Special Prices for SOAPA Members on Gear-door Mod and other STCs

[tkirklindale]

Originally Posted by Skymaster337B

If you own the airplane then it isn't worth selling at today's market. However, if you have a loan on it then it might be worth letting the bank repo it.

nope its all mine any idea on a good avionics shop

[tkirklindale]

Originally Posted by hharney

You are preaching to the choir on this website. Most of us (98%) have the bug and love the airplane or we would not be here. I think it's the greatest aircraft in it's class that has ever been built. Most women really like them too because they are safe, visibility is great from the cabin, easy to enter and exit, comfortable, etc. I can't imagine doing what you have already accomplished and give up. You obviously must have some passion for the Skymaster or you wouldn't be were you are today. Don't give up now, push on.

Here is the only real problem I see, you going to have $75K into a '65 A model and in today's market you can buy a nice late model for that kind of money that already has what you want in avionics. But you're already into this one so keep it up and make it the airplane you've always wanted. It is the greatest airplane you will ever own.

Let me make a BIG suggestion, you need to read this message board. There is so much info here that it will help you make the decision. You can search any topic and remember this site goes back to 2001. Then plan to attend Sun N Fun this year in Lakeland, FL April 13th for the SOAPA meetings. You can see, hear and talk to owners from all over the country.

thanks i have read it every time i had an issue and it has really helped me out. and i think im going to keep it and fly it till i get sick of it the wife told me i can spend the moneys to do the avanices but she put me on a budget of $12500 any ideas of a good shop close to texas

[CO_Skymaster]

I do understand your frustration with refurbishing your aircraft. I've had a similar situation with my aircraft. I have a 1966 337-A and I bought it for a low price of 46,000. I knew buying at that price I would have to perform some repairs, but I don’t think I was prepared for the amount of effort I would have to put in. I expected that any repairs to aircraft would be like repairing my car. I drop it off and one mechanic would work on it until finished. I instead found repair required a lot of leg work and research on my part, most parts are not kept at the A&P shop (no NAPA to deliver components in an hour), components and repairs are expensive, and repairs are not done quickly. I think my biggest frustration comes from how long it takes to do anything in aviation. The only think fast about it are the airplanes themselves.

I did some quick calculations before I bought the aircraft on operations and maintenance cost and compared it to flying commercially and rental. What I determine from that exercise was that there was no way to justify purchasing the aircraft if financial concerns were my only reason. I just count it as one of those passions in my life that makes no financial sense, and most of the time I'm comfortable with that.

I purchased my aircraft in March 2007 and since then I've had 3 annuals, all expensive. To be fair I also think of items to add to my annual during the year and have my A&P fix them.

First year and annual:
1. Landing gear system seals were leaking and all the o-rings had to be replaced.
2. Rear muffler had to be replaced.
3. Lots of obvious small problems had to be taken care off

Second year and annual:
1. Several engine injector fuel lines had cracks and had to be replaced.
2. I (after help from this forum) tracked down my electrical problems by replacing battery, voltage regs, clearing all connections, and found the rear alternator was not working. (On the old skymaster, one alternator can't supply the needs of the aircraft, so circuit breakers kept popping) So the rear alternator was replaced
3. Rear spinner disintegrated during flight, so had to buy a new one, front one was also show signs of failing. The front spinner was replaced.

Third year and annual (still occurring):
1. Rigging was corrected
2. Dynamic Prop balancing could not be done because rear motor mounts were degraded (decided to replace all motor mounts)
3. Sent my entire instrument cluster out to be refurbished (Fuel gauges were unreliable or didn't work), found out also after that, my fuel senders in the tank were not working properly, and send those out for refurbishing).
4. Front Throttle Body and fuel pump had to be refurbish, sent those out.
5. Had foul weather window rebuilt and replace all window and door gaskets. During cold days the heater couldn't keep up with the cold air flowing in.
6. Replace valve cover gaskets to slow down all the oil leaks I've been getting.

This is a sample of what I've had to deal with on my aircraft and it is a lot. Each repair is expensive, but I'm making headway. I know even if I was fed up and sold the aircraft I would not get the money I've put in out of it. Again, I consider it a passion that would not make sense to anyone else but aircraft owners.

After these last set of repair, my aircraft may not look nice, but I believe I can trust it to fly me cross country with some reliability. I'm also adding a few other gadgets I would just like to have and then I will be happy with my aircraft for awhile. There are other items like Xerion engine instruments and Aspen avionics and autopilot I would like to add, but that is far in the future.

The reason for this long story is to let you know that your situation is not unusual. Aircraft are always going to require fixes and maintenance. It's always going to be expensive to fix, but I think it is manageable. I'm currently frustrated also with my aircraft, but I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Hope this helps,

Karl

[Skymaster337B]

Karl, what are the signs that a spinner is about to come off? I've never heard of a spinner failing. Was it missing spacers or something?

[sgmret]

While I never had a spinner problem with either of the Skymasters I owned (many years ago) I did have an unnerving experience with the spinner of an early Piper Cherokee Six explode on takeoff at Sewanee, Tennessee once. After applying full power and starting the takeoff roll and just at rotation I heard a loud noise and saw pieces flying everywhere from the front of the aircraft. I was accompanied by one of my early flight instructors from Alaska on that flight and you can't imagine how fast one can get an airplane stopped and two guys can get out of an aircraft on the runway, not knowing what the problem was. That early PA-32 had a fiberglass spinner and it just threw itself apart. Fortunately, I had just visited Bill Kerschner at his home base and he knew a Piper engineer at Vero Beach. Bill called him and he advised to remove all remaining remnants of the spinner and to fly the plane at a slower airspeed than normal to provide for proper cooling. I flew back to Rolla, Missouri where the aircraft was operated by the local FBO without further difficulty.

[CO_Skymaster]

My rear spinner came off during a flight from California to Colorado. The spinner tore away right where the plastic ring covers the pressure cylinder on the propeller. So everything behind that was gone. The next annual (after I had the rear cone replaced) the A&P said I had extensive wear inside the front spinner. They used a clear tape to reinforce the wear inside the spinner. I didn't fly the aircraft much until I could replace the front spinner. I had visions of the spinner going through the propeller, windshield, or hitting the rear propeller. That's also why I decided to perform a dynamic prop balancing this annual.

[Dale Campbell]

Hi Tommy,
As Herb said, you love them or hate them. I to have the love of the 337. I purchased the 1978 337H, 9 years ago and love to fly the safest aircraft ever built. I to put a great amount of cash in restoring my bird. With dual inline engines, you may have miner failures that are not life threatning, as long as you do your fuel managing properly. Most 337 crashes are pilot error on running out of fuel or flying into bad weather or being careless pilots. Very few where aircraft failures. As long as you maintain a possitive attitude on the maintance, and you are the right person to do that. The rest of us that have to pay for every hour of work do not have the advantage you have. So go forward with the work. Once completed, you will have a masterpiece like Herb has. You will enjoy many years of enjoyable, safe flights. Tell the people that never enjoyed the 337 looks or safety in flight to go pound sand because they know nothing about what a safe aircraft really is. Safe flying, Dale