PA28 Upgrade/Refurbishment
 

My syndicate want to respray the Aircraft and I have an objection as it is solely for aesthetic reasons.

My questions:
1. How much typically will a bare metal respray cost?
2. Can one buy 2nd hand Garmin 1000 glass panels and if so how muc do they typically cost? (I want to propose we rather do this).
3. If we repaint would it be crazy to suggest 'hivis yellow' as it will make the aircraft very visible and improve safety - I will rather have a very visible aircraft than a beautiful colour scheme that is less visible!!
4. Can a ballistice parachute be retrofitted to a PA28 and if so how much roughly?

Thanks to PPRuNe members in advance for some insights and guidance.

WokingSeller

My best guesses:

1. £12,000.
2. Sorry, don’t know.
3. Yes it would be crazy. The RAF did some research and discovered that the most conspicuous colour was matt black. Hence, all RAF training aircraft are painted in that colour, although a gloss finish is used.
4. Probably not.

I don't think a G1000 system can be fitted as an upgrade. Check out the G500 or G600 system though expect the spend $$$$$

Why post a question on local cost in an Australian forum, from the UK? I would imagine the cost would be significantly different in both countries? :confused:

Probably not, aside from overcoming the loss of structural integrity, the problems are probably hideous. However even if it were possible, in Australia the aero engineering design work, regulator design approval process and actual work to be carried out would cost many times more than your Cherokee is worth, take a life time to achieve and you would probably loose significant payload. Probably best to file that idea in the silly ideas bin?

PA28 Upgrade/Refurbishment
 

I sincerely apologise for wasting 'tail wheel' time in Australia.

Thank you for the feedback and nice to be able to plug into the collective knowledge of so many capable people.

Tail Wheel it will nevertheless be interesting to get the respray costs from Australia as it will be a good comparison.

Thanks to all the feedback-the 'matt black' feedback is very interesting.

I have seen a C-172 fitted with a ballistic chute but at the expense of having no baggage locker. Not sure if a similar thing is possible with a PA-28.

Yes - "Matt black" would be real "cool" in an Oz summer !!

1. How much typically will a bare metal respray cost?
Probably $15k to $20k AUD

2. Can one buy 2nd hand Garmin 1000 glass panels and if so how muc do they typically cost? (I want to propose we rather do this).

Would probably cost more than the plane is worth.
There are now better and cheaper options from Garmin and other vendors like Aspen.

3. If we repaint would it be crazy to suggest 'hivis yellow' as it will make the aircraft very visible and improve safety - I will rather have a very visible aircraft than a beautiful colour scheme that is less visible!!

Stick with the factory paint scheme. Looks the best and will have a better resale value. White is a practical colour for planes.

4. Can a ballistice parachute be retrofitted to a PA28 and if so how much roughly?

Close to impossible and not a good idea.

In general, if it is an older PA28 it's not worth spending a heap of money on upgrades. Just maintain it well and enjoy the flying. look for less expensive avionics upgrades.

Would love to know where you got this figure, I have 2 recent quotes for a PA28 - both more than 30k.

He said "probably" $15k-$20k. I say probably NOT.... as you also did.

The challenge is finding someone who's removing a Garmin G1000. Not many people doing that; what would they fill the huge gap in the panel with? I suppose you might find someone who did a wheels-up landing and is scrapping the plane, but that's not exactly common.

Apart from that, the saving is not normally very large for expensive avionics like a G1000. A few thousand dollars cheaper than buying new is common; you're not going to be picking up a G1000 for $10,000. Installation will be very expensive too, and may require other upgrades (eg. will the G1000 talk to the existing autopilot? If not, add $40K+ to your budget for a GFC 700).

You can suggest it, but I doubt everyone else in the syndicate will agree. In practical terms, unless you spend a lot of time flying over snow, white is going to stand out just fine.

I'm sure you could get one retrofitted, but I suspect that buying a Cirrus would be cheaper.

My guess from playing with Dynon EFIS is that you would have to rewire the aircraft. probably the interior and exterior lights and fuel pump would be untouched. You may also need a bigger battery.

Sunfish et al, there is an STC for fitting Dynons to certified aircraft as a backup.
Dynon Avionics EFIS-D10A and EFIS-D100 | Now STC Approved for Type Certificated Aircraft

A near complete re-wiring of the aircraft? No!

SWTT, that is the "baby" EFIS, I dont think its a replacement for certified instruments.

If your wishes are so far apart from the rest of the group I think you need to sell you share.

You didn't specify which Dynon unit Sunnyjim. The point being that you do not have to rewire a whole aircraft to fit a Dynon. Small units versus large have similar wiring requirements.

I would say $30,000 to $40,000 depending on what is found once old paint is off.

This is the time to change windows, possible windscreens and lots of plastic/fibreglass bits. These are not included in the above price guess that is in AUD excluding the 10% GST.

Garmin 1000 panel and a $35k repaint for a Cherokee 140? A can of petrol and a box of matches would be a whole lot cheaper!

PA28 Upgrade/Refurbishment
 

Thread CLOSED

Thank you very much for all the valuable input and the less than valuable input - consider this thread closed.

Bugga!

I was hoping for more information on how your PA-28 syndicate could have the world's most overcapitalised Cherokee. :D