Hmm, the Rochester S didn't get a clearance through my office.

I've only seen one 35 at KPTK and that was last year. I'll have to keep an eye out and an ear to the ground.

Thanks for the input regarding insurance.

hello folks

i have just bought for pennies an ancient Be 23 Musketeer, ssn M-337, based in northern italy.

the a/c has 2500 airframe hours and a newly rebuilt O-320 with 5 hrs since overhaul. due to a landing gear mishap in 2003 the a/c was given an extensive airframe maintenance. i havent seen the a/c yet (going to see it next weekend) but all the folks who know it say it is in excellent condition, only ADF is not working but im pretty sure ill survive

so i might come up with questions soon. n.1 item in shopping list is a mogas STC and perhaps spats if the local authorities allow me to make such major mod to the airframe...

gm

Welcome Gianmarco, Congratulations on your purchase.

You may want to visit beechaeroclub which is a type club for Musketeers and their siblings.

I don't believe that the Mogas STC is available for the Baby Beech's, and there are no "spats" available yet either, although Robin Thomas of Laminar Flow Systems http://www.laminarflowsystems.com is working on getting an STC for them.

Power Flow Systems http://www.powerflowsystems.com does make an exhaust that increases the HP output of the engines.

Hi!! Chip Allen here, from Roswell, GA USA

I have been flying my 1973 B55 Baron since 1979, and it is a fabulous machine!! The Colemill 300's give it an honest 190 knots true at 26 GPH (lean of peak, using GAMI's)

Welcome Chip,


You've come to a nice forum. Lots of nice folks and a good bit of Beech information as well. 'Hope you will stay active and, also, hopefully you will enjoy being a part of our fun.

Last search I did there is not an airport in Roswell (I'm a Georgia native and fly into a lot of Georgia airports.).

At which airport do you base your Baron?

My name is Bruce Beglin and I've been sticking my oar in BeechTalk for a year or so - so I thought I might tell you about my ride. I've been flying for 10 years ( decided when I turned 50 that I'd better get going or forget it ) and have gone through a Skyhawk, Citabria, Mooney & finally saw the light and, in Aug. 2007 bought N18457, a 1977 A36. She was based at Lake In the Hills, IL for 18 years and faithfully taken care of by Finefield Aviation. I bought her with 1750 TTAF, NDH and a new, out-of-the-box 550. In 2002 she was sent to Oxford Aviation in Oxford, Maine for Beryl D'Shannon tip tanks, gap seals, VG's, new windows, sound proofing, new interior and a new paint job. Jim Finefield installed the 550 with BDS baffling in 2006 so there was less than 50 hours on the engine at purchase time. What's not to like? Twas love at first sight! A bit of dual time and I was off. But first a pound of flesh for the avionics department. 18457 came with a Garmin 530 which I was used to but the rest was 1977 vintage including a DG. Soooo --- we installed a King HSI, Garmin audio, Garmin #2 nav/com and Garmin transponder, plus upgraded to WAAS and added the XM weather. OUCH , expensive but FUN !! She already had a STec 50 so we were fine there but also decided we had to have a backup electric AI and an altitude alerter. A JPI-700 came with the plane so Gami's were installed later to run LOP at 13.5 GPH and 160 to 165 k. She was wired for Bose so that was easy as I already had the headsets. Further inspection at my local excellent FBO showed, under the skin, a very clean, corrosion-free & well maintained creampuff I won't bother to ramble on about how she flies - you know what I'd say. From time to time I peek over the fence to look at the grass over there ( Barons, etc ) but realize I'm standing on grass that's quite green enough for me, thank you. 18457 will stay in the air for over 7 hours, LOP, but I wanted her for 5 hours if I REALLY had to and still have 2 hours of reserve. Belt and suspenders. I used her for my commercial lessons which showed me many new handling qualities, especially how gear down and full flaps can really slow her down when you need to.

So ends my story. I still lust for TKS but will keep buying lottery tickets.

