Hey fellow pilots. Well it finally happened purchased my first airplane, 1968 Pa-28 - 140 with avcon 180 conversion (180hp constant speed prop) Hershey bar wing short fuselage Paint is rough so are avionics but the engine is tight. Interior is dated but in good shape I will be storing it outdoors with covers in northern Alberta. equipped with a tanis multipoint engine heater that will work well at my powered parking spot. The site has wifi so I plan on using a smart plug so I can fire up the heater from home hours before flight. I plan on putting a job site knaack box at the parking spot to store covers oil etc while flying. I’m going to set it up for some vfr weekend warrior type flying for my family (wife and 2yo son) now to purchase a iPad mini and decide yoke or suction mount. if anyone has any experience with outdoor winter parking, Cherokees with or without the avcon conversion and just piper Cherokees in general I would love to hear from you! merry. Christmas everyone hohoho
Congrats on your new plane! May you experience all the joys of ownership. I have parked my plane outdoors in the winter with no problems. When it drops to around 40 or 50 degrees (f) it does make pre-flight a little uncomfortable, but not too bad.
Your parking arrangement sounds interesting - it’s something new to me. Be sure to show us a photo once you’ve got it set up!
Congratulations. The first purchase is both exciting and scary with different levels of each depending on the day. Enjoy your Christmas present! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Excellent choice for a first airplane! Congratulations and look forward to hearing more about your new adventures with the plane. And I'll add to the chorus demanding pictures - that's an obligation if you are going to hang around this joint. Which airport in Alberta are you based at? The 180 hp with CS will be nice when you head west into the higher elevation terrain. My first plane was a 1961 Cherokee 160. Serial #30 off the new assembly line in Vero Beach back then. Sounds similar - mine had awful paint and a well worn interior, but mechanically in good condition. I flew that thing more than 300 hours, including two 2400 nm round trips to Oshkosh. Absolute lowest cost airplane per flight hour I have ever owned - everything has been downhill since I sold it. I live in the Rockies. I used a tight fitting quilted engine cowling cover and a little electric cube heater in the bottom of the cowl. 2 - 3 hours and everything was toasty warm, including the oil (my limit to go flying for fun is 0 F, or about -18 C). Your Tanis should be more efficient. The key is to seal it up and make sure the wind doesn't get in there. On the lee side of the Rocks hail is definitely an issue. You'll want to see if you can find some sort of shelter for it in due course. Some friends of mine at a rural airport nearby bought and installed some small aluminum and fabric shelters for their planes - hoop structure like a Quonset hut, weighted down with a few pre-cast concrete blocks, perfect shape for a low wing airplane. Seemed a very economical solution to keep the snow, ice, hail and wind off the airplane.
Good deal! A friend had a Cherokee that we did a bit of hopping around the state in. He flew it along side me when I did my first long cross country in my current plane after the 40 hour phase one was done (experimental). Went from South Carolina over to Georgia and up to Tennessee. Had a blast on that particular trip.
Our 172 is parked outdoors year-round in Alaska. We also have the Tanis engine heater and a parking space with a plug-in (have to pay a little extra for that!) Thick insulated engine cover to hold the heat in: take it with you when you fly, so you can throw it over the engine while you're having lunch and the engine will still be warm enough to start when you get back. Wing covers, tail covers, and windshield cover for the frost -- I know it looks like a flimsy solution, but they work, everybody here's got 'em, and the parking areas around here look like a sea of wing-covers. Does your Tanis heater include a plug that goes inside the cockpit? Ours does, and we keep a small ceramic space-heater in there and plug it in down by the rudder pedals when parked, so you can warm up the cockpit and avionics before you fly. That's a real nice human creature comfort. ENJOY and FLY!
thanks for the reply not sure if the heater has one or not. I will have to Check. I was told by the previous owner that would be a Good idea as well. Although he doesn’t have to worry because he kept it in a hanger. Will keep you posted.
Great to hear thanks for the vote of confidence I plan on taking it cyeg -cyqt (about 1000miles each way) regularly. I’m out of cez3 Cooking lake in the Edmonton zone. I posted a few pics I have the wheel pants but I’m thinking of leaving them off for now. I do have the heavy quilted covers that go With it.
I'd leave the pants off for the first little while, but you'll want them back on for the haul to Thunder Bay. Do a thousand nm in a Cherokee and you know you've been on a cross country! Believe me, if you do that "regularly" it won't be long before you'll be looking for a faster airplane. I progressed from a Cherokee 160 to a 180, then an 200 hp Arrow and finally a Dakota. I found all of them to be fine airplanes on the grass. Yours should be much better with the Avcon conversion, and there's lots of strips for summer exploring around where you are. But I'd leave the pants off to do that.
Congrats. I would keep the engine heater on 24/7 if there is a chance condensation will form on the engine.
Not sure about keeping Tanis on 24/7(that’s debatable), but would also heat the cabin up as well to warm up the gyros and instruments before start up. The cabin cover needs to be secured in addition to the straps since the wind can do a number on the windows and antenna. Fly as often as possible, and congrats.
Congratulations on your new purchase. It should serve you well. I got lucky and had a hanger to go to. Northern Montana and east of Rockies . Wouldn't own an aircraft with out a hanger in these parts. Wind off the Rockies and hail mandate a hanger here. (my opinion)
I had free electricity in my hangar and kept mine plugged in 24/7. I do recommend getting a Honeywell HCR100B ceramic heater and setting it on the floor where your feet go. Keeps the avionics warm. I had mine wired up with a thermostat to keep it at 50 and also threw a $5 used sleeping bag over the top of the cockpit to insulate it. This heater on low uses very little electricity. Honeywell HCE100B Heat Bud Ceramic Heater Black Energy Efficient Space Saving Portable Personal Heater With 2 Heat Settings for Home, School, Office https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00I4UVGHO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_rIR5FbHGS6DGX?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
