Pipers Magazine March 2022

The Official Publication of the Piper Owner Society Since 1986

PIPERS MAGAZINE

March 2022

Perfect 2-Person Piper

Comanche Restoration Part 2:

STRIP & PAINT

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March 2022

PIPERS

Vol. 35 No. 3

MAGAZINE

Featured Plane 8

Warrior II Perfect Two-Person Piper

By Rocky Landsverk

Avionics 16 Trio Pro Pilot Affordable, Digital Co-Pilot

By Bob Hart

Sky Talk 22 How to Find a Good Deal

By Scott “Sky” Smith

Comanche Restoration 26

Part 2: Prep & Paint

By Rocky Landsverk with Greg Piehl

Crewchief Systems App Review 36

By Scott Sherer Hangar Tip 46 How to Fix Fuel Gauge Accuracy

8 16

Problems for $20

By Scott Sherer

MEMBER ACTIVITY 42 Member Q&A

DEPARTMENTS 6 From the Publisher 45 Ad Index & Website Directory

26

On the cover Photos of Ed and Dori LeBlanc’s 1978 Piper Warrior II

by Jack Fleetwood (www.JackFleetwood.com). Learn more about this plane starting on Page 8.

The information presented in PIPERS Magazine is from many sources for which there can be no warranty or responsibility by the publisher as to accuracy, originality, or completeness. The magazine is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering product endorsements or providing instruction as a substitute for appropriate training by qualified sources. PIPERS Magazine and JP Media LLC will not assume responsibility for any damages or harm arising from any information published in PIPERS Magazine, on its forum, or via other member support communication channels. Our advice, and the advice of our writers and our staff, is not intended as the final word in safety or maintenance; always consult your A&P. 4 PIPERS

MARCH 2022

FROM THE PUBLISHER

PIPERS MAGAZINE Vol. 35 • No. 3 The Official Publication of the

Piper Owner Society www.PiperOwner.org

MEMBER SERVICES

Account & Renewal Inquiries Piper Owner Society PO Box 8551 Big Sandy, TX 75755-9766 membercare@piperowner.org

1-866-697-4737 Technical Support

tech@piperowner.org

715-445-5000 ext. 123 *Provide Member Number

What it Means to be a Member Organization

Sometimes it’s technical advice and sometimes it’s just a kind word that can make all the difference.

We have plenty of technical advice available to our members. Besides our staff, which includes Aviation Director Scott Sherer and A&P/IA Erich Rempert, we have Piper Owner Society forum members who help other members on a daily or at least weekly basis.

What caught my eye this month wasn’t a tip or a trick that helped somebody save money or make their plane safer. That happens every day, so it doesn’t stick out.

What caught my attention this month was the emotional support that a member received.

“Friends, after all that me and my Turbo Arrow have been through, our troubles continue. I discovered a chunk out of one of my propeller blades, now determined to be from a prop strike from some incident at an avionics and maintenance shop to which no one has confessed. [There are] lawyers and insurance companies involved. … I can’t tell you how depressing this is. My Arrow went in for an avionics upgrade two years ago this Thanksgiving and the horror continues. Other than a loss of life or severe injury situation, this is the worst run of bad luck with an aircraft that I know of.”

You will note that he started the post with “Friends.” And they earned that distinction. Besides answering the question itself (which isn’t included here, but several pilots talked him through the problem), the emotional support rolled in.

“I’d be lying if I said none of us have been in your shoes. Truth is, we’ve all been there at some point in our aircraft ownership careers. I had to get lawyers involved on some projects, so I’ve already walked that mile in your shoes. It’s no fun. The best advice my lawyer gave me (and the most difficult to follow), is to remember it’s a machine, so separate your emotions and treat it strictly as a business transaction.

We know it’s a heartbreak but stay diligent and stay close to this forum. There is an immense amount of knowledge, information, and support here. … Stay positive; you will come out of this for the better, and so will your airplane. We’ll be here to provide support.”

Another member added, “I recently escaped from a maintenance fiasco that consumed most of my 2021 flying season. Without the support and suggestions of quite a few members, this episode might have extended all the way into 2022.”

I could say Thank You to those “friends” on behalf of our organization’s leadership. But I think it’s pretty obvious they’re already thanking each other, as it should be.

Rocky Landsverk Publisher 6 PIPERS

Member Forums Visit: www.piperowner.org (member log-in required) Post questions/comments to:

Aviation Director Scott Sherer

Society A&P/IA Erich Rempert

Website/Forum/IT Inquiries Information Systems Manager webmaster@piperowner.org

ADMINISTRATION Piper Owner Society N7528 Aanstad Rd., P.O. Box 5000 Iola, Wisconsin 54945

(715) 445-5000 • Fax: (715) 445-4053 President Diana Jones • Ext.151 dianaj@jpmediallc.com

Sales Account Executive Steve Cook • Ext. 116 stevec@jpmediallc.com

Publisher/Editorial Director Rocky Landsverk • Ext.156 editor@piperowner.org

Senior Graphic Designer Bill Kuffel

Senior Contributing Editors Jim Cavanagh, Bill Cox, Bob Hart, Scott Sherer, Scott “Sky” Smith, Joel Turpin Copyright © 2022 Aircraft Owners Group All Rights Reserved

We proudly support EAA and AOPA. PIPERS Magazine (ISSN 1052-5580) is the official publication of the Piper Owner Society. PIPERS Magazine is published monthly by JP Media LLC, P.O. Box 5000, N7528 Aanstad Rd., Iola, WI 54945.

Periodicals postage paid at Iola, WI 54945 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to PIPERS Magazine, P.O. Box 8551, Big Sandy, TX 75755. Address all Membership/Subscription Questions and/or Address Changes to: PIPERS Magazine - P.O. Box 8551,- Big Sandy, TX 75755. Phone: 1-866-697-4737.

Email: membercare@piperowner.org. US membership 1-year $59.00; Canada memberships 1-year $82.00 (US funds); all other countries 1-year $94.00 (US funds). Publications Agreement No. 40049720. Eighty percent (80%) of annual dues is designated for your magazine subscription.

MARCH 2022

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Perfect Two-Person Piper

By Rocky Landsverk

H

ave you been mostly done upgrading your plane since 2015? If not, you might be just a bit jealous to learn that Ed and Dori LeBlanc of Austin, Texas, have had their 1978 Piper Warrior II 161 since 2008 and upgraded and updated it to the point that they’ve been very comfortable with their plane since 2015.

If you’re wondering how somebody could have completed ADS-B by then on a plane from 1978, well read on, we’ll discuss it later. And the exterior, interior, and engine have all been overhauled.

It’s not a fancy plane, but as you can see from the photos, it is very nice-looking. And it’s not a jet, but it’s fast enough to go cross-country and has a 180-hp engine. For somebody like Ed who, with a twinkle, calls himself “cheap,” we can all agree we should all be so frugal if this is the result.

8 PIPERS

MARCH 2022

Warriors vs. Archers

Ed said he found this plane in April 2008 via a broker in the Phoenix, Arizona, area.

Note that this plane is actually a Warrior II (a PA-28-161 is a Warrior II; the earlier PA-28-151 is technically called a Warrior) but for simplicity’s sake in this article, we’re going to call it a Warrior.

“I looked at Warriors and Archers just because my background, my training, was in PA-28s and I was comfortable with them,” he said. “At the time, Archers were about $20,000 more than a comparable Warrior.”

When he first saw this plane, he liked that it had the Arch/Warrior STC, which is similar to the Bold-Warrior STC. “It has the 180-hp engine in it, so it was the best of both worlds, but it was priced closer to a Warrior than an Archer,” Ed said. The engine is not modified to 180 hp; it’s simply a 180-hp engine. “This engine is a Lycoming O360-A4M, which is the one the 1978 Archer would have had at that time.”

The Warrior and the Archer are similar airplanes. “The biggest difference is the engine,” Ed said. “The Archer has 180-hp engine versus the Warrior’s stock 160 hp. The Archer has a little bit higher gross weight, about 110 pounds more. I think it’s 2,550 (mine with a paperwork STC is still at 2,440 pounds). I couldn’t up the gross weight with the STC for the engine; they left it at 2,440.”

That gross weight issue is one reason that some people do not upgrade the engine; the larger engine weighs about 30 pounds more, and doesn’t increase the gross weight, so some pilots don’t bother. But Ed and Dori don’t often carry anybody but themselves.

Other than the engine, in terms of differences, he said, “the Warrior has a bench seat in the back instead of the pop out bucket seats. The other really nice thing is the Warrior engine cowl has big, long piano hinges, so you can open up both sides and see the whole engine, versus just a little oil door for the Archer.”

There are a couple other minor differences, like the size of the nose-wheel tire, but other than that, they’re pretty much the same airplane. “The interior is largely the same,” he said. “The wings are identical. The differences are primarily the engine, the back seats, and the cowls.”

Below: Plane owners Ed and Dori LeBlanc. “161DE” references the 161 Warrior and their first initials.

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PIPERS 9

Above: The Garmin GNC 300 XL is sandwiched between some older electronics. Right of that, with a map on the screen, is the Garmin AERA 660 that replaced the 396. It’s in an AirGizmos mount for the panel.

