minimums (which you should do for proficiency for WHEN the autopilot breaks), the HSI becomes more of a need than a want. I've got a fair bit of G1000 time and some Aspen time as well, but I honestly don't really care for glass panels. When I'm ferrying an airplane without an HSI and I need to go down to minimums, I'm cursing the crappy avionics the whole way down. -Andrew

Remember the GDL88 is only UAT, so you're restricted to flying below FL180 and may face restrictions operating internationally. -Andrew

I understand that a lot of people like glass panels, but saying they are more economical is rather disingenuous in my opinion. An overhauled KCS-55A with warranty is $7k tops, can be found used for probably $2k and overhauled for another $2k... an Aspen Pro is $11k and is MUCH more expensive to install. Anyone flying hard IFR pretty much needs an HSI... an Aspen doesn't give you any more capability to justify the cost and the reliability is very suspect (https://bonanza.org/forums/index.php?topic=1273.0). I considered replacing my KCS-55A when the gyro needed an overhaul; the avionics shop in Conroe, TX advised against it, saying that they'd had numerous customers who'd been through 3 or more replacements in under 1 year. In 6 years of using a KCS-55A and around 1100 hours of hard IFR, I've only had 1 $600 repair on the unit. -Andrew

Becca, I think it could be done well below 30 AMU... GTN 650 is about $10k, probably $3k install for $13k total GTX 335 is $3k, probably $1k install for $4k total An overhauled KCS-55A HSI is $7k (https://www.gulfcoastavionics.com/products/600-reconditioned-kcs-55a-system.aspx), probably another $1k for install, so $8k total. Can be even cheaper if you go with a used system. This install would be about $25k total (say another $1k to integrate with autopilot) and would give you a WAAS GPS, ADS-B OUT (1090 ES) and HSI. -Andrew

Just be aware, that Garmin no longer provides any repair or support for the GNS 155, so if it breaks, you're SOL. Also, the Freeflight RANGR only provides UAT, so you're restricted to operating below FL180 (probably not any issue) and may be subject to restrictions operating internationally. -Andrew

Becca, I bought my plane with a GNS 430W, S-Tec 50 and KCS-55A HSI, so all I had to do is add a GTX 330 ES Transponder to comply with ADS-B Out. If I had a plan equipped like yours, I'd probably go with a GTN 650 (since long term support for the 430W is uncertain), a GTX 335 ES (it's a pretty cheap option since you'd have a WAAS GPS position source and you'll want 1090 ES since you fly to Canada) and a used HSI (I like my KCS-55A and it's been extremely reliable for the 6 years I've had it). Personally, I have no interest in glass panels, since they add no additional capability. For ADS-B In, if I recall you had a portable Garmin and Garmin UAT receiver, so I'd probably leave that as is. I don't remember what autopilot you guys have, but if you don't have altitude hold, I'd personally prioritize that before anything else (once you have WAAS approach capability and ADS-B Out compliance). -Andrew

Another thought, Calgary Flying Club has tie-downs, might be worth asking how much they'd charge: http://www.calgaryflyingclub.com/ -Andrew

Depending on when they were last sealed, a repair might be sufficient. My tanks were resealed in 2005 by Dugosh in Kerrville, late last year I noticed my right tank was starting to seep in the landing gear well and on the wing walk, but the sealant from 2005 was in good shape. I had Don Maxwell patch it and do my annual at the same time. I believe he charges $850 per tank, but there is no warranty. So far so good though. -Andrew