Perhaps im being a bit irrational but as someone fairly new in aviation, the idea of using an engine beyond its official lifespan is disconcerting. Especially that i wouldnt be allowed to use it commercially.. so if i cant use it commercially why should i use it privately! Especially if its an engine that has likely not been used very often over many years. Perhaps when i know more about aviation in general i will be ready for that! TBH i was about to buy (and overhaul) that EGAG as its in solid condition otherwise, but the AP is a real bummer because the owner tried to fix it a couple of times i think and its still not right. I have a feeling that in the end i will have to compromise on something. If i am not willing to, i should just ring up the Cirrus or Diamond dealer for a million pound flying machine straight from the factory!
Without the AP, the only IFR touring i will be doing is to Southend and back, mainly to get shouted at for touching the red line haha!
Re the registration, its so bizarre that i can fly an N reg in the UK, but not an F reg…I mean we are still ruled by the European Court of Justice, but cant even fly a European aircraft in our airspace !!
the AP is a real bummer
Don’t waste time or money trying to fix an old, broken AP. I made that mistake with my 182, I spent maybe $10K trying to fix a 20+ year old Century 31, before finally giving up and replacing it.
Just budget the $20K or so it will cost to fit a GFC500, and try and negotiate that in the price.
I’m resigned to the fact that as soon as the KFC225 in my TB20 starts giving any kind of trouble, I will do exactly that. For now, fingers crossed, it seems to be working OK.
You don’t actually NEED an AP, though it certainly makes long flights a lot more relaxing. I quite enjoy hand flying, as long as I accept that I’ll never do it as well as a little box of electronics.
I was going to comment earlier that I think you’ll be lucky to get everything on your “must have” list, TKS especially. I would love to have it, but there aren’t THAT many around.
its so bizarre that i can fly an N reg in the UK, but not an F reg
The N is covered by FAR 61.3 – here. This is a very generous FAA concession.
Brussels is not offering a similar thing.
There have been concessions by individual European countries allowing their reg to be flown by any ICAO license but Brussels, upon taking over European FCL, has banned these.
In a similar way, the UK CAA allowed any G-reg to be flown on any ICAO license, but this ended in 2012 (under pressure from JAA/EASA) and remains only for Annex 1 aircraft (eg. RV). It may return at some point for certified types because Brussels has no say in it now, but the CAA here moves at a glacial pace.
Don’t waste time or money trying to fix an old, broken AP. I made that mistake with my 182, I spent maybe $10K trying to fix a 20+ year old Century 31, before finally giving up and replacing it.
To be fair, a Century AP is very very old, with analog timing circuits so vulnerable to electrolytic capacitors drying out. And plenty of people have problems with the GFC500 too but they don’t post about it on forums because they are under Garmin warranty, which is honoured only via a dealer, and the dealer will cut their throat if they post about it 
I’m resigned to the fact that as soon as the KFC225 in my TB20 starts giving any kind of trouble, I will do exactly that. For now, fingers crossed, it seems to be working OK.
That would not be a smart move 
You may or may not be able to use the existing servos
You can’t, and installing a GFC500 is accordingly pretty expensive by the time you have paid for everything.
the idea of using an engine beyond its official lifespan is disconcerting
There is no engineering reason for the 12 year figure. It was probably driven by a need to limit legal liability for products sold historically; every business has to do that otherwise it would accumulate liability to silly levels.
An IO540 has very few time-perishable items. There are just a few seals and all are replaceable “externally”, and get replaced on-condition (e.g. the crankshaft seal is replaced if it leaks). What matters is the total number of hours, and in general you can get 3k-4k before the engine is pretty well shagged and even a top overhaul (changing all cylinders) doesn’t salvage it. If you accumulate say 2k hrs over 30 years, the 30 years is insignificant. The biggest enemy is corrosion, which unfortunately is common in GA because most people don’t fly frequently enough.
Yeah i mean having to change two major parts of my first ever aircraft just doesnt sound like a smart idea. Could end up just being an expensive rabbit hole.
Could end up just being an expensive rabbit hole.
Welcome to aircraft ownership.
And plenty of people have problems with the GFC500 too
I’m certainly hoping that my KFC225 hangs in for long enough that they fnish debugging the GFC500 – which is evidently far from done. My old employer talked about the “customer experience maturity model” (honest) – i.e. let the customers find the bugs.
Rami1988 wrote:
Yeah i mean having to change two major parts of my first ever aircraft just doesnt sound like a smart idea. Could end up just being an expensive rabbit hole.
Unfortunately, any aircraft is a potential expensive rabbit hole.
Peter wrote:
And plenty of people have problems with the GFC500 too but they don’t post about it on forums
Nonsense, happy to post about it. Right now, our GFC500 seems (!!) to have the bugs ironed out. Famous last words….
Peter wrote:
You can’t, and installing a GFC500 is accordingly pretty expensive by the time you have paid for everything
It’s about $ 20k all in, at least here in the US (California).
Ultranomad wrote:
Unfortunately, any aircraft is a potential expensive rabbit hole.
Truer words have seldom been spoken!
johnh wrote:
My old employer talked about the “customer experience maturity model” (honest) – i.e. let the customers find the bugs.
That’s how majority of software industry work these days (to be more precise: since Windows 3.1 emerged).
I will let @wigglyamp do the USD 20k → GBP conversion
