dee_bee_que
Active Member
Greetings from just south of Key West* where it's 52*F and partly cloudy.
I fly a classic. A category that neatly combines requiring the skills to home build with the costs associated with certified aviation. My baby is a PA-15 Vagabond that was converted into a PA-17 well before I bought it. It was built with a "full '10 wire' electric system--" so, it has EIGHT plug cables and BOTH the P-leads are connected to the grounding switch-- one door (a right door and no "wrong" door), a compass and five gauges, W72CK42 prop, 8.00-4s, and an original sling style seat. It doesn't have a parcel tray, "D-windows," or a skylight.
It was converted by adding shock struts and dual controls (except for brakes), swapping the Lycoming O-145-B for a Continental A-65-8, and moving the throttle to the center of the panel. With the new gear it was bestowed with a 1150 gross weight-- a gain of 50 whole pounds. Don't laugh, that is equivalent to a picnic lunch for two and the aux tank-- which is good for another 120 miles, an-hour-and-a-half at my normal cruise speed in still air.
Technically, the seat cushion and handheld is part of the useful load, not the empty weight. Other than a pair of shoulder harnesses, a little soundproofing, sealed struts, a 6 gallon aux tank, and a glossy single color Polyfiber recover, it's mostly stock in configuration and a true light weight joy to fly
*Not the one in Florida where it's 83*F and mostly cloudy.
I fly a classic. A category that neatly combines requiring the skills to home build with the costs associated with certified aviation. My baby is a PA-15 Vagabond that was converted into a PA-17 well before I bought it. It was built with a "full '10 wire' electric system--" so, it has EIGHT plug cables and BOTH the P-leads are connected to the grounding switch-- one door (a right door and no "wrong" door), a compass and five gauges, W72CK42 prop, 8.00-4s, and an original sling style seat. It doesn't have a parcel tray, "D-windows," or a skylight.
It was converted by adding shock struts and dual controls (except for brakes), swapping the Lycoming O-145-B for a Continental A-65-8, and moving the throttle to the center of the panel. With the new gear it was bestowed with a 1150 gross weight-- a gain of 50 whole pounds. Don't laugh, that is equivalent to a picnic lunch for two and the aux tank-- which is good for another 120 miles, an-hour-and-a-half at my normal cruise speed in still air.
Technically, the seat cushion and handheld is part of the useful load, not the empty weight. Other than a pair of shoulder harnesses, a little soundproofing, sealed struts, a 6 gallon aux tank, and a glossy single color Polyfiber recover, it's mostly stock in configuration and a true light weight joy to fly
*Not the one in Florida where it's 83*F and mostly cloudy.
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