10 PIPERS

Below: The engine monitor in the lower left is a JPI EDM 830, and Ed flies with a yoke-mounted tablet.

MARCH 2022

Changes and Upgrades

As we noted at the start, this plane has been in great shape for almost seven years now. But it wasn’t that way when he bought it in 2008. “The year that I bought it, I had a big annual — new tires, new ignition switch, new battery, new brakes,” he said. “I had them install an engine monitor as well, and after I got the annual done, I went to an avionics shop and got a pretty good upgrade on the avionics. Remember now, this was 2008.”

In other words, “a pretty good upgrade on the avionics” didn’t mean glass panel.

“I don’t have a glass panel, and I’m not sure I miss it,” he said. “It had an old Trimble GPS in it, which had no moving map on it — it was purely numbers on there. So I updated that to an older Garmin 300 XL, which is actually very long in the tooth now, but back then it was a lot less expensive than the Garmin 430s that were kind of hitting their prime.

“For the same money, I ended up getting that 300 XL plus GPS roll steering, the thing that couples the autopilot to the GPS, as well as a Garmin 396 handheld mounted in the panel and connected to the 300 XL. I got all that installed for about the same price as if I had just put in the basic Garmin 430. And that’s still the panel I have today.”

One minor update came more recently — the Garmin 396 has been upgraded to the Garmin Aera 660. “It fits in the same panel space,” Ed said. “And with a Garmin GDL50 on the dash, I have radar weather on the 660 that’s as good as the XM weather I had in the 396. Plus, the GDL50 provides an Attitude and Heading Reference System (AHARS), which makes the 660 an excellent and affordable standby attitude indicator.”

Ed also added a new engine monitor more recently, a JP Instruments EDM 830 with outside air temp, fuel flow, and manifold pressure added. “Having the outside air temperature (OAT) plus manifold pressure (MP) enables it to calculate percent horsepower; otherwise, the MP wouldn’t add much value in a fixedpitch-prop plane,” he said. “I added that a year ago, replacing a red-and-black JPI EDM 700 that was below the yoke. The 830 replaced a StrikeFinder lightning detector that had died. JPI had an upgrade path that made that pretty painless and cost-effective.”

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With an 8-inch tablet that he attaches to the yoke, Ed doesn’t really feel like he’s missing out on anything. His ADS-B In and Out is through a FreeFlight Systems RANGR (www.freeflightsystems.com), which is actually made in partnership with Trig.

“So I have a regular old Mode C transponder, a KT78A, and I have the FreeFlight RANGR, and the RANGR gets the information it needs from the old transponder,” Ed said. “I had that done in the summer of 2014. I was kind of an early adopter.”

12 PIPERS

And he’s glad he did it this way. “I get ADS-B In and Out. It doesn’t work with the Garmin stuff, but it works with a free app called Avare. I have a little $150 Samsung tablet from Costco, so I get maps and everything on there, and the FreeFlight feeds the ADS-B traffic on that tablet just fine. I have IFR charts and plates, it has moving maps, and traffic. The weather is not that good (on the tablet).”

So while the rest of the GA world was considering glass panels versus cheaper options, Ed already had an affordable solution that few people know about.

MARCH 2022

SPECIFICATIONS & PERFORMANCE 1977-95 PA-28-161 Warrior II All vintage planes are different. Do not use this to plan a flight. Source: Standard Catalog of Piper Single Engine Aircraft (Piper Owner Society).

Production Run:

3,000 planes, mostly produced from 1977 to 1985.

Engine: Lycoming O-320-D2A or O-320-D3G Horsepower: 160 Top Speed: 144 mph (125 kts) Cruise Speed: 139 mph (121 kts) Economy Speed: 112 mph (97 kts) Fuel Capacity: 50 gal (100LL) Range: 508 nm (@ cruise) 620 nm (@ economy) Gross Weight: 2,325 lbs Empty Weight: 1,391 lbs Ave. Useful Load: 934 lbs Takeoff Ground Roll: 900 feet Takeoff Over 50 ft Obstacle: 1,750 feet Landing Ground Roll: 580 feet Landing Over 50 ft Obstacle: 1,150 feet Rate Of Climb: 710 fpm Ceiling: 13,000 feet Doors: 1 passenger, 1 cargo Seats: 4 standard, 0 optional Dimensions (all approx.)

Fuselage Length Fuselage Height Total Wingspan

Exterior and More

The plane was repainted in 2011 by a local paint shop (now out of business), but Ed did the side windows himself the same year, and he had the interior redone in 2012 by a local company, Bruce Lavorgna of Leather Specialties in Georgetown, Texas. The leather is real.

Ed said his A&P did the windscreen for him, because an A&P has to do that, “but the side glass, the owner can do. It was a little tedious, but it was not really tough at all. And I actually chose to go with a ‘storm window’ on the passenger side as well as the pilot side. That’s a big plus for passengers on a hot day.”

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23.8 feet 7.3 feet 35 feet

The windows were from LP Aero. We’ve run articles on the topic before, and you can read them at piperowner.org/archive, but just know that side window glass is something that a lot of owner/operators can handle. “You have to do a little modifying, but it isn’t hard to do,” he said. “If you’re familiar with 4.5-inch angle grinders, they have a thin little disc for cutting metal and work really well for cutting the plastic very neatly. I get mine from Harbor Freight.”

The wheel pants were on when Ed bought the plane, and he’s not sure if they’re original (from the factory), but he believes they are.

PIPERS 13

RESOURCES FreeFlight Systems RANGR www.freeflightsystems.com/blog/product/ rangr-ads-b-systems Avare (open-source aviation app) apps4av.net/site/ LP Aero (windows) lpaero.com Leather Specialties (interior) Bruce Lavorgna, (512) 863-3500 Castleberry Instruments & Avionics ciamfg.com AirGizmos (panel dock) www.airgizmos.com JP Instruments (engine monitor) www.JPInstruments.com Penn Yan Aero (engine rebuild) www.pennyanaero.com 14 PIPERS

Engine Maintenance

Seven years into owning the plane, Ed got one of “those calls” from his mechanic. “My annual in 2015, I got a call that my #2 cylinder compression is flat, zero, but he added ‘that isn’t even the bad news,’” he said. “He said it had a 6-inch crack in the case.”

So Ed bought an overhauled engine from Penn Yan Aero in 2015, and he’s been thrilled with the engine and the company ever since. “I’m very happy with Penn Yan,” Ed said. “I’ve put about 1,100 hours on it the last six years.”

What’s Next

There’s not a lot left on the to-do list. Recently, the turn coordinator, which was electric, failed. When Ed looked in his logbooks, he realized the attitude indicator and directional gyro were all about 20 years old. So he decided while he was going to replace the turn coordinator, he’d look into replacing the vacuum instruments, as well.

“After looking into the idea of upgrading to a glass panel, I ultimately decided to go with an overhauled attitude indicator and directional gyro,” he said. Castleberry Instruments & Avionics in Austin, Texas, swapped them out quickly and easily — literally while he waited.

Ed is heavily involved in Cherokees 2 Oshkosh. He said he goes up to Oshkosh in about three legs, typically Oklahoma, MARCH 2022

Missouri, and Iowa. The group is now flying in from Central Wisconsin Airport in the Wausau area. “We land as a group, and then we all taxi over to the North 40 and debrief,” he said.

“Some people turn around and fly back out and join us for dinners later. Most of us camp at the North 40 for a few days.”

About the Warrior

Whether we’re talking Warrior or Warrior II, and upgraded to 180 hp or not, this plane is simple and docile. “To me, they’re very comfortable, very predictable,” he said. “It’s not the fastest plane in the world, but it’s fast enough for what we want to do.

And frankly, especially as I’m getting older, I don’t want a plane that can fly faster than I can think.”

And again, because max load is not an issue for him, he loves having 180 hp. “It’s nice to have a basic plane that is very stable in the weather, especially with 180 hp,” he said. “I’ve traveled literally from coast to coast in it and done well. I’ve been up to 15,000 feet several times, to get out of weather or whatever, and the plane does fine.”

Ed said he doesn’t believe he gets anywhere near his usable load, which is in the 800-pound range, except when he “loads it to the gills to go to Oshkosh.”

“This is not the plane for you if … “

Ed didn’t have a long list. “It would work in some mountainous areas with the right weather, but there are definitely situations that would exceed the plane’s capabilities,” he said. “And if you need to reliably carry four adults and luggage, this is not the plane.”

He doesn’t have any other constructive criticisms. “I’ve heard some people complain about them as trainers, because they are so docile and forgiving that people transitioning to another plane end up having problems,” he said. “It isn’t a problem the other way around. There aren’t a lot of dragons with this plane.”

PIPEROWNER.ORG

PIPERS 15

AVIONICS

by Bob Hart - www.AvionixHelp.com

Trio Pro Pilot

Affordable, Digital Co-Pilot for your Piper

I

f you’ve been following my articles, you know one of my repeated mantras is that any aircraft flown in Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) should have an autopilot. Actually, a basic autopilot was what I said.

