Thanks for all the responses. Still waiting for a figure from the shipping people. GIven that the quote to fill a 40 foot container with the entire contents of our house, and ship it, is under $15K, hopefully this will be more palatable.
A TR182 is probably not the ideal plane for the kind of flying I’m likely to be able to do in Europe, but finding a suitable alternative to buy or (better) share isn’t obvious. I’d be very happy with half or a third of a fairly recent DA40, for example, but that’s probably not a very realistic option.
On one of the for-sale sites I saw a 1980 TR182, same as mine, on sale in England (Leeds) for €130K or so. It still had original 1980 avionics and interior – mine has recent avionics and a nice interior. Oh well.
Permanent, as much as anything in this life
I would always try to ship my own plane – provided there is nothing wrong with it – because buying anything new could get you a can of worms, costing thousands to fix and equally importantly bringing a load of downtime.
A TR182 is a perfectly good plane for flying around Europe and has a good STOL capability so you can visit even the shortest airfields (of practical relevance to most).
Raw sea freight is incredibly cheap, per ton. It is the shipping agent fees etc which make up most of the total cost.
johnh wrote:
Does anyone have any experience with shipping a plane in a container?
I was in a similar position earlier this year. I was based over the bridge at KHWD and had planned to fly back via the northern route, but that was made impossible because of all the travel restrictions.
I eventually used a company based at Hayward to do the packing and container shipping. They did a good job and everything arrived safe and secure.
Contact Ed Therrien on 510-333-7057 (International Air Services)
Their mechanic, Rodney, took great care and cost was quite reasonable. PM me if you want more details.
There is also a similar company at Tracy specializing in container shipping aircraft.
If it’s a change of residence, make sure you get a TOR1 approved in time.
I know from when I bought a new Cirrus that the company used to ship a lot of their export aircraft to Europe etc.
In my case I opted to have it flown over as I was in a hurry to get it. But knowing what I know now about the aircraft and the damage that can be done by poor engine management for example, I would probably opt to ship it.
Why not talk to Cessna about how they shipped the planes when they used to export them. They will know how its best done.
If I was in your position I would fly it myself, but with someone experienced in the right seat. John Page in the UK (Worldwise aviation) is an excellent instructor but also does a lot of trips where he accompanies pilots across the N Atlantic. He specialises in high end SEPs like the SR22 and single engine turboprops especially the TBMs. I would use him over a traditional ferry pilot as there would be less pressure to get the mission done fast. John charges by the day.
johnh wrote:
On one of the for-sale sites I saw a 1980 TR182, same as mine, on sale in England (Leeds) for €130K or so. It still had original 1980 avionics and interior – mine has recent avionics and a nice interior. Oh well.
It has an overhauled engine, prop, repainted, avionics are definitely not original, STOL kit, speed mods, it’s VAT paid. It’s also mine.
Shipping your aeroplane is easy. You can do it in a 3 day weekend if you know-how!
I guess he rather wanted to say „mostly last century avionics“ instead of „original 1980 avionics“….
Other than avionics, it looks like a a great aircraft, and not all too overpriced.
It’s also mine.
Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude. Just it looks as though model for model, planes are more expensive in Europe. I reckon I’d get $110-120K for mine if I sell it, with a GNS530W and GTX345, recent paint, recent engine overhaul, and nice leather interior.
I’d be very interested in your experience with a N-reg TR182 in Europe. Have you had any problems with maintenance? There are two troublesome areas in my experience, the gear (not THAT many Cessna RGs about), and the &# throttle/turbo linkage which has been a major issue with mine.
