Country Flyer

Well the install is into its second week and going to plan (if there is such a thing) Auto pilot should be finished this week, Steve NELSON from Corowa... wow what a whiz knows his stuff back wards and RobGray from Wagga and his offsider JOHN who is running the show.. amazing work and so detailed... Spending a few days with them it makes me feel very confident the finished product and level of finish will be excellent.+

Well the keys arrived.... 4 in total  Our local locksmith cut the ignition keys and they work perfectly and fit like a bug n a rug!  So Cut two and kept 2 x blanks

Thanks to everyones input

Luckily they have been sent EXPRESS POST..... mmm Saturday today and still waiting :(🤣

4 hours ago, Possum1 said:

KGB Locksmiths of Coopers Plains(next door suburb to Archerfield Airport) here in Brisbane did multiple copies of our Piper's plane key 13 years ago on blanks stamped ILCO, Made in USA, N54G. The original key that it was copied from is stamped TCM. As I presume this stands for Teledyne Continental Motors, the same key blank should work for your Cessna? Cessna and Piper ignitions have always looked identical. KGB has been supplying key copies for the planes at Archerfield Airport for many years now. I first heard about them from the flying school I was learning to fly with in 1994.

Thanks Possum1.... The keys are on their way from Sydney.  If they fail or some reason are incorrect I'll contact KGB  thanks again for the tip

2 minutes ago, ClintonB said:

I had a spare cut for 182F from local key and shoe man, being older it may have been a more common blank, not much good though as security, a local opened it for me in about 30 seconds with a lock pick one day when I left key at home, hence spares now in bag. 

Nice looking 182 in your pic Country Flyer.

Cheers

Clinton

Thanks Clinton.... its been interesting to try and find any key blank to fit it... none available on anyones hooks in the shops... but hopefull the blanks will be in downtown Albury by the end of the week

Update:   There are no SILCA (The name of the blank for the Cessna) in Australia (Info from suplier) ... so I got in contact with the Bankstown guys and they are selling me 6 x blanks ($18 plus postage delivered to our our Locksmiths in Albury) and then I will get the locksmith to cut them.   I did try the "real locksmiths" and most of them just went  "mmmmm whats this for?  mmmm nope cant help you " after checking their stock of blanks.

So I have a solution to the problem ...never thought it would be this difficult and even surpried that the Australian Distributor - Cessna doesnt hold any.

when they arrive Ill get the lockmith to see if their is a standard type key that would do the job.... and will provide you fedback

HUGE thanks to Craig at Bankstown Locksmiths for his help... great work😄

I’m trying to find somewhere that cuts Cessna Ignition keys. I have been to all our local locksmiths and contacted Hawker Pacific in Sydney (Cessna authorised dealer)...but not really able to assist.... pointed me to a locksmith in Bankstown.(still waiting to see if he can help). All I’m after is the blanks so our local guy can cut them.

My next port of call will be the USA and see if they have blanks..... so if anyone can help with finding blanks etc... could you please let me know

Thankyou in anticipation.

Very nice! Congratulations.

 

What will your Avionics suite consist of when it's all finished?

Hi thanks for the reply

Currently we are going to get

G3x

G5

Gnx355 with adsb in and out coupled to Autopilot

Autopilot

Comms unit with Bluetooth

Comm

Definately overkill but you have to enjoy it and i want to do ifr As well...

Hi All.... just an update.. yes purchased the aircraft... got a thumbs up from the LAME and so far so good ! Im going to do the upgrade and yes.. I know im overcapitalising etc etc and wont get my money back.. BUT its about the next 5 or so years, putting in what I would like to have in the plane and enjoying it with the upgrade, having a good time ...

I contacted Peter Brand at Horsham Aviation ... excellent man, lots of info and he also quoted. Also obtained one from Rob GRAY (Garmin) Wagga and he has also quoted.

Both groups Labour components were huge... more then the equipement. ?

So will go the GARMIN... booked in for the end of the year as this is the only slot available....