Basic meant the ability to keep the wings level, tracking a VOR. ILS or GPS and tracking a heading is always a plus, especially if you get vectored a lot. Many of the factory-installed autopilots found in legacy Pipers, if trustworthy, still meet that criterion. In 2015, I wrote an article in this magazine called “Everything You Want to Know About Piper Legacy Autopilots.” It is still No. 1 on Google, so it is still seeing a lot of readership.

The premise of that article was that the Piper autopilot that you have in your legacy Piper can actually fly your aircraft better than many of the aftermarket autopilots available at that time (in 2015), assuming it is healthy. The second premise was that you could totally rebuild that factory installed autopilot for onethird to one-half the cost of a comparable S-TEC or Century upgrade.

In 2017, that premise expired. S-TEC/Genesys, Garmin, TruTrak, and Trio all came to market with a digital autopilot, none of which are anywhere near basic.

Beyond Basic Autopilots

The Garmin GFC 500, at about $26,000 installed with dual G5s and desirable autotrim, seems to be leading the pack. The STEC/Genesys 3100 (about $23,000 installed) — which, frankly, better resembles Garmin’s GFC 600 autopilots for higher-performance aircraft — isn’t getting quite the same buzz as the Garmin. These are both state-of-the-art GA autopilots for the serious true IFR pilot, and the price (and some advanced features) reflect that. If you are flying approaches to minimums and upgrading your autopilot, you should be looking here. Meanwhile, in 2019, the TruTrak Vizion in 2019 became the Bendix King AeroCruze 100.

16 PIPERS

In this article, we’re going to talk about another option — the Trio Pro Pilot.

Straight and Level

Trio’s heritage comes from the experimental/light sport market. In this market, technology is able to flourish with less FAA oversight. Trio answers more to its customers than to the FAA. The best example is the infamous straight-and-level button that we see in all four of the autopilots that were new in 2017. A button you can push that takes the aircraft to straight-and-level flight is monstrous! The GFC 500 is Garmin’s first autopilot for aftermarket (not factory-installed), and it has The Button.

The G1000 autopilot did not. The upgraded G1000 NXi (2017) added it.

S-TEC has certainly owned the aftermarket autopilot business for 25 years, but the 3100 is the first of their autopilots to have The Button. Yet owners of Trio autopilots have had the ability to stabilize the aircraft in pitch and roll by simply engaging the autopilot and could also command it to fly either a left or right controlled 180-degree turn. So, not only has Trio brought this technology to GA, but it has also done it at a price that fits into a reasonable light IFR — and even VFR — legacy panel.

MARCH 2022

Comanche panel with Trio.

The Trio Pro Pilot Autopilot

The Trio Pro Pilot is a digital, two-axis autopilot with built-in inertial sensors, and features and benefits typically only found on high-end autopilots. To get basic altitude hold in an S-TEC/Genesys autopilot (the leader in aftermarket autopilots) prior to 2017, you had to spend about $14,000 on equipment and another $4,000-plus in labor — $18k for a System 30 analog autopilot with basic altitude hold.

The Pro Pilot gives you altitude hold, altitude pre-select, plus vertical speed and airspeed control on climb and descent for under $10,000, fully installed. Most modern autopilots, even the more basic legacy autopilots, have good capability on the horizontal axis; wings level, tracking of a VOR, ILS, or GPS, and (with external input) will track a heading.

The Pro Pilot has GPS-based course track and does not require an external heading source. Where the real benefits come, especially for the IFR pilot, is in the vertical capability.

The Trio Pro Pilot puts these features at the fingertips of the light IFR pilot at a price point that even meets the needs and budget of the VFR pilot who wants the added benefit and safety of an autopilot.

PIPEROWNER.ORG

Fact is, the Trio Pro Pilot was designed to meet the needs and budget of the light IFR community. Four years ago, if you had no autopilot or an untrustworthy legacy autopilot in your legacy plane and were planning a panel upgrade with an autopilot (with light IFR in mind) in the mix, it was hard to justify and not exceed a reasonable budget. The Trio Pro Pilot makes this possible.

Autopilot Basics

The Trio Pro Pilot uses a combination of GPS-derived data and inertial rate sensors for stabilization and navigation. There is no GPS in the Pro Pilot; it requires an interface to an external GPS. When interfaced to an IFR GPS with ARINC 429 interface, the autopilot is legal for WAAS GPS approaches, including the desirable LPV approach with vertical guidance.

VFR pilots can actually install the Pro Pilot and interface it to a portable GPS through a NEMA 0183 interface that is common in portable GPS units. This autopilot does not track a VOR or ILS, but the full menu of GPS approaches is available. There are considerably more GPS approaches than ILS approaches in this country today. You’ll fly GPS for all your long-range navigation today, and PIPERS 17

In the Vertical Axis (V NAV): • Altitude hold • Vertical climb and descent rates, and airspeed capture and control o Note: The BK AeroCruze controls vertical speed (fpm).

The Pro Pilot allows you to also control airspeed in climb or descent. This capability allows you to address engine cooling on climb or descent when FPM alone may not be doing the job.

• Altitude pre-select, which can be used in conjunction with vertical modes The Pro Pilot displays both vertical and horizontal nav data on the face of the controller in approach mode. Essentially a backup to your CDI or HSI. The BK AeroCruze does not.

Safety Features

Recover Button: Certainly, the addition of a straight-and-level button on an autopilot is a significant improvement in design and safety. S-TEC (Genesys), the leader in aftermarket autopilots, first added this capability in their 3100, introduced in 2017, but pilots flying behind Trio’s experimental autopilots have had the auto 180 capability for years. S-TEC’s previous models were devoid of the S&L button.

Envelope Protection: The Pro Pilot is customized to the specifics of your aircraft and your personal preferences, including maximum/minimum airspeed and max turn rate. When the autopilot is on, it will take control if these parameters are exceeded. The pilot can override.

Cherokee 180 with Dynon and Trio (above) and a Dakota panel (right).

GPS approaches at small airports, even GPS approaches to Class B airports, will become more common as time goes on.

Here’s a shopping list of the features and benefits you get with the Trio Pro Pilot.

In the Horizontal Axis (H NAV): • Track Mode* (TRK) tracks a GPS-directed flight plan course line.

• Course Mode (CRS) tracks a pilot-directed vector.

• Intercept Mode (INT) flies the airplane back to a previously entered flight plan (magenta line). o Note: The Pro Pilot will intercept a track up to 30 degrees. o The BK AeroCruze does not have this capability.

• When directed, the Pro Pilot will execute a 180-degree course reversal or a straight-ahead recover function.

Note: BK’s AeroCruze can also go to straight-and-level flight with a push of a button, but the Pro Pilot can perform a balanced left or right 180-degree turn at the push of a button! This feature will aid a VFR pilot who inadvertently flies into Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). * The Pro Pilot allows you to offset your track up to 3 miles and run parallel on busy airways. The BK AeroCruze does not have this capability.

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Airspeed Envelope Protection: Pro Pilot won’t allow the pilot to exceed maximum airspeed.

Roll Envelope Protection: Pro Pilot won’t allow the pilot to exceed maximum roll rate.

Pilot Control Steering: Center encoder knob allows in-flight adjustments of preset altitude, v-speed and rate, barometric pressure (etc.), and initiate turns.

Nav Data display: Waypoint or approach data from the GPS is displayed on the Pro Pilot display, with distance and deviation. (The AeroCruze does not do this.)

Track Offset: Allows you to run parallel (up to 3 miles) to busy routes and airways.

Auto 180: Performs an automatic, coordinated 180-degree turn.

Servo Disconnect on Takeoff: Taking off with the autopilot on is a no-no. The Pro Pilot senses the servos are engaged and disconnects servos on takeoff.

Pause function: A tap of the center encoder knob pauses climb or descent.

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Pro Pilot Servos

Trio uses what they call Gold Standard Servos. They are not just motors with capstans or control arms. An internal microprocessor governs operation and automatically disconnects if a fault is detected. Trio uses a DC brushed motor with a servo clutch. Key element is internal fault-sensing and automatic disconnect. The Pro Pilot also offers the option of a remote autopilot disconnect switch, so the pilot has immediate access to disconnect the autopilot at any time.

Now STCed for PA-24

The STC Group announced in mid-December that the Trio Pro Piot has been STCed for PA-24 Comanches, including PA24-180, PA-24-250, PA-24-260, and PA-24-400. The company is now working on STCs for the Twin Comanche (PA-30 and PA39) but according to its website, the test flights are still pending.

The product is in-stock and ships in a few days.

Piper Pro Pilot STC and Pricing

The package typically includes Trio Pro Pilot Control Head, two servos, complete wire harness, two switches, one circuit breaker, placard, STC kit hardware, and STC paperwork. Trio offers a 3-inch control head that fits a standard 3 1/8-inch instrument hole (popular with experimental builders), or a 2 ¼ inch by 6 ¼ inch control head that fits a standard radio stack.