Is this REALLY my last plane? I hope so

Bruce Beglin
1977 A36 N18457
based at KBVI, Beaver County International. PA ( 30m north of PIT )

My name is Adam Priest, and I am a student pilot just a few lessons into my training. I came across this forum a few months ago but just lurked sine I had no plane and wasn't even a PPL student, so I felt I couldn't add to the wealth of knowledge on this board. I have enjoyed the banter, learned from your experiences, and look forward to learning more from all of you. I am training in a C172SP at TYS in Knoxville, TN. Looking forward to joining all of you in the exclusive club of pilots!

Adam,

Welcome, good to have another from Knoxville on BT.

Come over to DKX and visit. Stop by hangar #16. Lots of Beech owners (approx. 20 Bo's, 5 Barons, 1 Sierra and 3 Musketeers base here).

I won't blow your cover but assume you are with PFPH. ??

When you are ready for a Bonanza let us know and we will help spend your money.

Thanks Max and Jeff. Glad to me a "real" member now and not just a reader and watcher. Max - You are right - PFPH it is. I appreciate the invite to come to KDKX. I am told my training will include a lot of work there, and I will take you up on your kind offer to check out all the Beech products that make their home at Island Home. I read your posts the last few months with interest since you are a fellow Knoxvillian, so I knew you must be smart!

Thanks Jeff, Should have done it sooner

Hi All,

Peter Hansel here from Huntington Beach, CA. I work as a consultant automotive engineer to racing teams and car manufacturers. My side job is to run a real estate investment company. My wife and I live in SoCal. I fly mostly for busines but we enjoy occasional flying for the joy of flight.

Six years ago I decided that I had waited long enough and got my PPL and purchased a Cessna 182. Five hundred Cessna hours later, January, 2009, I found a very nice F33a.

With about 40 hours in the Bonanza, all I can say is it is a very nice aircraft and I think its a keeper. The Skylane is for sale as I am currently a bit overstocked on airplanes.

Thanks to a lot of good advice gleaned from Beechtalk over the past year, I found a nice 1983 F33a. Lots of nice touches were already done so hopefully I can use most of my AMU for fuel. The specs: 2400 TT, 1100h since reman, 1100h on new prop, 115h on full top with new Continental cylinders. 28V, full primered airframe, KFC200 AP, Sandel SN3500, Garmin 430, 1000+ stormscope, engine monitor, fuel flow, rosen visors, LED beacon, HID landing light.

I am currently working to finish up my IFR training and learning how to work all the submenus in the Garmin. Hopefully I can attach a couple of photos or otherwise I'm sure I might have some feedback

Very nice, Peter!!

Hello all,

I have made a few posts but have yet to introduce myself. I am a Flight Nurse on a air-medical helicopter in east TN, I have been flying since I was 14 years old, and currently own a M35 which I think is the keeper , I have found the Beech Talk community a wonderful resource and a great bunch of folks.

If anyone is in the Chattanooga TN area give me a call.....

Jay Passmore
M35
Birchwood, TN

Welcome Jay! Fellow Tennesseans are always welcome here!

Hello all.

After much searching and a plane in Oklahoma City that failed the Paul McCracken inspection, I have finally found me a plane and have gotten it home. Here is my story.

Like many pilots out there I have always wanted to fly. Had LASIK been around 20 years ago, I probably would have made a career out of it. Instead I went to medical school and am now in practice as an orthopedic surgeon in Saint Joseph, MO. I am now at a point in my life that I have a little more time and money to indulge the desire to fly that I have had since childhood. Thankfully I have a lovely wife that supports my new hobby and doesn’t complain about the time that I spend at the airport. I have a 4 year old daughter who is the best little girl in the world.

