Rykymus
Line Up and Wait
300+ hours into my PPL. I have owned a 98 Piper Archer 3 for the last two years and have enjoyed it. (Last payment is in April 2016.) Still has about 500 hours before recommended TBO, and is in pretty good shape. (Mechanic expects it to go past TBO.) My plan had been to take it to TBO, then sell it as a runout, using the money from the sale as down payment on something better. (I have my eye on a Commander 114/115.) I paid $80k for the Archer, and put another $10k into it. (Nothing big, just a lot of little things that I preferred to fix rather than risk them biting me in the butt later.) Problem is, I'm going to start my IFR training this summer/fall, and I don't have a WAAS GPS. (Garmin 430 only, no W) I know I don't need it for the training, and I can fly GPS approaches if I have ILS available, but we regularly fly into Monterey, and their ILS has been down for months. (I don't think they plan on fixing it, since by 2020 everyone flying to their class C will need ADSB and will have a WAAS GPS. But I could be wrong.) My wife likes flying, and wants to fly places with me, but want's something roomier. (Even though she's normal size.)
So, there are three questions here:
1) Should I invest in a WAAS upgrade or new GPS with WAAS, and get NextGen compliant now, even though I am not likely to keep this plane more than a year or two. (Hopefully less.)
2) Should I sell it now, (while there is still 500 hours left on the engine before TBO) buy another plane, and instead spend the upgrade money on that plane since I'll likely be flying it for the rest of my life?
3) If I do sell it now, which Commander is the best one for me? (Mission is mostly me and my wife, with moderate baggage, probably never more than 2-3 hour hops at max cruise, with occasional adult daughter along. Rarely would we need 4 people with light luggage and short hops. I also want the 17k ceilings for flying over mountains, since we're surrounded by them out here.)
Any and all comments/advice is appreciated.
Note: I am leaning toward the Commander due to its interior comfort, and the doors on both sides. (Wife may be normal size, at 5'6" & 120#, but I'm 6' and 250#, hence the need for space.) Besides, wife doesn't like small cramped cabins, and the Commander is similar in interior space to her Mercedes.
So, there are three questions here:
1) Should I invest in a WAAS upgrade or new GPS with WAAS, and get NextGen compliant now, even though I am not likely to keep this plane more than a year or two. (Hopefully less.)
2) Should I sell it now, (while there is still 500 hours left on the engine before TBO) buy another plane, and instead spend the upgrade money on that plane since I'll likely be flying it for the rest of my life?
3) If I do sell it now, which Commander is the best one for me? (Mission is mostly me and my wife, with moderate baggage, probably never more than 2-3 hour hops at max cruise, with occasional adult daughter along. Rarely would we need 4 people with light luggage and short hops. I also want the 17k ceilings for flying over mountains, since we're surrounded by them out here.)
Any and all comments/advice is appreciated.
Note: I am leaning toward the Commander due to its interior comfort, and the doors on both sides. (Wife may be normal size, at 5'6" & 120#, but I'm 6' and 250#, hence the need for space.) Besides, wife doesn't like small cramped cabins, and the Commander is similar in interior space to her Mercedes.