I bought N6LT in March, 2016. It is/might/can be my "retirement" airplane; meaning if I sell the A*, that's what I'm going to fly.

I bought a solid, low time, airframe with a mid time engine. That's about it. The base paint looks original and faded, the trim repainted for what that's worth, an old Airtex interior over the old, original plastic panels, and a panel/avionics group older than most BT members.

Good news, she flies great!

I put all the money in a separate account for refurbishment which is "a lot". Then, I kind of got cold feet. A full refurbishment will be more than I paid for the airplane so I slowed down. With the newest avionics options flying off the drawing boards, avionics/panel upgrades are going to cost half of my estimate. Still, I didn't and don't want to jump into anything.

So, the first, and very necessary step was to replace the horrible "orange", 30+ year old interior. I decided to go back with a very utilitarian theme and did. So, I chose Selkirk panels and decided to do it myself. Then, when I "opened her up", well, lets just say that every piece of radio/electronics work ever done on the airplane was pure half ass.

I'll cut to the chase. We fixed one thing at at time. Put in the new headliner also. Added a bunch of improvements like Rosen visors and door stewards. I had a very good IA who specializes in aerobatic airplanes put it all back together and do another annual. He found some more "disturbing" issues, but overall, says it's now ready to do slow rolls if I really want to. Just kidding.

The IA got the floor and seats installed yesterday. I was tied up on some metal fabrication at the ranch so he and my friend, Wayne Roberts, flew it yesterday for the first time since February and all went well.

I thought you might enjoy seeing the before and after pics. Here are the before and during. I will take the "after" pics this afternoon and post.

I learned a lot about refurbishing an old interior.

Jgreen

John,
Looking great. Bet your happy to be done with this phase.

Could I pay you to ship your old interior my way. It'd be an improvement for me... truly would thus no green.

Beautiful airplane. I have discovered a direct proportion between the amount of care and attention we lavish on these airplanes, and the affection we feel for them. It is a great form of therapy for me.
It is fast becoming obvious that is all I want, and all I need.
Best,

Tom

What you learn is there usually are a multitude of sins hidden behind the interior materials.
Some of the airframe has not been seen for years... maybe since it left the factory.

Doing interior work without fixing all the "while you're at it" things you find.... is flawed thinking IMHO.

Leldon

Looks like a great plane - looking forward to seeing the finished (ever?) project.

In the meantime: Oooh, a Johnson Bar. I loved having a JB.

I'm having some issues with this post when I include pictures, so, I am going to do the text first and then the pics.

Leldon, you are correct. The "while we are there" issues easily doubled the time spent or more. I had done 80% of the panel and headliner installation when the IA, Chris Ruud, became available. Chris specializes in aerobatic airplanes and his knowledge and attention to detail as to structural matters is unsurpassed. He completed the project, did a full inspection of the airplane and new annual, added the Rosen visors, the door stewards, a GPS antennae for the coming GTN-650 and made about a hundred little repairs and improvements "while he was there". He even found a nut missing on one of the three structural bolts that holds the vertical stabilizer on. We also updated the overhead instrument lighting to LED which really cleaned up the overhead.

For the record, the panels, interior trim and headliner are from Selkirk, and the flooring from Aircraft Spruce. I must commend Selkirk for their support and immediate response to any additional material need I had. AC Spruce shorted me on the flooring so the extended baggage compartment floor is unfinished as the additional material has not yet arrived.

You will notice that I have the stretcher door which has come in handy more than once while loading bulky objects. The down side is that it eliminates the float package, but that is no issue to me.

So, she is back together, neat, clean, and flying again.

Pics will follow in the next post.

Jgreen

And the pics.

Sorry for the "in process" pic of the flap/trim center console. It looks great and I'll get a pic to prove it.

Jgreen

JGG
Nice bird. Could you tell us more about flooring, I like it, rugged but clean. And LED for panel any recommendations? Paperwork issues! This is too happy of a post JG I like the rant style.

Mark,

No rants today.

The flooring is sold by Aircraft Spruce as "Super Soundproofing Floor Mat". You can get it with our without the insulation: about $20/linear foot with and 40% less without. It comes in 54" width. It is a very substantial product, the 7 feet I got weighed almost 40# , but hey, it works. Nine feet would have done the cabin and the extended baggage of the 180 for less than $200. Other companies sell a similar product with designs embossed for the 180 for about $800 precut to fit, supposedly.

I looked up the manufacturer and you can buy it from them directly for MORE than Aircraft Spruce.

And by the way, Aircraft Spruce immediately made up the shortage and because of the way I had to cut the seven feet, I needed three more. The additional foot was no charge.

Jgreen

Please quit posting these pic. I have been lusting about 180/185's since we went to Johnson Creek.
This is like throwing Crack out in front of a junky.

Doug,

I've owned a LOT of airplanes over the last 40 years. I look back and can't believe that I didn't own a 185 or 180, many years ago as one would have met my NEEDS to a tee most of the time. It is a delight to fly and has no bad habits. That being said, it can be a challenge to take off or land gracefully. They tend to be light on their feet for a long time between taxi and flying speeds.

My opinion is that they are still very much underpriced. They can actually perform a mission hauling people and cargo in and out of semi-developed airports.

Their current pricing reminds me of the chance I had to buy a really nice Beaver 15 years ago for well under $90,000. A dealer friend of mine, who had no appreciation for "utility" aircraft told me I was crazy and how they were not worth what they were bringing. Yea, I was crazy, for listening to him. Today, it would be pure Alaskan gold.

Come fly mine sometime.

Jgreen

First photo:?

Are the gear leg/fuselage rubber seals in place? They are necessary to prevent exhaust from entering the cabin.

looks great, when I redid the interior in my last 185 I went with rubber flooring, it worked good

Thanks for the invite! I still want to come down and hang out with you for a day.