Hey, there!
 

Hey guys! Been without a personal airplane for 15 years and decided I needed another as the kids and grandkids have gotten further from home. I was looking at Comanches and almost pulled the trigger on a 400, but moma had a talk with me. She didn't want to do the travel we were talking about in a single. I get that, so I started to look at Twin Comanches and Skymasters, and the 337 won out. Within a few days, one will be ours.

I started my flying life as a pipeline patrol pilot, moving on to corporate jets and then the airlines. I had always targeted 60 as retirement and did so. We live on a ranch in the top part of South Texas. For near five years, I didn't fly a thing until a fellow asked me if I would fly a patrol plane a couple of days a week. Durn, if I didn't miss a personal airplane so here I am!

My relationship with the 337 started with my first flying job at a Cessna dealer in deep South Texas; we operated a P337 for a customer. I always thought it an odd airplane as it was factory new with Cessna avionics but without a glideslope receiver. That's right, the best you could fly was a LOC. Know one was sure how it ended up with just that.

I left that job to fly a pipeline patrol. I thought that would be the best best for gaining total time quickly and be out on my own. It worked plus an interstate pipeline company hired me to patrol their pipelines in a Company 337. I wonder if any of you went through the Cessna school as well?

http://ranchdogoutdoors.com/pilot/33...c/CCoT_337.jpg

Before going to the interstate pipeline, I flew a Twin Comanche for a family every weekend, which complemented the total time I was building. As soon as I went to work with the 337 for the pipeline, they asked me to get the ATP as I met the qualification. Check it out!

http://ranchdogoutdoors.com/pilot/33...sc/TAC_CLT.jpg

The airplane I flew on the pipeline was a '77 G, and as it turns out, that is what I'm buying.

I'm looking forward to reading, learning, and participating!

Who'd you fly for?

Going back through the logs, my plane ('75 G model) was bought new off the line by North American Oil and Gas (or some such) and flew about 100 hrs a month doing pipeline work for a chunk of its life.

Be a real kick if it was the same plane (or even from the same fleet)

Leighton.

It was with the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline. The flight department had three patrol airplanes, and the 337s replaced the Cessna 180s they were using. The 337s were purchased through Cruise Aviation, a Cessna dealer at Houston Hobby. The Skymasters were replaced by Partenavia's, and the N-numbers followed them there. Mine was 76L. The P68C met its demise in McMullen County, Texas, outside of Tilden, where it was flown into the ground as if the pilot fell asleep.

I only flew patrol for 8 months and was promoted to the right seat of a Lear 25B and Falcon 20F. During the 8 months, I flew 500 in the 337 on patrol. I would imagine they had quite a number of hours on the airframes when they went with the P68Cs.

That HAD to have been the same fleet.

Mine left the factory as N53494, then became N75N.
Later it was changed to N75NX and thats how its stayed.

I have seen a pic of an earlier model 337 with the same paint scheme, so I suspected it was a fleet scheme.

This is how I bought it:

Leighton

I just went back to the original paperwork, Airworthiness cert was issued to Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America.

The address on the CofA says Chicago, but I don't think my plane was ever there.

Seems to have spent a lot of time in Arkansas.

I had started to reply that it was the NGP, Texas to Chicago, but the insurance agent for my airplane called. The NGP airplanes were solid white with blue numbers. 75N is a good memory as I often saw that airplane refueling at Refugio, TX (RFG) and would visit with the pilot. He had to be close to sixty, I was in my early twenties.

TGP numbers ended with "L". Our pipeline was a TX to NYC line. There were five or six Texas based companies doing the same to other corners of the country. They were also being used on the Alaska pipeline.

Neat!



soooooo.... you got pics of the "new" plane you're picking up?

Lets see 'em!

Will get them up a bit later. I'm out on a tractor right now.

75N was Texas based.

Our three 337s were based in Corpus Christi (mine), Atlanta, and Charlottesville, VA.

Let me do this without the N-numbers for now until it is actually mine, that being mid-week at the earliest, to next weekend at the latest.

Hmmm... cannot put image link in a post with the BBC codes.

I don't have them on this device, will have to use the forum upload tomorrow.

Here are some pictures.

The airplane is outfitted well, about the only thing I plan on adding to it at the next annual is a JPI EDM 760.

All is good! The airplane is home! Moma is really tickled with our "grandkid getter"! Imelda held the handover off for near a week, but all is well that ends well. A huge thumbs up to the two previous owners for caring for my airplane! It has been 41 years since I crawled out of 337 and into a Lear 25B. Seems like yesterday!

https://youtu.be/OW4vwAf5CKs

Congrats Michael...that's a REALLY nice looking and well equipped Skymaster.

Enjoy and keep posting pictures and videos!

I will provide more about my retirement job and what I fly soon. Check this out, from today, a very short video. A single thunderstorm in the way, I decided to go around it to the left and as I started that way, a funnel started dropping right side.

https://youtu.be/GoMrmHSJCiY