PA-28 Series Price: $5,595 STCs: PA-28-140, PA-28-150, PA-28-151, PA-28-160, PA-28161, PA-28-180, PA-28-181, PA-28R-201, PA-28-235, PA-28R201T, PA-28S- 160, PA-28-236, PA-28S-180, PA-28R-180, PA28R-200, PA-28-201 PA-32 Series Price: $5,595 STCs: PA-32-260, PA-32-300, PA-32S-300, PA-32R-300 PA-24 Series Price $6,200 STCs: PA-24, PA-24-250, PA-24-260, PA-24-40

Installation Hours

The factory estimates about 40 hours to install, but your installer’s first-ever installation, or your specific model, may require a bit more. Complete, installed price should be under $10,000.

Acronyms in this article

VOR: VHF omni-directional range ILS: Instrument Landing System WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System AGL: Above Ground Level VFR: Visual Flight Rules CDI: Course Deviation Indicators HSI: Horizontal Situation Indicators 20 PIPERS

AGL Disconnect

“But — the STC says that I have to disconnect the Pro Pilot at 500 feet AGL?” (The AeroCruze STC requires a 700-foot AGL disconnect!)

So what? I’ve been writing these articles and independently advising aircraft owners since 2013, the majority of whom define themselves as light IFR. Personal minimums are something we discuss. In those nine years, I have had maybe two clients whose light IFR personal minimums were below 500 AGL, most with closer to 1,000 feet personal minimums, before they would consider flying an approach to that airport.

Fact is, light IFR pilots have no interest in flying approaches to minimums, although many Trio owners have flown their Pro Pilots down to the deck in VFR conditions just to prove the point.

Bottom line: The Trio Pro Pilot is an autopilot designed to meet the needs of VFR or light IFR pilots and is priced accordingly. If you plan to fly deeper into IFR than a 500-foot ceiling, then you should be looking at an autopilot designed for true IFR, and you’ll need about $23,000 to $26,000 to do this.

Conclusion

For my light IFR clients who are planning an avionics upgrade that includes an addition or upgrade to their autopilots, I recommend the Trio Pro Pilot. The performance, features, and price of the Trio Pro Pilot allow aircraft owners who previously could not justify the expense of including an autopilot in their upgrade budget.

Light IFR calls for, at minimum, a basic autopilot. The Trio Pro Pilot gives you a modern, digital co-pilot that approaches the capability that we only saw in the best autopilots prior to 2016.

Note that Trio makes the autopilots and the STC Group handles STCs, kit engineering, marketing, and sales for Trio.

What you can expect from both is excellent customer support. Trio has been manufacturing excellent autopilots for over 20 years, the majority of which went to hands-on, experimental builders who depend on a hands-on supplier with a culture of customer support.

For the last four years Trio has brought this culture to the light IFR pilot who is flying an affordable, legacy, certified aircraft. Looking to upgrade an autopilot in your legacy Piper? I think you need to take a serious look at the Trio Pro Pilot.

Thanks for Reading! Until next time — Safe and Happy Flying!

Bob Hart purchased his first airplane in 1971 at age 21. He’s owned five others since. As a Senior Avionics Consultant at Eastern Avionics, Bob has personally sold over $20 million in Avionics. Bob now offers avionics advice through many online forums and through his website: www.AvionixHelp.com and is semi-retired. After living in Colombia, South America, for a few years, he is now back in sunny Florida.

Editor’s Note: Bob Hart is a regular participant on the Piper Owner Society’s forums and is available to answer your avionics-related questions. To contact him, visit www.PiperOwner.org, click the Forums tab, and scroll down to the “Avionics” forum. Piper Owner Society membership is required.

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SKY TALK

by Scott “Sky” Smith

How to Find a Good Deal

A Checklist to Use if You Want to Go Shopping

E

ver hear the great story about the $5,000 dollar Learjet?

Or the Cherokee 180 for $1,000? Or how about the aircraft some person inherited and sold for a few hundred dollars just to get it out of the barn?

I have. Many times! And usually that’s all they are — great stories.

They could be the urban legends of aviation. Good deals that are too good to be true! They should be selling them on midnight cable TV. The fact is most are too good to be true, but there are good deals to be found all around the country if you know where to look. Many are hangar queens and ramp ornaments that haven’t been flown for years. It takes time to find them, and time and money to get them flying.

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Be Ready to Be Patient

After selecting the right type or model of aircraft for your situation, the next step in keeping your flying affordable is finding that good deal. It’s not easy, of course. You can call after seeing an ad, over and over again, and it can be frustrating looking for that affordable aircraft.

Don’t give up. There is hope, and a great aircraft is waiting for you at an affordable price. Finding that good deal can take a few days or a few years. Be persistent and prepared.

With today’s prices, you need to spend a lot of time looking for the right plane.

MARCH 2022

sifieds is the inability to see the aircraft easily. Usually, the aircraft are located at airports that are far, far away in another galaxy. Even the photo ads often say “file photo” and leave a lot to be desired.

One of the biggest complaints from buyers today is that “the aircraft is never as represented.” The regularly used term is “it’s a piece of junk.” And this is after the buyer has traveled all the way across the U.S. to look at the airplane.

Another frequent complaint is that, “if it’s a good aircraft, it’s always sold to a local by the time I get across the country to look at it.”

Hangar Shopping Programs

Another fun way to locate the aircraft of your dreams is to participate in a “hangar shopping” (like window shopping) program.

This is the search method of renting or borrowing someone’s aircraft and flying around to different airports looking for aircraft that might be for sale. The advantages are that you can get a visual impression of the aircraft, you get flying time, and you visit a number of different airports. The disadvantages are you can’t cover as much territory as with the classifieds, and, unless you have a lot of time and money, you can’t cover as much territory.

I once heard of a good deal found by hangar shopping. It was a ’65 Cessna 210 that was chained to a pole inside a hangar at an airport that no longer existed. The runway had been plowed up for years and everyone who knew of the aircraft said it could not be bought and that the owner couldn’t get a clear title.

After meeting with the owner, a price was set. For $5,500, he guaranteed that the chain would be unlocked, and we would get a clear title. Of course, we had to get it out of the area on a truck!

That aircraft had 500 hours on a chrome overhaul, no radios, and a good airframe. The resale price was $7,500.

One of the reasons the aircraft was finally sold: The owner felt that “everyone always wanted to steal my aircraft, but we offered him a fair price!” A little elbow grease and negotiating, and it was a done deal. Still thinking urban legend?

Dealers and Brokers

Be Ready to Move Fast

Once you start the search, it’s important that you are ready to take the step when the aircraft presents itself. Being prepared means having your hangar deposit paid and key to the hangar door, your insurance agent ready to bind coverage, your financing approved, the banker’s phone number, and your instructor’s cell phone number.

With all those things in place, you’re ready to start your quest.

But where to look? You can always start with the national classified papers and magazines, or you can start hangar shopping yourself.

Traditionally, searching through the classifieds covers the most territory in the quickest amount of time. The problem with the clasPIPEROWNER.ORG

Don’t forget the use of dealers and brokers as another option for buying an aircraft. Many times, the brokers/dealers can take a lot of the headaches out of the process. They have the purchase agreements, the FAA forms, and the knowledge to put the deals altogether. Of course, the broker needs to make money. That’s their job. If you are on a budget and are trying to keep this aircraft purchasing cost to a minimum, and have the time to do this yourself, do it without a broker. If time is important to you or you’re not comfortable with the search-and-buy process, sign up now with a good aircraft broker or visit a dealer. [Ed. Note: See “One-Stop Shopping” in the November 2020 issue, Page 31, for an example of how this works with Van Bortel.]

When you call an ad, make a note to ask the person if they are a broker or dealer. If they are, find out if they specialize in any aircraft. Some broker/dealers don’t like to deal in certain models of aircraft. Many times, they will pass on a good deal or potential trade-in to someone that wants that specific model of aircraft.

As a buyer and owner of custom aircraft, it is not unusual for a broker to call and see if I’m interested in a certain model that they don’t want, usually at a low trade-in price that can make his deal work, and I can get a good buy.

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Of course, this means that you have to contact the brokers and dealers and tell them what you are looking for and see if they deal in them. Be careful, you don’t want to be listed on every salesman’s list as a prospect without setting up the ground rules. If you are they’ll be calling you every day with a great deal they don’t want you to miss.

Advertising Yourself

Local newspaper want ads, or ads on online classified websites, have worked for a few buyers. The wording in the ad should ask for a good aircraft and explain that you are an individual willing to pay a fair price. That’s a major point: “A fair price.” For years, aircraft brokers have been sending postcards to owners trying to buy their aircraft, sight unseen.

That usually means cheap.

This is the owner’s pride and joy. Almost no one will just give away their aircraft! If you can explain that you are a private buyer and you are willing to pay a fair price, that can have much better results.

What to Ask

Good interviewing skills can eliminate a large percentage of the aircraft. Like flying, use a checklist (you do use a checklist, don’t you?) with a series of questions for the seller.

These questions need to cover specifications, equipment, logbooks, and more. Any detail that you can think of. You can eliminate nine out of 10 aircraft with a good round of questioning, and you never spend more than the price of a phone call.

When you find that one ad about that one aircraft, that special plane, the one that sounds like the one to buy, you’ll be better informed, experienced, and ready to commit to the pre-purchase trip. It is a difficult and time-consuming process, but don’t skip any ad that looks like your type of aircraft.

