What to upgrade

[RMCN172RG]

I'm looking for any feedback or other idea's.

The plane is a 172RG 8060 TT 1100 SMOH former trainer and rental at SRQ now based at PHN. All original 1980 Cessna avionics except for a GMA340 intercom.

After 8 months and the first annual we know that the airframe is solid and no major corrosion. So far I've needed a battery, nose wheel (bearing race loose), pilot yoke U-joint. I don't think it likes the cold.

I've added or replaced at my discretion headphone jacks in the back seat, carpeting, plastic door posts, new air vents, EZ heat oil pan heater.

The reasoning for choosing this plane was to get a low cost time builder while I work towards the commercial rating. I also wanted a plane that could reasonably fly PHN to MYR non-stop and have reserves with two people and some luggage.

So now it's time to decide if I should put major additional bucks into it or stay cheap and in another year look at selling it and upgrading that way. I have around $45K into it and current asking range for all 172RGs is 50k-80k. I have not seen a lot selling but last spring was the same only the low end dropped to about 10K less before things started selling in the summer. The high end ones do not seem to sell. I watched one guy part out the avionics and sell the plane sans radios on ebay with no reserve.

My wish list starts with a dual axis Auto Pilot. Followed by a radio upgrade with a 430 being the high end on that scale. Each of those are over 10K so thats 25 - 50% increase in value of the plane which I won't fully recover, I'm guessing half the value at time of sale. At minimum I will probably replace one radio with a KX-155 to get some better functionality.

One option, since so far the 172RG appears to meet my short and long term speed, weight and cost requirements, is to build time in this plane and watch for a lower TT time 172RG, with a mid time engine, better avionics and an Autopilot and do a swap.

The other is to upgrade this one the way I want / can afford it and worry about an upgrade to a different plane when it's time for the next engine overhaul. Which is hopefully another five years away at least.

Your experiences and thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Follow up question. If you owned a plane, sold and replaced it what was the reasoning? Are you satisified with the decision?

Thanks

 

[tonycondon]

Are the old Cessna radios functional? We've got a lot of them in our 172's and 182RG, and after 30 years or so in service, they are starting to die. It sounds like you want the airplane to be useable IFR. Personally, I would be making sure that the dual nav/comms were reliable, then go for a wing leveler. the difference in price between an SL30 nav/comm and a 430 is not enough to justify the SL30. KX155 is an excellent #2 radio. STEC 50 is a great autopilot for a 172. If the radios are OK, I would go for the autopilot. You will never recover the full value of any panel upgrade in resale, so make sure that what you are doing will get you better utility out of the aircraft.

 

[ScottM]

Ray does it still have the avionics that it had at SRQ?

I can attest that it is a real solid plane. I have enough hours in Ray's plane, I did my commercial training in it when it was at SRQ and flew it back and forth the state to visit my sister. But as he said it shows some of its miles.

I actually considered buying it but did not have the cash at the time. The thing I always liked about the 172RG was the speed for the fuel burn. That engine and airframe give you good speed at only 8-10gph and with today's fuel prices that is something to consider. If the useful load is good enough I say keep it, update the avionics without going crazy and you have a real keeper. With so many 430's going in it is easy to pick up some reasonably priced nav/coms and older GPSs

 

[ScottM]

Some pics of Ray's plane

 

[Steve]

Having an SL30 is like have two nav/comms in one. And in a half height unit.

I'd go for a dual nav/comm ils capablity and a 496 right now, unless you really need an ifr gps. Flying airways is a great way to build time and navigation skill.

my 2 centavos

 

[tonycondon]

ok what was i talking about? i looked at some real prices and the SL30 is way cheaper than a 430, even if you need a nav head for the SL30 and especially if you get the 430 IFR approved. Im with Steve now.

 

[KennyFlys]

Having an SL30 is like have two nav/comms in one. And in a half height unit.