I had tried to get my PPL 9 years ago as a medical school graduation present to myself. It was one of the windiest springs on record and I just couldn’t get it completed prior to going off to residency. I resumed my training this spring at my local airport KSTJ. Over the past 6 months I have spent an enormous amount of time reading about and learning about different aircraft. I agonized over what to get, but eventually concluded that an A36 was right for me. I owe a lot to everyone here on the forum. You guys simply don’t realize how many people you have helped out with the info that has been generated in this forum!!!!!!! I suspect that there are at least 100 other people out there at this very moment who are in a similar position as I was a couple of months ago. Thirsting for knowledge, but having very little to contribute. I still have a lot to learn, but hopefully as I have my own experiences etc... I will be able to become a more active member. I decided on an A36 for many reasons, however one factor in my choice to go Beech was this forum and how active it is. I have browsed the Piper forums and have found them to pale in comparison to Beechtalk.

I enlisted the help of Paul McCracken in my search. What a great guy. If you are at all in the market for a plane, I highly recommend you contact him to help in your search. I’d also like to thank John Collins for taking the time to talk to me about the autopilot questions that I had. After narrowing my search down to make, model, and desired goodies, I had a list of 3 planes that fit the bill and budget. One was just down the road from me in Kansas City, another was in Oklahoma City and another in San Marcos TX. The ones in OKC and TX were at the top of my list so I decided to have Paul do a pre-buy on both and I would go from there.

OKC was the first one up. Deal shot down within minutes as it had a spar crack that the broker owner “didn’t think it was any big deal so he didn’t mention it on the phone”. Now I don’t want to start a whole discussion on spar cracks and I certainly do not want to offend anyone out there that has a plane with a crack, I simply thought that there are too many other planes out there to settle for a plane with one. Paul charged me only for his fuel and time traveling.

The following weekend was SanMarcos TX. Do you guys have any idea just how hot it gets in Texas? Man, that was one miserable day. 102 Fahrenheit inside the hangar, nearly 100% humidity and no breeze. I got off easy because we needed an air compressor so we could check compressions. I got to drive the air conditioned rental car to Lowes to rent a compressor while Paul stayed behind at the sweat shop and started the inspection. Upon my arrival back at the hangar, Paul was working away, sweat gushing out of every pore. (See his picture below) Here is where Paul’s integrity really shined. Even though he was drenched in sweat, obviously hot and probably wanting to get the hell out of there, he took the time to show me what he had already looked at, answer all of my questions, and give me advice on how to maintain the plane should I end up buying it. A few squawks were found but nothing major. I ended up buying the plane.

One week later Bill Sterling, a CFI acquaintance of Paul, picked up the plane, flew it back to Paul’s shop for minor repair work. He then flew it up here to KSTJ. He had planned on delivering it Saturday afternoon (by the way, my PPL check ride was scheduled to be Saturday morning.) He ended up bringing it up Friday night, stayed the night at my house and went back to Texas Saturday morning after the EAA pancake feed at KSTJ. Yep that is right. I got to take my check ride in front of nearly 100 people who had gathered on the ramp to watch some impromptu aerobatics by one of the EAA guys…..and everyone knows that I had just bought the A36 that was in the hangar next to where they were serving the pancakes. NO PRESSURE!!!!!!!!

So my designated examiner and I walk out to the beat up Piper Warrior to begin the practical portion of the check ride. As I write down the time on the Hobbs I think to myself “That’s strange. Someone put 8 hours on the Warrior since last night.” I had been out at the airport the previous evening doing some last minute practice while waiting for Bill to arrive with my Bo. Things registered pretty fast when I saw that the master switch was on. “Oh Crap. I left the master switch on last night.” My examiner took it all in stride. The FBO jumped us. We let the plane run for 20 minutes so that we could shut down the engine and restart it make sure the battery was able to hold a charge. The rest of the check ride was un-eventful. Except for the slight bounce on my short field landing….in front of the 100 people on the ramp. Yes, they all saw it and made sure that I knew that they saw it. What a day!!!!

So I now have 5 hrs in my plane and have loved every minute of it. The first time my CFI took it up, I have to say that I was a little nervous as to whether I would ever feel comfortable in it. It will take a little bit but eventually I think I’ll get the hang of flying it. I’m looking forward to getting to know all of its little quirks, and maybe someday meeting a few of you who have already been a big influence on me.