Thanks again I appreciate the feedback which gave me alot to think about.

Albury - $85 per week

Thank you. I will call them and have a chat as well as the owner if I can.

I think there maybe more value in purchasing an aircraft with what you want already installed.

I can't see the 172 I mentioned gaining anywhere near the 50k that was spent.

Instead of purchasing an average 172 and spending that amount, there would be more value in a newer 172...

Im looking at that as well... finding one that has the "whistles " in it and price... not too high. Ive seen them as sold , missed the boat but i know they will be back. Juat keeping an eye out

I thought it would be along those lines.... meeting with him this week.. thanks again

While I have you both here !! What stops me from putting in a G3x Non certified into a 182 Vs a certified.. From my reading they are exactly the same except much cheaper and I think its something to do with IFR and not being able to do IFR ???? I dont seem to get a definative answer on it... Any help would be apprecited.

Downunder is right. I know someone who ran up a $100k bill on G500 etc etc.

 

Would it be worth weighing-up a 182T and see what the difference is in cost?

Thank you... will call them on Monday and have a chat... still settling on either 182 or 172, probably the 182... all comments and suggestions welcome.

There are 2 organisations at Bankstown that i have used.

Pacific Avionics and Eastern States Avionics,

Both have done a good job and are well respected.

You will need to take your Aircraft to them and be prepared to leave it with them for a while.

PM me if you want to discuss further.

Thanks Roscoe, will make contact with you soon to see what you did and any suggestions as well.

Hi, I’m sure this may be covered somewhere else..however. I’m looking to purchase a182 and replace some of the instruments with Garmin products..g3x touch, radio, autopilot etc.

‘yes I know it will be a high cost but I like ‘bells and whistles’ :).

I’m based in Albury so I’m looking for recommendations for a business to do the work... Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane.. doesn’t really matter. If you know someone or from previous experience has been good, professional and not a complete rip off on pricing could you please let me know....

I’m just doing the homework now so when it does happen I can move forward.

Thanks Gary.

I used to do the same as that. It now comes in boxes of 6 and last lot cost $68.29 from Rocky

Good morning Ironpot, is that price including GST and delivery on top ? Just trying to gauge it as the local IGA (also a fuel centre and the owner is a pilot) has access direct SHELL products

Bluetooth enabled headset I use Lightspeed Zulu3 and it works... the only issue is there needs to be a delay between them talking and you talking... you have to wait a few seconds and not just start talking the instance they stop. Other then that it works fine.

I used and still do use highlighter tape... doesn’t damage the maps ...helps when in planning and in flight

There are plenty of kneeboards that do both. Just in case you do get an EFB later. I made one, but there are ones on the market that are soft or metal that will hold an iPad or mini (A5 size) with a cover and clipboard on top, which I find is good as it stops the iPad overheating in direct sunlight on hot days.

My metal one is unpainted to reflect heat better. Black is bad for absorbing heat. It also has a space between the back of the iPad and my leg to allow airflow and the back plate acts as a heatsink.

 

A lot of chopper pilots I know use these.... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SQEPJ6?tag=aircraft-compare-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1

This is the one I have... great, easy to strap and doesn’t get in the way

Well just an add on... I was at Moorabin on Thursday. The landing and taxi was great....BUT we spent 23 minutes taxing and at a holding point until we got clearance.... wow.

In beautiful downtown AlburyYMAY it's about 3 to 4 mins to run up area and depending on how slow I am we obtain a clearance almost immediately. And on landing straight back to the hangar. Great controllers here in Albury

Incidental costs

Hello all, while we on the topic of running costs.......I’m still a couple of years away from looking at buying but I’m keen to find out about the incidental ‘casa’ costs for flying.  Other then airport landing fees, if applicable, fuel, insurance what other ‘daily flying costs are there?  Are there any?  I often go here our cfi make comments.... thanks in anticipation.....

Will be there.... hopefully an interesting couple of days