Sometimes ads only tell a small portion of the story. Talking to the owner is the best way to find out the details about how the aircraft was maintained, owned, and flown. That could take numerous calls and many hours of discussion, but remember, phone calls are cheaper than airline tickets!

CHECKLIST FOR AIRPLANE DEAL SHOPPING 1. Prepare to be patient 2. Be ready to move quickly (hangar paid for, financing approved, etc.)

3. Be prepared to be diligent and not give up 4. Consider a hangar shopping trip 5. Consider a want ad in newspapers and online 6. Prepare a seller-interview checklist 7. Consider buying a cheaper model 8. Utilize a dealer or broker if you can’t stomach the above 24 PIPERS

If you are going to use the classifieds, expect to call lots of sellers and ask lots of questions. Don’t hesitate to call the dealers and brokers, but make sure that they have access to the aircraft or can get you access to the aircraft. If they can’t get you pictures, will they let you talk to the owner? And can the owner get you pictures? As a buyer, you need to get as much preliminary information before you ever go to look at the aircraft.

If Necessary, Buy Less Airplane

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, a cheap aircraft is cheap for a reason. If your only concern is price, you might be better off picking a different model that costs less to operate and buy. Many people want to buy more than they can afford but figure they can cut corners and make it work somehow. They rationalize that if they can get one that has been sitting around and buy it cheap, they’ll have an affordable plane. That’s not always the case.

One example was a 1960s era Cessna 337 Skymaster. This is Cessna’s much-maligned push-pull twin. The aircraft sold for $6,500. It was flyable, but (here comes the “good deal” part) at this point the aircraft was about $15,000 less than the used book value.

The aircraft was resold for $9,500 to a salvage company.

Here’s where things went bad. The $9,500 buyer resold the aircraft to a local buyer, who had it worked on. When the mechanic was done with the first round of parts, the bill was just over $26,000. That wasn’t all; the owner decided not to finish the project and put it up for sale. The aircraft was resold for $24,000, then refurbished.

Can you see where this is going? Final costs with new paint, interior, radios, etc. were over $80,000.

Money Pit

That example is just one of many. Yes, there are good, cheap aircraft out there. But you get what you pay for, and often you get less than you pay for. There is a reason many are sitting on the ramps growing grass in the fuel tanks (like a ’65 C310 I looked at) — they’d cost too much for the owner to fix.

How does the average buyer know if the aircraft with the flat tires at the end of the tie-down area is a good deal? That is an extremely difficult question. Education and research (and a good mechanic) are the only things that protect the buyer from buying a flightless bird. If you do all the research, look at the logbooks, and ask all the questions, you still might get a problem aircraft. But if you take a few extra precautions, you can reduce the risk and possibly save some money at the same time.

Scott “Sky” Smith is a nationally recognized writer and speaker. He is the author of “How to Buy a Single-Engine Airplane,” “How to Buy a Skymaster,” “Ultimate Boat Maintenance Projects” and “How to Build a Hot Tuner,” (published by Motorbooks International). Smith’s background includes: aircraft and avionics sales, boat dealership and fiberglass manufacturer. He is a single and multi-engine pilot with over 30 years’ experience.

Smith is also owner of Sky Smith Insurance Agency, a nationally recognized specialty insurance agency, insuring boats, custom vehicles, and aircraft since 1985.

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Comanche Restoration Series Part 2: Strip & Paint

By Rocky Landsverk

Above: Condition of the plane before the start of the stripping process.

Greg Piehl, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, with his wife Debbie, spent three years restoring and upgrading their 1959 Piper Comanche 250. After 34 years grounded, the first flight of N6494P took place at Zephyrhills Airport, three days before leaving on a trip to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in July and August 2021. This is Part 2 of seven parts.

Piehl is an engineer and has a history of doing such things.

He’s not exactly typical. “I’ve been doing this kind of thing since I was 17 or 18 years old,” he said. “Doing custom motorcycle painting, airbrushing, stuff like that. In high school, I had a girlfriend who had a ’67 Mustang. I bought an air gun and sprayed her car. After a bit of sanding and buffing, it actually looked pretty nice. (I wish I had that car today!) So I’ve been doing this for almost 50 years; never as a profession, but I know how to paint.”

Here’s why that doesn’t really matter and why this article is meant for most pilots who are restoring a plane. Even if you’re not qualified to paint your plane yourself, you can still do most of the work. That is because of a simple fact that anybody who has painted their house or restained their deck knows: “Strip and prep are the most time-consuming part of the paint job,” Piehl said. “If you want to save some time and money, you can do some strip and prep, and even priming, yourself, in advance of a paint shop. (Most plane owners) don’t have the skills, knowledge, or equipment to do the paint job.”

L

ast month, we chronicled the arduous task of getting this previously grounded plane from Massachusetts to Florida. This month, we’re going to discuss the stripping and painting of the entire fuselage, wings, and control surfaces.

Piehl did this at his personal shop. “I have a machine shop and I had enough space available in the shop to do one major component at a time,” he said.

Of course, most plane owners would not be able to do all the work themselves, whether they had a personal shop at their disposal or not. The biggest question as we discuss this area of the restoration is: can or should the average pilot try this themselves?

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MARCH 2022

Piehl used four colors and added some time and effort to his restoration by executing something we’ll discuss in the photo captions. He didn’t label or sticker anything; he painted everything by getting a stencil created — a reversed cutout vinyl template.

Because this was a complete restoration, this plane was going to be disassembled, which (as it relates to prep and paint) is fortunate. “I believe the best time to paint a plane is when it’s disassembled. Don’t disassemble it just to paint it, but you’ll get the best job possible if it is disassembled. That way you can look for damage, corrosion, anything like that,” Piehl said. “I have painted my other planes when they were assembled. But if you’re going to do that, you want to take off everything you can — you want to take off the flight controls, the wing root seals, and you need to mask off the windscreens and windows perfectly — or replace them, as I did.”

That doesn’t mean you should disassemble your plane for the purpose of painting it, but if you’re going to get it disassembled for some other reason (like an exhaustive search for corrosion), strongly consider repainting it then.

There are going to be four colors on this plane: Base white, burgundy, gray, and black.

Quotes in the photo captions from Piehl.

Above from top: “The fuselage was mounted on a rotisserie that I built consisting of two swivel engine mounts tied together with long square steel tubing. This allowed me to rotate the fuselage from side to side about 20 degrees. It made it really easy, and it was balanced.” • “The fuselage is stripped down to bare aluminum. At this point, I’m able to look for any corrosion or any damage. I found none. You would correct any damage before you prime it. This plane, being 60-plus years old at the time, had no corrosion on the entire thing. Having only 2,350 hours on the airframe, it was in excellent condition.”

Left and below: Photos left and bottom left show a wing before and after it was stripped. “My friend and helper Paul Sotrop is finishing the fine details of removing the last bit of paint around the rivets. What we used to strip all the aluminum parts was an aircraft stripper that’s no longer available, but Aircraft Spruce has other strippers. After it was stripped, the fuselage was pressure washed for two reasons: To remove any remaining paint around each rivet, and to flush any aircraft stripper out of the seams.”

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PIPERS 27

Above, Left, and Bottom Left (Alumiprep 33): “After stripping, the fuselage was etched with Alumiprep 33 (now called Bonderite C-IC 33 Aero). You mix it with water and spray it on; it’s a very light acid etch. You always want to clean it down to bare aluminum.”

Top Right, Right, and Bottom Right (Alodine): “Next comes Bonderite Alodine aluminum treatment. The Alumiprep etches the aluminum; cleans the pores of the metal out. The Alodine seals the aluminum to get it ready for paint.

It leaves a yellow tint.” Shown are the fuselage, wings, and control surfaces, post-Alodine.

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MARCH 2022

Four Photos Above (first primer): “Piper manufactured the Comanche line as their first all-metal airplane. All were zinc-chromated during assembly, for corrosion protection. After Piper moved to Vero Beach (at which time the Comanche line was ended), Piper made it optional to have their newer airframes zinc-chromated. I used a zinc chromate aluminum epoxy primer, as my first primer. That’s the stuff that is yellow. It is sprayed on.”

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PIPERS 29

Above from left (second, epoxy primer): “This is the epoxy primer, prior to topcoat. This one is compatible with the topcoat. This is Axalta Corlar 2.1 Epoxy Primer. After each of these coatings, the surfaces are wet-sanded prior to the next coat.” In the top-middle is Piehl in the painting booth.

Above from left (finish coat): “After the epoxy primer is applied and wet-sanded out, we’re going to apply the finish coat and go with all-white. We’re using Axalta Imron 3.5 HG-C Industrial. A little secret of the trade I learned from some old-timers is that when you use Imron 3.5, you use the marine catalyst grade because it gives you a higher gloss. It costs more, but it’s well worth it.”

Below Left: “After careful design and hand masking (tape), I’ve now applied three colors: burgundy, black, and dark gray. I applied each color one at a time. There’s about a two-week period between each one.” Piehl used a fine line tape and said to use quarter-inch wide tape at the most. One interesting extra step that some pilots would not entertain is that Piehl didn’t use any stickers or labels to add the three colors on top of white. Instead, he had “negatives” or stencils created (vinyl with holes/strips cut out), and then he painted using that stencil, the way you might spray paint a yard-sale sign. “There are long stripes on the fuselage and there are multiple stripes on each side. I went to my local vinyl-cutting sign shop and had them create 25-foot-long negatives. It’s one piece, and it’s on a backing, you put it on and peel off the paper. The stripes are tapered from the engine cowl to the tail cone. I had the sign shop cut them to my specifications.”

