Hi Guys. I've been reading the posts for a few weeks. Wanted to thank the regular contributors for their willingness to share. What a great site.

A little background. Previous ATP with 1900 hours, but haven't flown for 20 years now. Have been thinking about getting back into flying for a couple of years as I approach my 50th birthday, and began that process this week with commercial ground school on-line just to get back into it. I've contacted a local flight school and the Federal Licensing dept just to get a clear understanding of what will be required to get current again.

Would love to buy an A36 in the next 12 - 18 months. Most of my past flying experience was on Cessna singles, but as a potential future owner, I think Beechcraft will be the brand for me.

One of my main missions will be travelling to our summer cabin in Western Canada over the Rockies 250 nm with a few 9000 ft obstacles of granite along the direct flight path. My wife and I have 3 children, 1 now off to college and 2 more a little younger. So many trips with 4 of us and a few with 5, the odd time possibly 6 on board.

I've been reading about the TAT TN 550-B and the NA 550-R. Very good reading on both of those options. So many options to consider in terms of model years, engines, turbo, avionics, tips, tks, VG's, etc..... get a little dizzy trying to keep everything straight....lol..... of course with a family of 4 - 5 gross weight is always a consideration as well.

I've been on controller.com maybe 2000 times.....lol.... in the last few years (this aircraft stuff is an addiction and being away from it for 20 yrs doesn't cure it). Wondering if someone might comment on the value or selling prices that we see online. Are those fairly close to the actual selling prices at the end of the day or is the aircraft industry in a similar buyers market as we find in some places in both our countries where residential real estate prices have decreased by more than 50% in the past few years.

My budget will be $250,000 USD - $300,000 USD. Not sure what that gets me today?

Thanks,

Dan Guenette

Welcome Dan. You're never too old to get back into flying! My situation is similar to yours. I hadn't flown in over 20yrs. myself and started again in February when I bought my Bonanza. I'm 54 now. My last plane was a C310. I have the Atlantic Aero 550R conversion and absolutely love the performance. The price range you are looking at I have no doubt you will find a very nice airplane. Good luck in your search and keep us posted on what you find.

Dan,

Welcome to BT. For the budget you listed, you can go newer or go old and get a plane almost completely rebuilt.

There are a few Canadians on here who can probably walk you through some of what you need to be aware of. The two issues I know you will run into with Transport Canada are complete logs and not all STCs and modifications are approved in CA. (This is based on reading the posts, I only ski in Eastern Canada...)

Tim

Dan, Welcome to BT. With your budget you will have LOTS to choose from. I imported my Aerostar into Canada this spring (well under your budget BTW). Having gone through the process I now understand why airplanes cost more in Canada. My first choice would be to find a Canadian registered aircraft but it will limit your choices as most of the selection (and deals) are in the U.S. However, there were several REALLY nice U.S. based airplanes that after further research were NOT candidates to import into Canada.

The import is largely a paper work process tracing EVERY change made to the airplane since it was manufactured. If anything (documentation wise) is missing, it can get costly. My mechanic told me they had to change the interior of an airplane they were importing because they could not trace the origins of the material used. In my case, the paperwork for my Garmin 430 was signed but not stamped by the FAA. The FAA only keeps this type of records for 2 years and would not help... in the end I was forced to disconnect it from the autopilot . A Garmin 430W has a different STC and would not have been an issue.

In spite of this, while frustrating at times the import was not too difficult. Just make sure you start with a WELL documented airplane. Don't forget to budget for the 10-year calendar limit on prop overhauls we have here in Canada.

Where in Canada are you based?

Glenn

welcome Dan
And shop carefully....

Thanks for the replies and tips. I'm minimum 8 months away from starting the purchase process right now so at this point just gathering info and making notes.

Glenn - I'm from Whitecourt AB and one of my missions will be travel to Salmon Arm BC to the cabin among other trips

Your almost a next door in Alberta terms of reference. If your ever down in Medicine Hat let me know and we'll meet up. I should be in Rocky Mountain House later in Nov.

Your almost a next door in Alberta terms of reference. If your ever down in Medicine Hat let me know and we'll meet up. I should be in Rocky Mountain House later in Nov.

Welcome to BT Dan!

Dan...

We are transplants from Vancouver who now live in NW Washington. One thing you might consider is, if you live reasonably close to the border, keep an "N" numbered airplane in the States, get a FAA license based on your Canadian license. You then can fly the airplane legally in the States. If you pay all the GST, PST, HST blah, blah, blah, I believe you can fly the airplane in Canada.

Check with COPA to make sure you won't run afoul but this means you don't have to do an import.

Good news. The Salmon Arm Airport is right next to the Salmon Arm Golf Club. Doesn't get any better than that.

Dan,

I don't frequent Beechtalk that often - hence the delay. I live in Edmonton (fly out of Cooking Lake). If your in the City sometime and want to go for a quick spin, let me know, I'd love to make the acquainteance. My email is pillingm2@aol.com. Welcome to Beechtalk, it's an awesome forum.

Welcome to BT Dan !

Dan, Welcome to the greatest Beech forum.