Thanks for the replies. What about selling my engine (130 hrs, so in a sweet spot), then buying a run-out engine for cheap and upgrading it to PPonk?
Still be a big hit.
What’s the mission that 50 more HP at sea level will make a big difference on?
(It doesn’t give you 50 more HP as you go to higher airports.)
Also have you checked if your prop qualifies for the STC also?
It’s really a discussion best had with Steve or one of his authorized places. They can tell ya all details as well as give an opinion — and probably a backlog date to have it done and how much downtime you’d have. Stuff like that.
In the end, it would be very like new avionics for a panel that works fine... your checkbook comes out and you buy what you want, and it doesn’t have to make financial sense.
Some people pull perfectly good engines and do the IO-550 STC to 182s also. That’s a lot more HP than the P.Ponk. The draw of the PP is that if you’re doing an overhaul already, and your engine and prop qualify (or you just want a prop replacement), it’s a smallish percentage to do it.
Folks say it comes with added heat and fuddling around with baffles and such for about a year for most joyrider airplanes that don’t fly much, and a couple of months for a busy airplane — which can be a source of frustration but ends up worth it for the long haul. And that’s just anecdotal from reading other’s experiences.
But definitely curious what the extra 50 HP means for you. Not a wrong answer to that, just curious.