May 2008

After nine years of enjoying a successful Beechcraft Bonanza partnership, the members took a BIG step up to N2138C!  What an amazing airplane - she's sleek, fast, pressurized, and loaded with great features and upgrades.  A perfect next step for the group as we work our way up toward turbines and jets!

This shot was taken on the ramp at Albert Whited airport in St. Petersburg, FL - right before we closed the deal to bring her into the family.   

Another nice profile shot from the front angle - this one really shows the larger size of the airplane.  For those not as  familiar with the PA-46 family, that's a 43' wingspan! 

Lots of lift to fly high (up to 25,000 ft) and fast (up to 210 kts or 240 mph).  

That's Captain John doing the walk-around inspection here!  

The Malibu is true "cabin class" single engine airplane - meaning its interior space is large and  comfortable and easy to access. 

The large stairway door adds a nice touch and a feeling of luxury when boarding the airplane, not to mention the easy loading and boarding!

This angle illustrates the length of the roomy cabin and that silky smooth wing suface!

The airplane was updated with a new first-class paint job in 2006 - it looks almost new from the outside.

June 2008

While our new Malibu was almost perfect in every way when she came to us in May, she was missing one of the most important things on our list - an updated panel full of the latest state-of-the-art avionics. 

Here's a shot of the original panel layout taken right before the visit to Gulf Coast Avionics for our "Extreme Summer Makeover"!

July 2008

And Viola!  The outdated panel concern was nothing that a little TLC from our favorite avionics shop couldn't solve - feast your eyes on some of the finest retrofit avionics available today for general aviation aircraft! 

While Garmin integrated flight systems with "synthetic vision" are clearly the true state-of-the-art today, for the most part those systems are only available with brand new airplanes. 

For those of us with more mature airplanes and more frugal budgets, our new panel is a great example of how close one can get to the Ultimate Avionics Experience!