Backcountry Pilot

I am starting to plan a trip from Minnesota to Alaska for summer of 2027. Looking at a few different routes and one of them is via Yellowknife to Anchorage. Looks tough to get fuel in between those...

Thought I would share the complete panel retrofit I recently completed on a new to me 185. All of the existing instruments and avionics were complete obsolete junk, and most didn’t work correctly. We...

I have a new to me 185F that has Robertson STOL and VG’s. I am pretty let down by the stall speed compared to my previous 185. Yesterday with just me and fuel, approximately 2500 lbs total, it would...

I have the Atlee Dodge jump seats and my seat belts and fittings are shot and ugly. Atlee Dodge doesn't sell replacements, and the shop I use for Cirrus belts doesn't have parts to rebuild them. Anyone...

I bought a GTN750 and GTN650 that came out of my friend's Citation. I am using the 750 in my 185 but I don't need the 650. $10k obo

My “new” A185F is almost 100lbs heavier than my old A185E. The new plane is 1,965 lbs empty on 8.00 tires. It has a 520 and Robertson STOL. It is 18 lbs heavier than it was when new. My previous...

Approx 250 hrs since overhaul in 2012. Removing to install Voyager. Blades are in excellent shape, spinner has a small crack. Asking $9,000

I have a complete set of landing gear from a 1968 A185E for sale. The plane got totaled on floats. The gear is straight and no issues with it. The plane was checked on grease plates for alignment recently....

I just bought an A185F that still has the screen in the 520. I would like to covert it to a spin on filter. Anyone have that setup with pictures of where it was mounted and hose lengths? I was...

I just bought a 1975 A185F with an IO-520. My tach is showing redline at 2,750 and a little yellow after that. Shouldn’t the redline be 2,850? The governor is adjusted to match the tach.

My trim acted a little strange on the last flight. When I retracted my flaps and trimmed aft, it didn’t feel like it responded, so i trimmed aft more. Then the nose came way up all at once, so i had...

There’s a fly in at Oak Island on Lake of the woods this Saturday. Still 30” of ice up there and the owner of Sunset Lodge who is an avid pilot told me it’s completely safe. No skis needed as there’s...

Selling this 430W from my Cirrus. Removed for upgrade to Avidyne. Unit was overhauled by Garmin less than a year ago and everything works perfect. It is 14/28V so will work in any aircraft. $5,500...

I am going to start rounding up the components needed to remove all the mechanical gauges and vacuum system, and put in a G3X touch. Does anyone know if a 185E and 185F share the same instrument panel?...

Anyone went directly from the 401 to a Voyager on a 185? Interested in if it’s actually faster, how much, and does it sound as cool? 401 is 22 years old so i will have to overhaul or replace soon....

The Brakes on my 185 have always groaned loudly when turning and even when coming to a complete stop, but not when moving fast in a straight line. I finally had enough of it today and replaced the linings...

Going to refurbish and re-paint my airglass wheel penetration skis soon. Anyone have experience putting UHMW plastic on the bottoms? Advantages/disadvantages? How do you attach? Was thinking...

Going to refurbish and re-paint my airglass wheel penetration skis soon. Anyone have experience putting UHMW plastic on the bottoms? Advantages/disadvantages? How do you attach? Was thinking...

Looking for seaplane lift ideas. I've been keeping my plane in the water most of the time, but it was recently discovered we have zebra mussels. In the interest of not spreading mussels to other...