My new ride

[akflyer 1427]

Sealed the deal on my new ride last night. She is a 63. A few squawks but next spring when the water softens up she will be pimping!

[dholly 718]

Uh oh, there goes the neighborhood!

[C5Engineer 1170]

Congrats!

[SkyPirate 8]

63 172? sweet thought the square tail changed in 60?

Edited 15 Oct 2013 by SkyPirate

[horsepower 24]

I like the old straight tails myself, is it a 145 Cont. or a 150 Lyc? Randy

[akflyer 1427]

its a 180.  0470R.  Debating a Pponk on it or just finding a 520 to stick in the nose.  I have a few months before I have to make that call.

 

[Av8r3400 1179]

The slope has been good to you lately. Got a job for me up there?

[akflyer 1427]

  No I just have good buddies to partner up with   truth be known, we picked this up for less than you paid for your KF.

 

What kinda job you looking for?  Engineering types and piping designers are in high demand right now!

 

[horsepower 24]

its a 180.  0470R.  Debating a Pponk on it or just finding a 520 to stick in the nose.  I have a few months before I have to make that call.

 

I see it is a 180 now, it will feel like a 727 after flying the Avid.......

[akflyer 1427]

yeah, they are a LOT heavier on the controls etc.. The avid is not going anywhere, its my fun plane.  The 180 will be for the longer trips taking the wife and baby along.  And for me and my buddy go get out and explore more of AK and do some hunting further out than we can in the Avid or PA12.  I figure that if I take the 180 loaded up with fuel and a good camp, and he takes the PA12 for the short lake work, we can do some awesome hunting and fishing trips in style and comfort!

 

The wife is really big on having a place to tie down the baby in the car seat   hence I had to look for the bigger plane.  The 180 has always been my favorite plane for looks and use.  To be able to get my hands on one finally has been a long time coming.  Most of all, just like I did with my Avid, I am happy to be able to save another plane from the junk yard and keep a beautiful plane from turning into ramp mummy junk.  It kills me to see good aircraft sitting at a tie down and not being moved or used for years, yet have owners that refuse to sell even though the tires are rotted off and the rudder or elevator has corroded to nothing.  I was happy to get a chance to save this one

 

[EDMO 1078]

Congrats on saving another big bird - Holy Moly, with a load of moose meat and booze, you are going to have to find a bigger playground!

EDMO

[Bandit 286]

Congrats Leni !

[dholly 718]

According to the last entry on FlightAware the plane washers on the East coast to that long ago. What's the story, another dreamer flies to find their fortune in Alaska only to go bust?

[akflyer 1427]

The guy that we bought it from purchased it in Canada in 81 and flew it there at his lodge till 94 when he moved to AK and imported it.  In 09 he got hit with some medical issues and its been parked ever since.  His wife is a local Dr and up until 09 he never skimped on annuals, if it was broke he paid to have it fixed.  His is alot like me though.. Interior and paint dont mean much, only safe to fly.  Kinda like a new truck... you buy a new truck that is 4X4 but ya dont take it mudding  

 

The plan is to keep it light and clean it up.. maybe shoot some mew paint on the stripes and just buff out the white if it can be done and still look decent.  The interior will get sound proofing and thats about it, maybe some new dash panels etc just to clean it up. 

 

[EDMO 1078]

When I started to Aviation school in Alaska I was quickly told, "In the lower 48, planes are treated like sports cars - In Alaska, they are used like dumptrucks!"

EDMO

[Trackwelder 12]

When we travel to Diamede, we have to take an aircraft, I have walked the top and think I could Bring an Avid in in the summer but Doring the winter they usually plow the ocean, My mom grew up up there and I enjoy the trip up, we have a cabin we can use whenever we get up there. They still have the seal hunting and there is talk about going for a whale, that is something I want to be up there for.

[SuberAvid 617]

Congrats Leni.  Glad to hear you plan to keep your Avid too.  Flying 100 hours a year in  the 180 will take some change.  I have a few friends with 180's and 185's but they don't fly them for just an evening of fun; the only one who really flies his much is very well off.  The other guys are always calculating the cost to crank it up. 

 

oWhat an excellent hauling machine for some long distance hunts though.  One friend takes his for caribou and moose every year up by Kotsabu and usually does really well. 

 

Now we have to plan out a long distance Avid trip around AK and use the 180 to stage fuel!

[akflyer 1427]

Randy, thats one of my thoughts for sure!  go out and make gas stashes with the 180 or haul the camp out in one shot, then follow up with the Avid for the fun stuff!

 

The mission is definitely not for the Sunday afternoon cruises around the local area   however, I will be flying it quite a bit to get proficient in it and keep current.   I figure it will get 100-150 hrs a year on it, the rest will be in the Avid.  I refuse to run numbers on operating costs etc.  What I only imagine but dont know for sure won't kill me   All I know is you cant put a price tag on fun, and it is much cheaper for me to fly than to go hang out in a bar every day!!

 

[akflyer 1427]

Well after another day in the hangar going through the squawk list we put it in the float pong yesterday and flew it out to the hangar so its home now!  wings were 17 gusting 27 but straight down 1W so take of was quick even though I was just taking it easy on the first TO.  Hope the rain lets up and I get to put a couple more hours on it today.  The water level in the lake has come up almost 2 feet in the last week from the rain.

 

[Emory Bored 61]

Have you had any snow?  We were in Soldotna in July and we had a few good days and some rain.  Mosquitos were down too.  Great time. 

 

Dan

[akflyer 1427]

No snow yet. I went out today and put a couple more hours on her. On the west side the snow line was around 2000' and the ponds above 1500 were starting to freeze up. It's no avid when it comes to getting in or out, but after 6 or 8 splash n dashes with a 10,000 hr 180 time driver copilot, I learned a few techniques that cut my take off run to about 1/3 of what it was. It's an amazing bird in the hands of a good stick! Much of what we went over was already stuff I knew, just tweaked it a touch to what the plane really likes. Damn, I got spoiled with the control forces on an avid when I thought I had the yoke all the way back to get it on step, I still had 3" more to pull. Thought I was gonna pull the damn firewall out!

[C5Engineer 1170]

I always feel that way when doing power on stalls for a checkout in a Cessna. Keep pulling...Keep pulling...more...more...more....more.... BREAK!

[Bandit 286]

Hell Leni, when you learn to fly that 180 real good you won't talk to us 2 strokers any more.

[akflyer 1427]

Bandit, my avid isn't going anywhere.. The $450 fuel for 4.3 hrs flying is going to put a dampner on my 180 just for fun time! Holy cripes!

[Bandit 286]

Holy shit Leni, thats over 6 months of my hanger rent!