Family isn't getting any smaller, so it looks like we're in the market for a 185. Tough to find good ones, and based the few I've looked at, even the good ones often aren't.

I was fortunate enough to have owned a 180 until recently, so I know what I want and am willing to wait for the right plane.

I'd prefer:
Later airframe (probably '77 or later for the modern panel layout)
IO-550/Mac 401
Late panel (430 or 530 WAAS or better preferred but not a deal breaker - I don't generally fly SE IFR)
Sportsman

Other mods (jumpseat's, etc.) I can add myself if necessary.

Looking either for a lowish-time 550 or a high time 520 that's priced accordingly.

I've looked at several 185s already, and so far they've all had enough red flags that I walked. I don't mind damage, but it needs to be properly repaired and documented.

So far, everything I've seen that fit my profile has been selling through a broker, which is fine, but I wouldn't mind avoiding the inflated prices that brokers seem to want. I have no problem paying a fair price, but there are some outright crazy asking prices out there.

Chris

The Skywagons.com dealer at Placerville Ca airport usually has a couple. He has a lot of exposure. I know nothing about him or his business except for what I see online. My instructor delivers sky wagons for him quite a bit and does checkout training (Eric Cope).

If you're really serious, take a look at some of the Canadian birds for sale. As a rule, they tend to be maintained to a higher standard due to EASA regs. A conforming airframe won't be hard to reregister back to the US. There are some real value deals right now with the US dollar strength against the Canadian dollar.

I spent a year looking at many 185's till I found the one I have now.
Most of the ones I looked at are still for sale which tells you something.
I looked in Canada at several, just be sure that there are no mods that are not approved in the US.
It might also be a good idea to contact a local DAR and ask them about the process.

Tom

The maintenance standards in Canada vs. US. My observations.

On paper, it's the same, but we have no equivalency to an A&P qualification. All our maintenance people are qualified to an IA standard. We have to retain maintenance release tags for all parts installed on our aircraft. In US terms, an 8130 tag must accompany every part. I believe only commercially operated aircraft have to have this paper trail in the US.

In general, aircraft I see imported from the US often have inspection covers that appear not to have been removed in years. This was the case with my T210 out of Durango. Not the only example I can cite however. A lot of fine details had been missed, but this problem isn't strictly defined by an international border, it's everywhere. Any mods you find on a Canadian aircraft will be acceptable in the US. All Canadian STCs are recognized by the FAA under reciprocity agreements and viceaversa. The problem as I understand is trying to import aircraft to Canada that have field approved mods from the US. They're not allowed here. There is no mechanism to get a field mod in Canada. There are LSTCs. Limited supplemental type certificates, but they are rare on GA aircraft. I'm not sure about their eligibility in the US, probably on a case by case basis.

Aircraft in Canada in my estimation are less molested by previous maintenance activity, but also don't seem to get as many nice mods and upgrades, American aircraft tend to have nicer paint, avionics, interior, etc. Currency exchange rates, access to all the specialty shops, and disposable incomes in Canada vs. US seem to reduce the nice to haves up here.

Summary: we take care of what we have in our airplane's a bit better, but don't spoil them very much with decoration and accessories. You'll find good core value up here, but less bling.

Thanks, guys.

I did go see Mark and Kerry in Placerville. Decided I didn't want either of their two airplanes for different reasons.

I've seen one or two in Canada that looked promising, but I'll be honest that I don't know anything about importing an airplane and I'm somewhat intimidated by the process. In addition, so far they've tended to be in very remote places and it'll take more than just a day or two to get there and back for a look.

Sounds like they may be getting a couple more airplanes in Placerville soon. We'll see how those look. Still checking every site I know of a couple times a day.

Pinecone wrote:The maintenance standards in Canada vs. US. My observations.

On paper, it's the same, but we have no equivalency to an A&P qualification. All our maintenance people are qualified to an IA standard. We have to retain maintenance release tags for all parts installed on our aircraft. In US terms, an 8130 tag must accompany every part. I believe only commercially operated aircraft have to have this paper trail in the US.

In general, aircraft I see imported from the US often have inspection covers that appear not to have been removed in years. This was the case with my T210 out of Durango. Not the only example I can cite however. A lot of fine details had been missed, but this problem isn't strictly defined by an international border, it's everywhere. Any mods you find on a Canadian aircraft will be acceptable in the US. All Canadian STCs are recognized by the FAA under reciprocity agreements and viceaversa. The problem as I understand is trying to import aircraft to Canada that have field approved mods from the US. They're not allowed here. There is no mechanism to get a field mod in Canada. There are LSTCs. Limited supplemental type certificates, but they are rare on GA aircraft. I'm not sure about their eligibility in the US, probably on a case by case basis.

Aircraft in Canada in my estimation are less molested by previous maintenance activity, but also don't seem to get as many nice mods and upgrades, American aircraft tend to have nicer paint, avionics, interior, etc. Currency exchange rates, access to all the specialty shops, and disposable incomes in Canada vs. US seem to reduce the nice to haves up here.

Summary: we take care of what we have in our airplane's a bit better, but don't spoil them very much with decoration and accessories. You'll find good core value up here, but less bling.

Close Pinecone. There are mods here in Canada that aren't approves in the US. CAN TSO. Wing X on C-170 is an example of this. There isn't many mods that aren't approved in the US, but there is some.
Importing is fairly straight forward. I've imported to Canada and exported to the US. It's pretty easy.

David

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