Below right: Again, Piehl had the vinyl shop create his N numbers as stencils. “It took me a very long time to lay them out and get them exactly right, with the shadow. It’s a two-step process, a two-color process, there’s a burgundy and a gray in there.”

30 PIPERS

MARCH 2022

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PIPERS 31

Five photos above (finish coat): “If you look at photo top left, my wife and I created that detail on our living room floor. I brought home the tail and the rudder [top middle]. Then the cowling [second from top left] and the tail cone [middle, second] had to line up with the fuselage and the top part of the cowl. Lining things up was pretty labor-intensive, but they wound up perfect in the end.”

Right: This shows partial assembly of the components from the photos above.

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MARCH 2022

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The Parts to Start Everytime In Stock Above from top: Here are the tip tanks, start to finish. Top is original paint, not yet touched. Middle is stripped and ready for primer. Immediately above is taped and painted.

“It was interesting after stripping to see the aluminum tanks faired out with Bondo (filler material) from the factory.

This was, after all, 1960s aluminum welding fabrication at its best.”

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PIPERS 33

Left Column: “These all show details of where, again, I use the vinyl-cut negatives or stencils.”

Right Column: “This shows the firewall reconditioning. (Photo immediately above) The final treatment is a silicone and fiberglass heat shield, available at Aircraft Spruce and other places, called Firewall Gray Heat Barrier. It’s bonded on with a high-temperature fireproof RTV. So I cleaned the firewall, I made a stencil for it, cut this heat shield, and applied it. It’s clean-looking that way, and the important thing is the Comanche, with a stock exhaust system, transfers a lot of heat through the firewall because the engine’s two feet in front of it. This prevents any heat from coming through. It’s what is actually used on NASCAR firewalls.”

Next month: Restoring the interior.

34 PIPERS

MARCH 2022

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Scott Sherer

“Your folks hand made me my custom SoftSeat to help my back/hip pain driving long distances; well, after using it for over a year, on many long distance drives, some over 3,000 miles, I have nothing but a deep appreciation for you all. It saved me tens of thousands of dollars and allowed me to drive totally without problems.

Thanks so very much, Semper Fi”

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Aviation Director/FAA Master Pilot Scott Sherer, A&P/IA Consultant Erich Rempert, and a host of fellow Piper Owners are standing by and ready to assist.

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PIPERS 35

Record-Keeping in the New World Crewchief Systems App Digitizes and Automates Your Maintenance Logs

by Scott Sherer - FAA Master Pilot, author and Piper Owner Society Aviation Director

I

’ve owned eight aircraft over the last six decades, four singles and four twins, and I’ve absolutely loathed the record-keeping requirements that come with aircraft ownership.

In fact, three years ago I created a web­inar on this topic to help make other aircraft owners’ lives a little better in this area (it will be updated this year and available at piperowner.org/ webinars).

It’s very challenging for many owners to understand and implement the tasks needed for maintenance record keeping that comes with aircraft ownership.

• Service Bulletins: Your shop doesn’t do these during your annual unless you ask for them.

• ADs: They do those automatically.

• Routine maintenance: Can I do that? How do I log it? When is maintenance due?

• Annual Inspection: One year.

• 100-hour Inspection: Do I need that?

• Individual AD dates, batteries, ELTs, 337s, TSOs, and STCs. Ugh! On our online forums, I get the same questions from our members over and over again as they struggle to put it all together. And for me, even though I’ve been doing this for decades, I don’t enjoy it and it certainly doesn’t get any easier.

So what to do? There’s a new option: A cloud-based digital platform called Crewchief Systems.

About Crewchief

Cloud-based, in this case, means that your aircraft data is kept very securely in “the cloud.” This application has two 36 PIPERS

front ends for your use. In my personal case, even though I carry a cellphone, I use the web mostly from my PC with its large screen. I enjoy that experience, and Crewchief Systems (CCS) has an excellent interface.

For those of you who have and enjoy using smaller mobile screens, CCS is totally optimized for an excellent mobile experience with apps for both Android and iOS.

OK, got it, what does it do?

Some of you might remember an old V-8 tomato juice commercial where the person slaps themselves on the forehead and says, “I could have had a V-8!” This is one of those kinds of moments. This web-based database application takes over the record-keeping and tracking of all the data needed to manage your aircraft. It stores your aircraft, engine, and prop logbooks; ADs, Service Bulletins, squawk lists, VOR synchronization logging, nav and other computer database tracking, and if you have more than one aircraft, fleet management. All of this sounds simple, but if you have an airplane, you know how hard this really is.

And when you have your data loaded, your shop is in the loop, too. For example, if you end your flight and your wingtip lights are flickering, you bring up the app on your phone and store that as a squawk. If you’ve added your shop to your account and taught them how to run the program, they can be notified and respond to the squawk with:

B. We’ll put it on the list for the next annual inspection.

C. Make an appointment, there’s nothing urgent to worry about.

You don’t have to contact your shop if you’ve added them to the account; this is done for you. And what if you have an AD come due next month?

You and your shop are automatically notified. Your annual inspection? Same thing. The key thing is that you don’t have to remember — the system does it all for you and coordinates you and your shop!

A. Bring the plane in and we’ll get that fixed ASAP. MARCH 2022

The Inputting Work

So how does all this data get into the program? None of us wants to sit and type in all your logbooks.

You will need to have your logbooks in front of you when you load data, but you don’t type anything. With your CCS app installed on your cellphone, you take a photo of each page of your logbooks, and the application and CCS does the rest. Your maintenance database entries are loaded by the application scanning the logbook photos.

CCS’s team of A&Ps and industry professionals will also thoroughly review the maintenance history of your plane, identifying any gaps and making recommendations on items that may have been missed. This is a great benefit.

At this point it would be helpful to see what this application looks like from the owner’s point of view. I’m going to do this from a PC’s larger screen, but all the data is the same on a mobile device.

Getting Started

Logging In & My Profile Page Start by visiting their website at www. crewchiefsystems.com. There’s a large quan-

PIPEROWNER.ORG

tity of excellent information on that site that you will find useful. If you wish to sign up, click on the yellow “Enroll Now” box in the upper right corner. Note that Piper Owner Society has secured a 15%off coupon code if you pay up front for a year. Please use code JPM15 under Step 3 in the COUPON field.

For the purposes of this article’s photos, CCS set me up with a username called “Scott@Crewchief Demo.” The photos are not my real information.

Aircraft Profile Page Feeling empowered by the ease of my first experience with CCS, I went to the blue menu on the left side of the screen and clicked on “Aircraft Profile.”

There’s a variety of information to fill in on this page, such as: • Aircraft make, model, serial number, tail number, total time since new.

• Engine make, model, serial number, and total times (several).

• Propeller make, hub model and serial number, blade make, blade model, number of blades, blade serial numbers.

Optional but interesting: There is a spot for installed equipment where you can load just about anything, including their serial numbers. This may be useful in the future should you be unfortunate enough to have a theft. Equipment serial numbers would be readily available for reporting to appropriate authorities.

Aircraft Records Page For our members who don’t like paperwork and record keeping, I get it. Paperwork and record keeping, as tedious and time-consuming as they are, are still necessary, and that’s the whole point of the software system. When you first set up your system using the app on your iPhone or Android, you photograph your logbooks and records and they are auto-magically stored in the cloud, totally secure and accessible on your aircraft records page. When you access this page, you will see a banner across the top with your tail number, and the make and model of your aircraft. While this may seem obvious, there are flight schools and members with multiple aircraft who will appreciate this.

Underneath the banner is a line with total airframe time, appropriate engine times, and appropriate prop times.

Listed underneath is a vertical listing of scanned file topics. Those topics are: Aircraft, Propeller, Engine, AD Compliance Report, Weight and Balance, 337 forms, STCs, Oil Analysis, and

PIPERS 37

8130 forms. When you click on them, they open scanned, summary PDF files of your logbooks and other printed records.

All your records are available to you or your mechanic on your computer browser, cellphone, or laptop computer.

Dashboard The next item is your Dashboard. This is a very cool one-stop page to let you know how your aircraft is doing. They list many aircraft topics, which I will list shortly. Each is color-coded in green for OK, orange for “look at this soon,” and red for “high priority, look at this now.”

Here is a list of the items being tracked.

• Annual Inspection • 100 Hour • ELT Service • Oil • Aircraft Battery • Magnetos • Airworthiness Directives • Service Bulletins • Fire Extinguisher • Inspect Tread Depth on Gear 38 PIPERS

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

S-Bearing Thrush Bearing Wash and Wax Airplane Wash Engine Nav DB VOR Check Pitot Static Transponder Altimeter Pilot Medical Flight Review Registration Insurance If any of these are coming up for review, they change from green to orange.

If they are past due, they switch to red.

