1968 Cessna 185E N50AU
Price: $275,000

Contact: Eric (text is best, 541-231-5426)

Listing posted by BT member and friend, I can relay a message to Eric, but easiest if you just contact him directly.

I have followed the entire restoration process for this truly impressive 185 from the get-go, and if I did not have my Bonanza (and were not so attached to it), I'd be flying this as my own airplane right now. 50AU carries an N-number that recognizes its history: it was a prospecting airplane for Goldak Engineering in Canada for a large part of its life. Goldak apparently sought out more that just Au, as this aircraft once was equipped with a gamma-ray spectrometer housed in the left wing with supporting electronics in the extended baggage compartment. All that is long gone, and now 50AU is set up as a great backcountry grand-touring platform.

SPECIFICATIONS & FEATURES

~4600 TT
~15 since firewall forward IO550 upgrade (factory new)
~15 since new Voyager 80" 3-blade prop
Sportsman leading edge cuff (this airplane is a great short-field and slow flight performer)

Dual garmin GI-275 indicators (AI and HSI) with SynVis
EI CGR-30P and C engine monitor

Garmin stack:
GMA345
GTN750Xi
GNS430
GTX345 (ADS-B in and out)
GSB-15 USB power ports (2, for a total of 4 plug-ins)

BAS tail pull handles
V-brace
New windshield
Bubble windows
Shoulder harnesses
Factory Cessna jumpseats
Factory float kit
Long range (84 gal) fuel tanks with umbrella fuel caps
All new LED lighting all around
New Cleveland wheels and brakes
New 8.50x6 tires, plus spare set of 8.00's
New Scott 3200 tailwheel
Spin-on oil filter
Lightweight battery relocated to forward of firewall
Extended baggage compartment

All AD's complied with, including the most recent empennage AD

Annual 9/2024

Older paint and interior in good shape:
Paint 8/10, interior 7/10, headliner 6/10

Has damage history and first Canadian logbook missing.

$275,000 partial trades considered.

Located KCVO (Corvallis, Oregon)

Holy smokes me likes this one and I'm looking but torn between the 180 and the 185.....can we kindly get some pictures of the Nav/Comm stack and does it have an autopilot?

Thanks Todd for your message, and sorry for the very late response. Holidays and bidding farewell to my Dad, (USAF 1965-85, a true gentleman and my personal hero) who flew west last week kept me away from my usual BeechTalk time.

Yes, I will post another panel photo that shows the radio stack - will take some photos this evening.

No, N50AU is not equipped with an autopilot. It is a great candidate for a GFC500, IMHO.

180 vs. 185 is a personal/mission-oriented question. I like the lighter (especially in pitch) control feel of an early, lightweight 180 more than a 185. I like the speed, interior volume, and load-hauling ability of a 185 more than an early 180. So, again, the answer to the "180 or 185" question is very dependent on what you like, what you need, and what you want - and the answer might be different from one day to the next(!) Ask me why I divide my time between three different airplanes: our beautiful V35B, a beefy B55, and our backcountry Arctic Tern... though the Bonanza, like a C185, covers quite a wide swath of the capability spectrum.

Anyway, additional photos of the panel later this evening.

Blue skies- Vince

Additional panel photos, thanks to N50AU's owner/seller, Eric.

Happy to address questions about this aircraft myself, and those genuinely interested in it can and should contact Eric directly, at the number listed in the original posting.

Thank you! Vince