I'd go for a dual nav/comm ils capablity and a 496 right now, unless you really need an ifr gps. Flying airways is a great way to build time and navigation skill.

my 2 centavos

A few of our planes have the SL30. There was one in the 172RG I was going to take to the checkride so I printed a manual and quick-reference card for it so I could know it's details.

The next day was some gear issue.

The other RG had a pair of KX-155. My cat taught me how to use those.

 

[flyingcheesehead]

If you're gonna sell it in 5 years or less, don't waste your money.

If you're gonna keep it, the G430W + STEC 50 + GPSS is a very VERY nice combo. If you're going to Gaston's I'll be happy to show it to you.

 

[RMCN172RG]

Are the old Cessna radios functional? We've got a lot of them in our 172's and 182RG, and after 30 years or so in service, they are starting to die. It sounds like you want the airplane to be useable IFR. Personally, I would be making sure that the dual nav/comms were reliable, then go for a wing leveler. the difference in price between an SL30 nav/comm and a 430 is not enough to justify the SL30. KX155 is an excellent #2 radio. STEC 50 is a great autopilot for a 172. If the radios are OK, I would go for the autopilot.

I want a dependable IFR platform and good cruiser. I’m afraid my Com/1Nav1/GS is going to need replacing sooner than later. I have not been using the COM side much because of hum and now it appears I may have GS issues.

Ray does it still have the avionics that it had at SRQ?

I’m sure they did nothing but fly it from when you last flew it until I bought it.

I can attest that it is a real solid plane. I have enough hours in Ray's plane, I did my commercial training in it when it was at SRQ and flew it back and forth the state to visit my sister. But as he said it shows some of its miles.

I actually considered buying it but did not have the cash at the time. The thing I always liked about the 172RG was the speed for the fuel burn. That engine and airframe give you good speed at only 8-10gph and with today's fuel prices that is something to consider. If the useful load is good enough I say keep it, update the avionics without going crazy and you have a real keeper. With so many 430's going in it is easy to pick up some reasonably priced nav/coms and older GPSs

I can get a used KX-155/KI209 installed for under 3,500 so I wasn’t looking at the SL-30 or any new NAV/COMs.

My thoughts exactly. I have started to clean up the roughness in the interior and exterior. Inside the interior has gone from a 2-3 to a 4-5 with the carpeting and worst of the plastic replaced. Exterior I’ve replaced some minor things like the Strut fairings and wing root fairing which were warped and cracked probably a 4-5 here too. It needs a good cleaning and probably a strip and paint but as I said my A&P was surprised at the lack of corrosion from an old FL bird.

Having an SL30 is like have two nav/comms in one. And in a half height unit.

I'd go for a dual nav/comm ils capablity and a 496 right now, unless you really need an ifr gps. Flying airways is a great way to build time and navigation skill.

The SL30 is one COM with the ability to see the cross radial on the NAV display for the standby Navaid and may not require a new CDI. I’ll price that as an option versus the used KX-155.

If you're gonna sell it in 5 years or less, don't waste your money.

If you're gonna keep it, the G430W + STEC 50 + GPSS is a very VERY nice combo. If you're going to Gaston's I'll be happy to show it to you.

Gaston’s is on the calendar but not a high probability.

The future side question 9000 TT needs overhaul or new engine. Keep it or sell and buy newer with mid time engine ?

Thanks for all the advice

 

[stingray]

I'd go for a 300XL and a SL30. If you are using it for training. The autopilot is nice for trips but not much help in training. In the IFR environment a coupled 2 axis auto pilot is nice and worth it. In the VFR trip taking, a heading bug works great, Keeps you paying attention. and a single axis coupled to GPS is a step up but not really nec. I would say if you are going to fly mostly IFR go for 2 axis coupled to an IFR GPS. If you are just flying VFR for the most part IFR but not to min. You will stay more on top of your skills with a single axis heading bug. You can get a SL30 and a 300XL for the same price as a 430. you basically get three coms and two separate nav's (more redundancy) vs 1 com and 2 navs in the same unit.

Dan