So, I thought I'd give a six month update from the trenches of dinosaur twin ownership. Maybe it will be interesting for potential aircraft owners to see some real figures and costs. I know I could have used them when I was looking. Last year was rather taxing on the old wallet and I'd hoped all the maintenance I'd done would have gotten her over the "hump" and up to speed for this year. I'm pleased to say it, well,
kind of has.
However, the year did not start well.
A generator (I have two) had been bad for awhile and I'd ignored it, half hoping it would go away. It was extra annoying as this was the same gen I'd fixed less than a year ago. Pesky little things. Finally had to bite the bullet and send it off for overhaul. $1300 later it was back on. Then less than a month later my men-with-wrenches dislike the way the right engine's compressions look, so they want to do a top overhaul. I dreaded this, but in the back of my mind I knew it was coming - when you turned the prop you could tell there was only resistance on about half the cylinders. You'd never think it from flying her, though - engine ran strong. Said and done, cylinders sent off for O/H and $3700 later I got the keys back. Just when that sinks in, they find the wrong bulkhead spinner on, unrepairable spinners and cracked exhausts...
I was suffering now - this all coincided with a downturn in work and rubbish finances (I thought the recession was over?) and I wondered if I could keep her at all if things continued like this... But after these initial setbacks, I can say that it looks like we've turned a slight corner. After these repairs we've been on 3 long x-countries - New Orleans, Idaho and Phoenix, AZ, plus numerous local trips. Literally not a single squawk in about 70hrs of flying (except for a tumbling AI). That's a great improvement compared to last year.
Peekabo!
Then the wrench-men said I needed a tire on the left hand side. Not too bad - about $300 for the tire and tube and then some labour. As I come back for an oil change a couple of weeks later, they think it's time for the right as well - another $500 all in, now close to $1000 in total. As we dismantle, the brake pads are really thin. Damn - these are the pain-in-the-a** Goodyear pads that are expensive to get hold of. If it had been Cleveland I could have bought the pads at Target with my groceries. The wrench-men think they're too worn, but my Commander-guru swears I've got at least 40 more landings on them, so we put it back together. That was 10 landings ago....
I've ordered the pads, but they won't arrive anytime soon as it's some old geezer down in Florida who moves at his own pace... In the meantime I do no-brake landings and roll out forever to the annoyance of the tower controllers. I curse the designers for not installing thrust reversers
.
Price for pads the size of a small box of mints? $700. I'm in the wrong business....
Two new tires. And a series of unfortunate events leading to the discovery of worn brake pads - and a cauldron of dollar bills lost and deathly angst.
Literally the next landing I do, when I finally have to brake, the pedals go to the floor. I glance over to the hydraulic pressure gauge - it reads
zero. Thanfully I can hand pump my way back to my tie down spot (hydraulics run everything on a Commander - breaks, flaps, steering, gear). As I step out this is what I find in the left nacelle:
Pools of hydraulic liquid at the bottom of nacelle. The line in the foreground had burst. Glad it happened on the ground.
Toyed with the idea of ferrying her down to my mechanics with the gear out, but sensibly decided against it with no brakes...
Measured the hydraulic lines and had them make up new ones. They'd have to come to me this time.
Picked wizard Ken up and we drove to airport to have them replaced. Thankfully, the lines were in the open back part of nacelle, so access was really good. Done in an hour, but messy work.
Cost? Don't know, haven't gotten the bill yet. But the lines are about $50 to have made up plus labour. Doubt it will be less than $300.
Laying in the back forever, behind the rear seat, were two new middle row windows that I'd picked up from my old mechanic. Some guy had ordered the wrong part and I got them for $400, which is kind of cheap when it comes to windows, believe it or not. I had procrastinated and avoided the task, but finally pulled myself together and changed them. Was surprisingly straightforward. Couple of screws, some silicone goo and wollop - done. Best of all - I didn't even have to pay myself minimum wage.
What a difference! Madness to wait so long before changing....
Also, safely stuffed in my basement is a whole set of flaps and cowlings I managed to squirrel away from an old 520 they were breaking up. RIP N2600B. Flew to Arizona to pick them up and fitted them all in the plane. Pretty good price. Mine are not too bad, but the cowlings especially are starting to get some surface corrosion, so it's good to have an extra pair.
Yes, the flaps all fitted in the Jag!
So, so far this year, this is what we've spent in about 100hrs of flying:
Top O/H: ...............................................$3700
Spinner bulkhead/exhausts, misc: ..............$5200 (Phew, that hurt)
Generator O/H: .......................................$1300
Tires: ....................................................$1000
Hydraulics: ..............................................$300
Misc service: ..........................................$1000
TOTAL: ...............................................$12500
Which is about
£8000.
My batting average is getting better. But this is the kind of ballpark stuff you'll encounter as an owner of old airplanes. Obviously, if you own a simpler single engine aircraft, your costs are probably lower.
But notice how nothing of the above really is related to the fact that it's a twin - it could just as easily have been applied to an old single.
As of now I'm waiting for an overhauled AI at $595 and hopefully after that all squawks should be addressed. It won't last, of course, but hope springs eternal...
Things that don't cost money:
Had I known what a royal PITA it is to polish spinners, I would have left them dirty!
Sunday wash. After I'd slaved away at it for 6 hours, an airplane detailing guy comes up to me and says "you know, I can do all that plus wax it for $125". Done deal! No brainer, as they say here. Never doing this again.
Lying under the wing scratching your a**e for an entire day is thankfully also free.
Scrubs up nicely, at least from afar .
I'll let you know how badly the budget's been crushed next year!
Happy flying, people. Have yourself a great 2012!