Two is one, and one is none

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Mtns2Skies

Final Approach
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Jul 12, 2008
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Mtns2Skies
So we bought another plane! Well this one is Mtns2SkiesBetterHalf 's plane. After a few years of on-again off again plane hunting and failed pre-buys and purchase attempts one finally landed in our hangar. This 170A previously was two hangars down. The owner recently passed away, a kind gentleman that owned this plane since 1967. Due to his declining health it hadn't flown in several years and is fairly dilapidated. But a pre-buy inspection showed minimal corrosion and excellent engine health. So we closed the deal and are begining the process of restoring this 170. First thing was to rip out the interior and in that process we found 4 dead mice as a nice bonus. I ferried it over to maintenance earlier this week where it will undergo the process of getting it back into airworthiness then later this winter it will be off to avionics. Once those things are sorted it will be time to clean up the cosmetics. It will be a great plane to fulfill the 'low and slow' mission for the family and will serve us for many years. It's a good older sister to the Skywagon.



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You thinking of keeping the retro / original look of the panel while still using modern avionics, or go glass/G3X?

BTW - what might that instrument be upper left, to the left of the skid/turn and bank? Looks like a small triangle with white, red, and green indicator lights, with two "+" signs on the bottom the the triangle legs?
 
We have the Skywagon for IFR. So this panel will stay retro but get an update to be a usable VFR panel.
WDD said:
BTW - what might that instrument be upper left, to the left of the skid/turn and bank? Looks like a small triangle with white, red, and green indicator lights, with two "+" signs on the bottom the the triangle legs?
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Marker Beacon
 
Congrats! I love that it's another TW, and I love that those dymo labels are still stuck on. I haven't seen one of those label makers since I was a little kid.
 
Many months of maintenance and avionics and the plane is back for a little while. The engine monitor gets installed in a couple weeks. The avionics shop was nice enough (Park Rapids avionics!) to detail the 170 for free and scrubbed off a decade of detritus from the paint which brightened it right up.

The new avionics are simple, but just what the plane needs - and also removed piles of museum worthy instruments.

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*fingers crossed* 6 months of continuous maintenance has wrapped up.

The latest round was for an EI engine monitor (with CO detector). Replacing more leaky fuel lines. Removed a weird motor for the remote compass. And a persistent CO leak lead to a whole new exhaust.

The plane has been in the hangar cumulatively about a week in the last 6 months. Continuously shuffling between maintenance and avionics. With that all taken care of just cosmetics are left on the list.

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Congratulations! Glad to see you are able to enjoy it now, and it's looking great!
 
Glad you're back in the air! If you don't mind the question, what were the cabin CO levels for that low level leak before fixed? Just wondering how observable it was with a regular off the shelf meter.
 
Albany Tom said:
Glad you're back in the air! If you don't mind the question, what were the cabin CO levels for that low level leak before fixed? Just wondering how observable it was with a regular off the shelf meter.
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It was just a handheld beeping one that would light up anytime heat was applied. Probably in the 25-50ppm range.
 
New plan with the 170. I did the research required, and it turns out Textron had all of the parts for a float kit for a total of 1amu. I have the doublers all on order.

Next steps will be saving up to up-engine the airplane, install the float kit, and saving up for some Wipaire amphibs.

Pic for 'goals'.
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Mtns2Skies said:
New plan with the 170. I did the research required, and it turns out Textron had all of the parts for a float kit for a total of 1amu. I have the doublers all on order.

Next steps will be saving up to up-engine the airplane, install the float kit, and saving up for some Wipaire amphibs.

Pic for 'goals'.
View attachment 152784
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Nice! Out of curiosity, where and how did you get your sea plane rating?
 
FrequentPilot said:
Nice! Out of curiosity, where and how did you get your sea plane rating?
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SES was in SE WI in a 180 on amphibs.
M

Thread 'Checkride #5'

Passed with flying colors...
Commercial SES is now complete...

This has by far been the most fun I've had in an airplane... I'm totally hooked! I did it in a 180A on amphibs, which was just a blast to fly in, I couldn't get enough of it.
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MES was in Duluth in a Twin Beech. That plane now lives in C'oeur D'alene:
M

Thread 'Splish Splash'

Checkride #7 Passed! I'm now a Commercial Multi-Engine seaplane pilot! Not to mention I got to fly a Twin Beech.

I arrived Thursday afternoon, got acquainted with the airplane and we flew for a few hours, luckily Duluth MN stays light quite late. The next morning I got to the airplane early and did some chair flying, then we flew for another few hours and then had my check ride at noon. We got the oral done in an hour, the DPE pulled out the commercial ACS and we went through the required items, mostly focusing on aircraft systems. Then the winds kicked up too high so we hung out at the...
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Mtns2Skies said:
MES was in Duluth in a Twin Beech. That plane now lives in C'oeur D'alene:
M

Thread 'Splish Splash'

Checkride #7 Passed! I'm now a Commercial Multi-Engine seaplane pilot! Not to mention I got to fly a Twin Beech.

I arrived Thursday afternoon, got acquainted with the airplane and we flew for a few hours, luckily Duluth MN stays light quite late. The next morning I got to the airplane early and did some chair flying, then we flew for another few hours and then had my check ride at noon. We got the oral done in an hour, the DPE pulled out the commercial ACS and we went through the required items, mostly focusing on aircraft systems. Then the winds kicked up too high so we hung out at the...
  • Like
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I see that plane here almost daily. Beautiful aircraft! There can't be many of them on floats.
 
GaryM said:
I see that plane here almost daily. Beautiful aircraft! There can't be many of them on floats.
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Nice, how much did it cost? I recall someone telling me it was $10K+ since seaplanes are so rare, which is why I've been putting it off.
 
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