Buzz Elliott begins the project
From the photos of the original condition, it was obvious that Buzz had poured his heart and wallet into it.
Story by David Miller | Photos by Lance Phillips, David Miller, and Buzz Elliott
Last month, I wrote about my decision to make my “last ride” a pressurized Baron. An unusual choice, perhaps? For me, it checked the important boxes:
- My previous experience with Beech products
- Pressurized, airconditioned, and turbo-charged for our trips to Colorado
- Stable instrument platform
- Availability of simulator training for engine failures, especially on takeoff
- Experienced in-plane instructors still teaching
I began my twin-engine flying in the 1970s, renting a B-58 model, purchased a B-55 in 1979, and, along the way, logged a little time in the 58P. And the 58P fit my $500,000 budget.
Having made the purchase decision, I began the search for the perfect airplane through the “Controller” publication. My goal was to find an airplane in pristine condition and “ready to fly.” I soon found my goal was easier said than done.
Forty-four-year-old airplanes have a mind of their own. I found some with new radios but in need of engine overhauls. Others had great engines and avionics but needed paint and interior. Months ensued looking for the perfect airplane. The pickings were fairly slim.
But one caught my eye: 1,600 miles away in Reno, Nevada. I emailed the broker.
“Dave, the airplane was purchased in 2016 by its present owner, Buzz Elliott. He and his wife spent the last 8 years transforming this ship into the nicest P Baron in the country. The details are incredible; they skipped on nothing. But Buzz did not anticipate his wife’s health deteriorating the past 18 months, and they are not going to be able to enjoy their efforts.”
“I could go on about everything they did, but it’s probably easiest for someone to look through the photos, and you will easily see this isn’t a lipstick job. They restored this airplane to be their forever commuter across the country. They started with the lowest time airframe they could find (less than 1500 hours) and made it into what an untrained eye would consider new. All that’s left to do is the avionics.”
I booked a flight to Reno to take a look. Buzz and the broker, Brittnie Brink, of Elevated Aircraft Sales, were honest to a fault. The airplane was as pristine as possible for being almost five decades old. From the photos of the original condition, it was obvious that Buzz had poured his heart and wallet into it. All it needed was a major avionics redo. More about that later. But before I could make an offer, I had a lot of questions to answer.
Getting a Baron Education
Having flown twin-engine turboprops and jets for the past forty years, I was totally out of touch with the piston world. I went back to school and spent weeks reading everything I could find on beechtalk.com. It quickly became clear that everyone has an opinion on this website, but one Baron expert everyone loves is broker Neal Swartz of Latitude Aviation. I reached out, and he answered dozens of questions. He was incredibly helpful in my search. He also connected me with Baron maintenance and training experts.
Did My Baron Have the Right Bones?
Logbooks found on old airplanes are often missing lots of history. Handwriting seems to have been invented around 1980, and many mechanics were just learning cursive. De-cyphering the entries was a real challenge One airplane I looked at had a thirteen-year gap in maintenance. Most had some minor or major damage. I was at a loss trying to figure out what omissions were important. For instance, many weight and balance calculations, done over decades, are just mathematical calculations, not actual scale weights. I found one airplane that was out of CG limits just sitting on the ramp! It became apparent that I needed someone much smarter than me to keep me from making costly mistakes.
Assembling the Team
To the rescue came longtime friend Derrick Schmidt of Derrick Schmidt Aviation. The best pre-buy Citation expert in the country, Derrick also owns a B-58 and I hired him to supervise the pre-buy and handle the closing. Joey Ferreyra of Garmin handled lots of questions about avionics possibilities. Josh Jabour of Assured Partners took over the insurance challenges faced by pilots over seventy.
Would Anyone Insure Me?
The short answer is yes, at a price. About 3% of the hull value. For close to what I was paying to insure a two-million-dollar jet, I could insure a $600,000 piston. That’s likely based on the comparable safety records and lack of interest from some underwriters. “Would the premium be less if I trained twice per year,” I asked. “Nope, once is good enough,” came the answer. “Well, that’s not good enough for me,” I said. Premiums are higher on piston aircraft because the accident rate is higher. The accident rate is higher because training requirements are lax. Don’t get me started. I developed a comprehensive training plan.
