The more the airplane is used, the faster the upgrades it will receive.
I have created a “Wish List” for the aircraft, some of them happening very soon. If you have any cool suggestions or upgrades, please let me know here.
1.- Change the tail beacon for a new Whelen LED Beacon. The current beacon light is old and requires a lot of time to “warm up”. Also, the Orion 360 is the “smallest” form factor, which might help with some drag. Investment $688 + Installation. Completed on January 5, 2019.
3.- Piper performance kit which includes the following:
- Flap / Aileron / Flap-Fuselage / Stabilator Gap Seal Kit
—> 3-5 Knots increase. 100-150 ft/min increase in the rate of climb. Stall speeds will decrease in the 1-2 knots range - Wing Root Fairing
—> 1-2 Knots increase. Reduced stall speeds. Improved low-speed handling. - Flap Hinge Fairing Kit
—> 1-2 Knots increase. - Gear Lobe Fairing Kit
—> 2-4 Knots increase.
This performance kit will potentially increase between 7 to 14 knots! Good enough to be above 150 knots.
4.-Aspen Evolution 1000 Pro Max upgrade. The current Aspen Evo 1000 is an amazing instrument, but the image quality from the LCD is not that great, especially next to the beautiful screen of the Garmin GTN 750. Aspen just announced a program that allows current owners to upgrade to their fancier screen version.
5.-When the time comes, I would like to smooth the surfaces of the aircraft, this with a new fresh coat of paint, properly done.