AD/SB List On the AD/SB page, you will find the usual status banner at the top of the screen which we discussed earlier.

Below there are two round graphs. The left graph shows ADs by type: Aircraft, Propeller, Engine, and Appliance. In our example case, 39% of the ADs are for my airframe, 0% for my prop, 43% for my engine, and 17% for appliances (e.g., avionics).

The second graph shows the status of all ADs. In my case, there are 23 ADs being followed. The system says that 1 (green, of course) is being tracked, 6 are terminated (one time only) and are blue, 1 is due soon (and orange), and none are deferred (gray).

One is overdue and therefore is red.

Underneath the two graphs is an itemized listing of each AD and all the appropriate information about each one.

Maintenance Management This is where it gets exciting and all your work pays off. When you go to the Maintenance Management page, you get the total number of maintenance items in the system above a circular graph that shows each of the categories that your maintenance items fall in. They are: • Core • Configurable • Custom On the right side are three small boxes that show the number of items tracked as “Due” in the color green, followed by the number “Due Soon” in yellow (caution), and finally the number “Overdue” in red.

MARCH 2022

When you scroll down a little, you get the Core items: • 100-hour • Altimeter • Annual • ELT Service • Pitot/Static • Transponder

And like the main Maintenance Management screen, they come up in green, yellow, and red. A quick glance at the colors and you can see if you have anything needing attention. It couldn’t be easier, quicker, or more error-free.

The Flight Log screen has tabs for: • Flight Logs • Navigation Date • VOR Check

These are your core maintenance items that the system is tracking.

You can then select between Core, Configurable and Custom. I’m choosing Configurable at this time. On Configurable (which you can configure, obviously) I entered: • Aircraft Battery • Fire Extinguisher • Insurance • Magnetos • Oil • Registration

Flight Logs and More Crewchief Systems’ flight log updates are quick and easy, taking only seconds to enter. Entering each flight in the system is an important step in accurately tracking maintenance items related to flight hours/aircraft usage. I have chosen not to use this, as I keep my log in book form. Also, many folks use the logbook in Foreflight and other systems, and having multiple logbooks can do more harm than good.

If you want to track your subscription dates for your GPS, EFIS, or other nav systems, this can be used. Also, this area will track any device that you may have. I use it to track my Aspen PFD and my Avidyne 540 GPS.

Finally, I click on the Custom tab, and it comes up with: • Inspect Tread Depth on Tires • Thrush Bearing • Wash and Wax Plane • Wash Engine

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PIPERS 39

Finally, this system will track your VOR checks, if you wish it to. It’s a legal requirement, and this is a good way to get a reminder to do this.

Squawk List The final item is tracking your Squawks. The Squawk list is usually given to your shop at annual inspection time or if the problem is serious enough to have work done sooner. You can also use it to track projects that you do yourself, and it works perfectly for scheduling restoration projects.

Again, there is a circular graph that shows your squawk totals by category and quantity. The categories are: • Opened • Scheduled • Deferred • Closed On the right side of the screen is a pictorial image of the same thing, based on a calendar schedule. It gives you a timeline of all the squawks and how they’re progressing through to completion. On the right side is a red exclamation point indicating any squawks that are overdue.

Again, when you scroll down you get an itemized list of each squawk: • Reported date • Author • Status • Comments Each of these is categorized by: • Engine • Avionics • Airframe • Landing Gear • (More)

Data Security and Privacy

One of the concerns about remote server-based data storage is security and privacy. After all, we hear about big companies being hacked from time to time on the news, with millions of users’ identities being stolen. This should be of great concern to everyone. So how safe is our data on CCS? First, CCS does not sell or otherwise make your data available to any other person, company, or governmental authority (without a court order, which has never happened). Second, they use the corner of the cloud managed by Google, which is 40 PIPERS

CREWCHIEF SYSTEMS www.crewchiefsystems.com inquiry@crewchiefsystems.com 1-800-242-4925

Aaron de Zafra is a pilot and aircraft owner who has spent much of his career developing next-generation digital solutions for a diverse set of industries as a partner in leading global consulting firms. His experience in implementing these technologies allowed him to see how underserved the general aviation industry has been. That insight, together with a lifelong passion for flight, drove Aaron to give up his successful tech career in 2018, creating Crewchief Systems.

Crewchief is headquartered in Mill Valley, California.

What Crewchief Says

We asked Crewchief if they could describe what they do. Here’s what they said: “Crewchief Systems is a comprehensive platform that makes aircraft maintenance intuitive and much simpler overall for the vast majority of GA pilots.

For all of us who have decades of log records, one or two engines, one or more aircraft, and seemingly countless ADs and Service Bulletins to track, this easyto-use system will take care of all your aircraft record storage and all the legal requirements of getting things done on time. This system tracks and notifies you and (if you want) your shop when maintenance and legal items are due.”

one of the most secure storage structures on the planet. Three, you should never get complacent with your logon credentials and should make sure that you have a very strong password. Four, the data that you have chosen to store on this platform is your data. The CCS system allows you to download it, and you should once or twice each year for safety’s sake.

What It Can Do for You

If you’re having trouble compiling information about your airplane and then getting it organized, this product will fulfill that need. It will provide you with the discipline, structure, and reminders that you need to keep your plane legal and, more importantly, safe.

If you have multiple airplanes, either personally or in a club or flight school, this will keep them all organized. When you log in, it will ask you which plane you wish to update.

Another outstanding feature is that you can give your shop access to your data. More specifically, for example, if you load a squawk and it’s important, your shop will be notified via email to log in and check it out. This keeps you and your shop coordinated in the maintenance of your aircraft. In my case, my shop is 30 miles from my home airport, and this keeps my mechanic in sync with my needs and his work schedule.

In the final analysis, this product may take away a significant amount of ownership pain. If you don’t like paperwork, or if you appreciate the finer points of aircraft ownership, you may find that there is no better solution.

An example is that business owners don’t like managing numbers. Instead, they hire accountants and CPA firms to do that for them. In our industry there has been no such solution. Now there is. I recommend this product for those with the need to manage the records for their aircraft.

MARCH 2022

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PIPERS 41

MEMBER ACTIVITY - Q&A Members Help With Engine Compartment Cable Routing Pictures

Q

I am restoring an early 1966 PA-32-260 with the push/pull controls in the dash. I bought the plane in pieces. I am trying to figure out how the cable routings should go into the engine compartment. The service manuals are proving very difficult to get the exact routings from. Do any of you have a PA-32-260 like mine who may be willing to take pictures in the engine compartment and send them to me as a reference?

I need routing for throttle, prop, carb heat, mixture, heater.

It needs to be for a 1966 PA-32-260.

— birtno

A

A tip. Whenever you have your plane decowled, engine off, exhaust off, etc. it is great to have detailed pictures to refer to from before and after. Often there is a big gap in time for major work and what seemed obvious when you took it apart is no longer clear. I try and do this with everything I work on, and I can say for sure I have never regretted taking pictures — but I have regretted not!

If you get some inexpensive colored electrical tape, you can temporarily string this along the cable/hose runs in contrasting colors. This can help identify what is over vs. under another hose and make it clear what the path is.

Pictures over time can also help troubleshoot things like small exhaust leaks, new oil leaks, etc. as you will be able to bracket when it started for troubleshooting.

— empanning

A

This thread was answered via numerous photos. See the photos at right and visit the forum for more; search for “PA32-260 Engine Compartment Cable Routings.”

— Editor

How to Source Replacement for a Corroded Bracket

Q

I am putting a one-piece windshield in my 1975 Cherokee 140 and (like many others) we found corrosion on the bracket at the bottom corner of the post on the left side of the fuselage, where it meets the cowling/glare shield area. Do you have a source for a bracket? We came up with part number 62522-00 as the most likely culprit.

— Mark

A

Aviall is the parts distributor for Piper; contact them with the part number and see what they say. Be prepared for a high cost and long lead time. The good news is the parts used to arrive much more quickly than quoted, however, I don’t know if that’s changed.

— Erich Rempert, A&P/IA consultant

42 PIPERS

MARCH 2022

MEMBER ACTIVITY - Q&A Paint Stripper Advice for Instrument Panel Cover

Q

I purchased a new instrument panel cover (from Knots2U, part 79044-006) to replace the old one on my Cherokee, to be installed by my avionics tech after trimming to fit around the G5s he put in. All went well until we got to painting to match the right panel cover. The paint job went badly wrong, and I think we need to start over. Can anyone recommend a paint stripper that would remove the old paint without killing the plastic panel?

I could sand and repaint, but I think the concern is that the texture of the plastic will be lost due to multiple coats of paint. That may be my best option, though. I did reach out to Knots2U, from whom I purchased, and they forwarded my inquiry to the manufacturer.

— CGantz

A

You could maybe find a small area to test. I think you are right to be concerned that a typical paint stripper would also damage the plastic. You might be able to minimize this with minimal exposure. Sandpaper is also not risk-free, as it will heat up the surface and leave scratches.

— empannin

A

Media blasting is another alternative to remove paint.

Low-pressure soda blasting, plastic media, or possibly organics such as crushed walnut shells or crushed dry ice may work. Any mediablasting shop should be able to help you.

