I just wanted to re-introduce myself, and show off the airplane I just bought. I used to own a Tri-Pacer, but it needed new fabric, and being in the certified category, I couldn't do the work myself, and the cost of paying someone to recover it would have been more than the plane was worth, so I sold it a few years ago.
I wanted a plane I could work on myself, so I moved to the experimental category, and I have owned a couple of Kitfoxes in the past couple of years since selling the Tri-Pacer. I really like the Kitfox, and still have one, but I found myself looking for a bit more load carrying capability. The Kitfox is great as a single person plane, (or with a passenger and half fuel and not much gear,) but I wanted to be able to fly with another person, and full tanks, and some camping gear.
I recently found (and bought) a plane which should suit my needs quite nicely. It is a unique 1959 Piper PA-22/20 with the 160HP O-320, with some interesting modifications that make it a good start to a decent bush plane. It is also in the "Owner Maintenance" category (I'm in Canada) which will allow me to work on it myself and modify it in ways that I couldn't if it was certified (Dynon panel coming up!)
The plane was rebuilt in 2005 by Charlie and Eddie Saville here in Alberta. They have reportedly built about 10 Bushmaster conversions from PA-22's and have a fuselage jig and the experience to do things right. They stripped it down to the tubing and recovered it, and it has been hangared ever since. The fabric is in great condition.
They also extended the wings and squared off the tips and installed a leading edge cuff on the wings, a seaplane door on the pilot's side, cub style landing gear, an alternator and sealed struts.
The panel is a bit dated, but being in the owner maintenance category, I plan to install a light, simple and modern Dynon panel similar to what I have in my Kitfox.
Other future plans include VG's, bushwheels, a baby bushwheel tail wheel, and maybe a Borer prop. (The wheels/tires that are currently on it look way too small!)
The engine is in great shape, it has about 1100 hours on it, and is one of the smoothest O-320's I have heard.
The good part about this is I only paid $20,000 for the plane (about $3000 less than I spent on a Rotax 912 engine for my Kitfox!) I can see my Kitfox being put up for sale in the near future.
Here are some pictures of my new plane. I haven't flown it home yet, it is leaking a bit of oil from the pressure sender and I want to replace it before I fly cross country. I'm hoping I should have the plane at home in the next week or so though.
I'm excited about exploring the backcountry in this airplane, should be fun.
Have a great day,
Randy
