[Tom Wong]

Tom Wong on March 9, 2014 at 2:02 pm #17381

Hi everyone. I just joined and paid up a minute ago =)

I’ve been flying for more than 10 years – starting with my FAA private certificate.while I lived in California. I’ve been back in Vancouver, British Columbia for a while now and just bought a 1972 Piper Seneca I a few months ago. The previous owner lost his medical and the plane had not been flown for 3 years. One prop also suffered a light prop strike. We pulled a couple of cylinders and there was no corrosion.

The good news is I’ve had both props overhauled, and one of the engines torn down and inspected. All that’s left (hopefully) is an annual and I’m off to the races.

I also bought a leather kit from Airtex so my plan is to re-do the interior myself while the annual is underway starting this coming week.

Tom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on February 1, 2014 at 8:41 am #17350

Hi David,

Travel safe and I’ll be at Waupaca for Piper Flyers this year at Oshkosh. Perhaps you can make it…

Scott
N344TB

[DAVID MCKENNA]

DAVID MCKENNA on January 9, 2014 at 5:56 am #17337

Hi there Brian & Scott,
Great to connect with other Seneca owners and share experiences and information. I installed most of the K2U speed mods several years ago, and have calculated about 5 knots TAS improvement, so file 170 KTAS at around 6-8000′. Have not installed the Lopresti nose bowls for we do not need ‘improved cooling’, and I plan to keep the original look.

As noted in previous posts, we have updated our panel extensively over the years, and our III is a very capable and comfortable cross country aircraft, which I expect will be the only aircraft I will ever own. One area where you guys can be very helpful is sharing your ‘maintenance experiences’ with me. Located in the east coast of Canada, isolates me somewhat from the big maintenance shops with Seneca experience, so we must work to solve many of our maintenance issues ourselves, often at great expense and frustration by throwing parts at the problem till it gets fixed! One frustration is the occasional landing gear retraction problem noted earlier.

My wife and I are preparing to take off early Monday morning for Key West Race Week…a very enjoyable trip down the east coast, with a stopover in Charleston.
All the best to you guys. I look forward to meeting up with you in the future.

David
Seneca C-FJMM

[Brian swank]

Brian swank on January 8, 2014 at 5:56 pm #17336

I came real close to buying a fully restored Cessna 310 for over $250k, and at the
Sat minute thought the better of it and am keeping my Seneca. I don’t think you can beat it for the price of operating it. I hope with adding all the Knots 2 U speed mods along with the Lo Presti cowl and wing tips, Merlin waste gates and turbo intercoolers, I will add 10 kts or so. We will see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on January 8, 2014 at 5:30 pm #17333

Hello and welcome, Brian. It’s great to have another Seneca owner participating online in this forum. I’ve owned three Seneca 2’s and 3’s over the last 20 years so if there’s anything I can do to assist you in your restoration, please let me know. Regarding interior: I’ve done four or five interiors myself using Airtex kits, Vantage Plane plastics, LP Aero glass and lots of little parts from Chief and Aircraft Spruce. The interiors done this way save a ton of money and come out looking as good as any professional interior company could do it. Regarding paint, I’ve never painted a plane but I’m about to. I’ve picked out Central Aviation in Watertown, Wisconsin as my choice for paint. They are competitive and I’ve been looking at their work for 40 years. I have a lot of neighboring hangars with airplanes painted by this company. I recommend them highly.

Good luck with the restoration and be sure to share your success stories on this forum so we can all learn.

Have a good new year and if you live in the north country (like I do), stay warm!

Scott Sherer
Milwaukee, WI
N344TB

[DAVID MCKENNA]

DAVID MCKENNA on January 6, 2014 at 12:14 pm #17330

Oxford Aviation in Oxford Maine seems to have a good rep.

[Brian swank]

Brian swank on January 5, 2014 at 9:54 am #17329

Thanks for the information.
As far as paint and interior, I have no clue where to get it done. I am from the Pittsburgh area.

[DAVID MCKENNA]

DAVID MCKENNA on January 5, 2014 at 9:22 am #17328

Hey Brian,
I installed Merlyn Wastegates on my Seneca III several years ago, and would have to say I have been disappointed with the results, expecting that they would help with the touchy throttles. Never did do the ‘critical altitude’ test, but believe they allow the same power with about 1″ less MP…fairly expensive mod for what you get, although others swear by them.
With regards to intercoolers, temperatures have never been a problem with our engines, so I did not feel the need for this mod. Our CHTs rarely go above 350 degrees, even in S. Florida on a hot day.
Where are you planning to get your paint/interior done?
David

[Brian swank]

Brian swank on January 4, 2014 at 10:49 am #17327

Hello all! I am new on here. First post. I have owned a 1979 Seneca II for a little over 3 years now. I recently considered trading it on a T310, but decided against it. I am going to instead redo my Seneca with new paint and interior, possibly some engine upgrades. Does anyone have the Merlyn Waste Gates and/or the Intercoolers. If so, what do you think of them. I already have the Lo Presti Mods, except for the nose bowls, which I will do when the paint gets done.
Glad to be a part here. Any info is appreciated.
Thanks,
Brian
N19MB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on December 27, 2013 at 7:35 pm #17324

Greetings David,

Welcome to the group! I owned a Seneca 3 for about five years until a business downturn forced me to sell it. I found a nicely priced Seneca 2 shortly thereafter. There are a couple of 3 features that I miss if I think about them but they haven’t really impacted me much. My projects for 2014 only number 1 at this point: paint. Next to an engine and autopilot about the most expensive project I can do, hence only one project in 2014.

Stay tuned, let’s talk more and my best to you and your family for the remaining holidays.

Scott Sherer
N344TB
Milwaukee, WI