If you have a regular home pressure washer, try that first. Go easy and start with the nozzle far away. Move the nozzle closer as necessary but not so close as to damage the plastic.

When it’s time to repaint, I highly recommend SEM plastic dyes. The dyes can be purchased in spray cans and are available at most auto parts stores. Follow the instructions closely. I did mine 11 years ago, and they still look great.

— griff390

sentations jointly with a SEM representative at Sun N Fun. He would be a good guy to talk to.

— kentshaw

A

Conclusion:I did hear back from the manufacturer (through Knots2U). They said there was no paint remover that they could recommend that wouldn’t damage the plastic, so the options are what griff390 and kentshaw said. I’ve decided that it doesn’t bother me enough to do anything about it for now. I’m enjoying having the plane back in service after its avionics upgrade.

— CGantz

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If you painted with SEM, then you can just paint over with another color after a very light sanding, and it should come out fine. I have had some instances where SEM paint was bad and it left lumps of paint on the plastic. I have not had any luck restoring those problems; you just have to get new plastic and try again. If he painted with an enamel rather than a vinyl paint, I would call Eastwood or Plane Plastics and ask for advice. One of the Plane Plastics representatives did a lot of prePIPEROWNER.ORG

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Order at piperowner.org/bogo2022 PIPERS 43

MEMBER ACTIVITY - Q&A

A

I have the Turbo Plus intercooler with cowl flaps, Merlyn, pressurized mags, and GAMIs. I consider all essential for my flying. Plane easily goes to 20,000 for the Rocky Mountains with CHTs never above 380° F in the climb. Temperature drop across the intercooler is typically between 30 to 40 degrees C depending on the airspeed and outside air temperature (OAT). Cowl flaps are really only necessary for slow flight on hot days. Necessary for me as I am in Civil Air Search and Rescue (same as CAP) and will be low and slow in search mode.

— Stan

A

Turbo Arrow IV from a member who recommends intercoolers, Merlyn, etc.

Reviews: Intercoolers, Merlyns & More in Turbo Arrows

Q A

Looking to discuss intercooler on Arrow 3 turbo. Need to get these hot temps down on my plane. Arizona-based and I fly a lot of Colorado and Utah, too.

— KPJS.llc

I have a ’77 Turbo Arrow with the Merlyn, an intercooler, GAMI injectors, and the SureFly electronic ignition. The claims from TurboPlus are approximately 140° F drop in induction air temps. I have owned the plane since 2009 and flown extensively in both Texas and Florida in the summer, and almost every summer in Montana, Colorado, and New Mexico, and my hottest cylinder head temperature (CHT) in cruise climb (500 to 600 ft/minute) does not exceed 380° F, and turbine inlet temperature (TIT) of less than 1,525° F. Also, my personal temperature limits for the plane: Typically, my hottest CHT is under 350° F in climb (full rich at 75% power, adjusted to the intercooler company’s power setting based on outside temperatures).

I consider both the Merlyn and an intercooler must-haves for a Turbo Arrow. The GAMI and electronic ignition should be high on the list of investments. Both the Merlyn and the intercooler help in reducing CHT and TIT. Another benefit is the critical altitude with both is in the high teens; I can maintain 75% power to 17,500 feet, which is the highest I have flown the plane. AVweb and Aviation Consumer have both written about the benefits of the Merlyn and intercooler for the Turbo Arrow.

Make sure your baffling is in good shape and that it properly seals the top of the engine with the cowling to get best CHT cooling.

— lkstarcher

A

I have the LoPresti cowling, Merlyn and GAMIs. Money well spent. (Our stock cowling was falling apart.)

— TArrow

44 PIPERS

My Turbo Arrow IV has the LoPresti cowl, MT composite prop, Airflow System Intercooler (no longer in production), Merlyn UDC, and Electroair electronic ignition. I took my first long cross-country with it (Corpus Christi to Wisconsin) since the cowling, composite prop, and electronic ignition were installed.

The flight to Oshkosh from Rockport, Texas, and back went well. I did not see any CHTs higher than 370° F in cruise. TIT was around 1,570° F. I typically run at 70% power and 12.5 gph. I used 7,000 and 8,000 feet for my cross-country altitudes. In short, I have done everything possible to keep the CHTs down and it seems to be working. My results may not be typical though.

— jjouscg01

A

I have the Merlyn UDC, GAMIs, and pressurized mags, but no intercooler. I do not have temp issues at all. In climb with manifold pressure of 35 inches on a hot day, CHTs are under 350° F. I fly 65% power, usually at 10,000 feet, and CHTs are 310° F with fuel flow of 11 gph. At higher altitudes, I find the need for higher power settings of 75%, but temps are the same, with fuel flow of 12 gph.

I have considered the intercooler, but I don’t know if there would be any need. I always wondered why my Turbo Arrow III runs cooler than many I talk to. My question is whether an intercooler can provide any other benefits beyond cooler temps?

— hsegura

A

In the early years of the Turbo Plus intercooler upgrades, the cowl flaps were part of the package. They dropped them as they were found not necessary to keep the engine cool, plus, to reduce kit and installation costs. Unless you are into a low and slow and hot flight, I would say they are not needed.

— Stan

A

An intercooler lowers the temps into the cylinders and can reduce the risk of detonation. This could be an important advantage if there was a failure/clog in an injector that leaned the cylinder out at high power settings.

— empanning

Send Us Your Maintenance Questions If you have a question that you and/or your A&P can’t answer or if you’re looking for a second opinion, take advantage of the resources available through your Piper Owner Society membership. Contact us at tech@piperowner.org to get help from our staff or post your question to our forum at piperowner.org/talk to get feedback from your fellow members.

MARCH 2022

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HANGAR TIP

by Scott Sherer - FAA Master Pilot, author and Piper Owner Society Aviation Director

HOW TO FIX FUEL-GAUGE ACCURACY PROBLEMS FOR $20

D

on Hall is one of our members, and he has a fuel measurement accuracy problem. Like most owners of older aircraft, his fuel sensors and gauges aren’t very accurate.

In fact, the only times they’re accurate are when the tanks are full and when they’re empty. Anything in between doesn’t measure correctly. Don gave us his method for solving this problem, and while it’s not fancy, it works and costs almost nothing.

Find Level Ground

Let’s start by putting your aircraft on level ground. Finding absolutely level ground is not very easy; Don said that any ramp or hangar floor with less than a 2-degree slope in any direction is good enough. That’s good to know.

“So your airplane is as level as you can make it,” Hall said.

“Drain the right tank into a very clean container. You’ll need to fly the plane and get your fuel level as low as possible before doing this. Next, drain your left tank. Do not drain through the gascolator, that’s not needed.

“Next, if you have a tricycle-gear airplane, your plane is level enough. However, if you have a taildragger, the airplane needs to be in cruise attitude. You will likely have to raise the tail until the aircraft is in cruise attitude, and then put a ladder or a piece of hangar furniture (like a chair or table) under the tail to keep it in cruise attitude.”

Fill the Tanks (Slowly)

“Next we fill the fuel tanks, two gallons at a time on each side.

You’re going to need to put a clean stick in your tank. Remove the stick and make a permanent mark on the stick for each two gallons. After you’ve done this in two-gallon increments, you can ‘stick’ your fuel tank and know exactly how much fuel you have in each tank. Of course, this won’t help you in flight, but at least you will know accurately how much fuel you started with. Then, knowing how much fuel per hour you burn, you can do a simple computation to know how long your fuel will last.

“Also, if you would like a pre-measured stick, they are available from Aircraft Spruce for less than $20. Additionally, there are other, modern ways to measure fuel, too.”

46 PIPERS

Fuel-Stick Alternatives

There are obviously more modern alternatives to “sticking” your fuel tanks. At your next annual inspection, you could have your shop remove your fuel sensors (floats) and either send them out for overhaul or purchase new, all-digital sensors from CiES. Then replace your gauges with new digital gauges from Aerospace Logic.

This is the modern solution used in many new production aircraft, and this will get you very accurate fuel tank readings in flight.

Also, if you get an engine monitor, most of them come with a fuel-flow computer that accurately displays fuel quantity digitally in real time any time you look at it. My reasonably priced JP Instruments EDM-830 engine monitor sends my fuel information to my Avidyne GPS, and the GPS displays a fuel range ring on my GPS map. You get two rings: The first ring is the range with reserves and the second ring shows absolute range.

As you change power and mixture settings, the ring moves, and you can adjust your range that way.

If you’re on a barebones budget, then Don Hall’s approach may do the job for you!

SOURCES CIES Aerospace Logic Avidyne JP Instruments Electronics International Aircraft Spruce

www.ciescorp.net www.Aerospacelogic.com www.Avidyne.com www.JPInstruments.com www.IFlyEI.com www.AircraftSpruce.com

Scott Sherer is the Piper Owner Society’s Aviation Director and an FAA Master Pilot who brings more than 50 years of aviation experience flying everything from Piper Cherokee 140s through Piper Senecas and mid-size jets. As a contributing author his specialty is restoration, avionics and product review.

Additionally, Mr. Sherer is our online forum moderator.

To contact Mr. Sherer, please access our member website forums at www.PiperOwner.org.

MARCH 2022

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