Prebuy Inspections
It’s one challenge to find a PBaron in relatively good shape. It’s another to find someone to do the maintenance. Compared to Bonanza’s and normally aspirated Baron’s, the PBaron’s turbocharged Continentals are different. The Bendix fuel controllers are different. Add in pressurization to complicate things. The result is far fewer shops that specialize in the airplane. And those shops can be booked out many months in advance. Several visits to shops at my home airport, KADS, went something like this. “Any chance you can schedule an annual for my new PBaron next month?” (laughter) “That’s funny, kid, call me back next year.” The fine folks at Bevan Aviation in Wichita happened to have an immediate opening for an annual and pre-buy inspection, and the airplane was ferried from Reno for the 4-week process.
Who Would Teach Me to Fly the Thing?
Not having flown a piston twin in almost forty years had me concerned. Now, there were six big levers instead of the two on my jets. An engine failure on takeoff could be fatal in a Baron, not just a nuisance like in the Citations. I needed a big dose of reality. I started with a 3-day B-58 simulator course at FlightSafety in Wichita. Instructor Norm Thompson has forgotten more than most people know about the Baron series, and he took me through multiple engine failures in a realistic simulator until I could at least walk away from the scene of the crash. It was an eye-opening experience and highly recommended.
I attended a 2-day ground school at Garmin headquarters in Olathe, Kansas. Along with eight other students, I received a thorough introduction to the G600 autopilot, G500 TXi PFD, and GTN750 Xi navigators sitting behind live avionics displays. The instruction was top-notch and even included lunch!
Neal Swartz mentioned a real pro named Doug Moss (AeroPacific Consulting LLC) for the in-plane checkout. Doug’s resume is extensive, including stints with the Air Force, McDonnell Douglas, and United Airlines. And he owns a PBaron to boot. His knowledge and presentation skills are simply the finest I have experienced. We spent days together re-learning the skills I needed to safely operate the airplane in normal and emergency situations.
The Transformation
Finding a shop to complete the transformation was not simple. All the installers in the Dallas, Texas, area were booked for 6-12 months. A quick call to Joey Ferreyra provided some hope. “Looks like Central Texas Avionics in Georgetown has an opening if you act now,” he said. After twenty emails back and forth with manager Bobby Wampler, I had a deal. “Plan for twelve weeks, maybe a bit more,” he said. The Garmin installation included:
We also decided to install a new ELT and a complete system of Whelen LED position, landing, taxi, and pulsating recognition lights. To fit all this wizardry into the airplane required a new, custom-designed panel.
Doug Moss and I delivered the airplane straight from its annual to Georgetown. The installers surrounded the plane like a pack of hungry wolves, anxious to get started. “You know, you should have painted the plane after, not before, you did the avionics, said one. We’ll have to remove some of the old antennas, and it may need some touch-up paint.”
That comment didn’t have much importance until I received a picture of some structural damage done years prior by a ham-fisted installer. The picture showed a hole in the fuselage covered up by putty. A DER (Designated Engineering Representative) was consulted to guide the repair.
And there is nothing scarier than a picture of hundreds of wires hanging loose in the cockpit. “It’s okay laughed Bobby, we know where most of them go.”
A little over four months later, Doug and I met in Georgetown to test-fly the finished product and take delivery. Bobby and his crew of artists did exactly what they promised and within budget. I marveled at the custom-designed yokes and the wealth of information displayed over the entire panel. More capability than any jet I had flown.
It was worth the wait.
- Lessons Learned
- Put the right team together
- It always takes longer than
- you planned
- It’s cheaper to make changes while the plane is taken apart
- Weigh the plane with scales
- instead of using previous
- calculations
- Be patient
- And try not to brag too much when you taxi up in one of the coolest PBarons around.
