SIERRA TO BARONA Brooklyn boy’s dream comes true

Iwanted to be a pilot since I was 11,which was fairly challenging for akid growing up in Brooklyn, NewYork. Nevertheless, I traveled greatdistances on buses and trains to reach

hobby stores; built model rockets andstarted building control-line airplanes. Ibuilt a 36" wingspan, low-wing modeland got an A+ on my mechanical draw-ing extra-credit project.

I originally pursued aeronauticalengineering in college. But the mid-'70swere difficult years for the aerospaceindustry, so I modified my major andgraduated in 1977 with a BS in mechan-ical engineering.

Fast forward to age 38. I was work-ing in Syracuse, New York, when Ireceived a community college catalogthat offered a private pilot ground schoolcourse at night. I enrolled and madesome very good aviation contacts thatultimately helped me become a pilot.

When I turned 40, I started lookingfor an airplane to buy. My old groundschool instructor put me in touch with a“buyer's broker” friend (for a 6% fee) tohelp me select one to meet my needsand to check it for proper airworthiness.

The broker prepared a list of viableaircraft, including a few Pipers withfixed gear, a Piper Arrow, a Mooney20C, a C35 and a Sierra. The Sierra hadretractable gear, a lower fuel burn, alower price and speeds that were kind toa student and adequate to keep me frombeing bored as my experience grew. TheSierra was selected and I flew her for1,450 hours over nine years, earning my private and instrument ratings.

Around 1999, I began lusting aftera twin-engine bird, something to advancemy skills and increase cruise speeds.Typically, my Sierra trips were approach-ing 500 nm, and most required a fuelstop. I avoided flights of more than fourhours on the five-hour fuel supply.

In 2002, I took multiengine trainingin a 1959 Travel Air, then decided I wouldwant either a Travel Air or a Baron. I vacillated back and forth, running thenumbers on cruise speeds, fuel burn, use-ful load and all manner of comparisons.

I chose the Baron because therewere more of them flying and still beingbuilt. This meant an airframe with moreavailable parts, suppliers and support.

In 2003, I found Barons were a per-formance bargain in terms of acquisi-tion costs. Based on my budget and listof wants, a mid-'60s B55 would be per-

fect, and the further into the '60s the bet-ter. I also needed an outlet for the Sierra,which was a significant part of my pur-chase dollars, so a trade was a priority.

In early 2004, all the financial starswere aligned when an ad appeared by adealer for two B55s—a 1965 and a1969—that seemed within horse-trad-ing distance of my budget. I chose the1965 airplane; the 1969 had higherengine times and two-blade props.

I e-mailed the dealer with my tradeproposition and agreed to fly to his loca-tion to “get a peek at his and show himmine.” I was extremely interestedbecause it was late '60s (alternators andhigher gross weight); low airframe,engine and prop times; decent IFR digi-tal avionics and I could personalize thepaint and interior. It was exciting to bestaring at the prospect of essentiallyrefurbishing my Dream Baron.

When I arrived, I saw the plane'sexterior already had a base coat ofwhite. The side windows were begin-ning to cloud. Its interior had been com-pletely removed; the panel had a hodge-podge of dated avionics. A gear-uplanding in the '80s had been properlyrepaired and well-documented. Theright engine was a TCM factory-remanwith 440TT SFRM; the left engine wasa fresh 0TT SMOH overhaul. This wasa good platform to refurbish.

Final negotiations included new 1⁄4"side windows from Great Lakes Aero, aTracker IIIC color moving map boot-strapped to the IFR-certified KLN-89B(later upgraded to a slide-in replacementKLN94), a Garmin 340 audio panel anda wired six-place stereo intercom, a freshannual inspection, Airwolf oil filteradapters, GAMIjectors, a JPI EDM-760w/fuel flow, new landing gear bushings

Page 9594 www.bonanza.org ABS May 2006

N2023WMike Caban

Tampa, Florida

Mike Caban with his “Dream Baron.”

(from ABS member Kevin O’Halloran’sprivate stock), copilot AI and DG, verti-cal card compass and a Cygnet dualyoke, Davtron clocks and flight deckwith push-to-talk switches mounted inthe thumb plates. (I later added “cooliehat” switches in the opposing thumbplates to switch coms, autopilot discon-nect and ident transponder.)

I joined ABS I signed the contract on February 23,

with an expected delivery one monthlater. I then realized I needed more spe-cific knowledge and input on this refur-bishing project, so I joined ABS and alsosubscribed to the independent Beechchatline. These resources proved to beinvaluable in identifying sources forcomponents and "watch-outs."

I had coordinated many multimil-lion-dollar projects and programs, butcoordinating an aircraft refurbishmentamong the dealer’s four independentsubcontractors required much moretime and energy than the one-monthplan the dealer anticipated.

Refurbishment beginsThe engine monitor, oil filters and

side window installations began first,followed by a return to the paint shopfor the “split-scheme” and striping, thenon to the avionics shop and lastly to theinterior shop for the Berber carpet,leather seats and side panels, primingand painting of all exposed interiormetal surfaces and plastic trim and newheadliner material.

At the beginning of each subcon-tractor’s efforts, I met with them toreview all the particulars. During theirwork I visited to make sure they did notget “confused” and to see that everythingwas progressing as agreed. In the ensu-ing months, I logged 50 hours in mySierra while checking on things.

In June—nearly four agonizing andtrying months later—N2023W, S/NTC971, was reborn to be my DreamBaron for the rest of my flying years.

RequalifyingSince I hadn't flown a twin-engine

aircraft in almost two years, I needed torequalify myself. On delivery day, myinstructor/CFII-MEI Aaron Flora andanother CFII-MEI friend joined me forthe cross-country two-hour trip back tothe Tampa area. The trip at 10,000' wasgreat—clocking about 185 KTAS on 25gph. In the following days, Aaron and Imapped out my retraining.

My insurance policy had no stipu-lations, so what was needed was goodcommon sense. I essentially repeatedthe multiengine training and didn'tundertake a solo flight until it was com-pleted. Eighteen hours later, Aaron andI agreed that I had a good command ofthe plane's operating parameters and Iwas "released" for solo flight with self-imposed marginal VFR privileges.

My Dream Baron todayI now reach family destinations in

Virginia in about three hours, theBahamas in 1.5 hours and am lookingforward to trips to the Caymans andBelize. A recent trip from Virginia toSeattle, Washington, with my parentswas a full day of flying enjoyment. TheGAMIjectors and the EDM-760 enableme to cruise lean of peak at 8,000',burning 21 gph at 175-180 KTAS.

Even in the summer heat of southFlorida, I can keep CHTs below 400° Fin the climb at 120 KIAS with 24 gphfuel flow on each engine.

With more than 350 hours in theB55 and being within weeks of takingthe commercial and ATP checkrides, Iam looking forward to learning moreabout operating the Baron throughactivities with other ABS members.

ABS May 2006 www.bonanza.org Page 9595

ENGINE:Left - Continental IO-470LDevine Engines overhaulRight - Continental IO-470L TCMfactory remanufacturedHartzell “Top-Prop” 3-blade con-versionBeechcraft factory unfeatheringaccumulatorsTanis under valve cover heating elements, block and sump pad heatersJPI EDM-760 w/ fuel flowAirwolf oil filter adaptersGAMIjectors

AIRFRAME:Dupont Imron “Split Scheme”(Matterhorn White-Blue Metallic-Las Vegas Gold-Cumulus GrayMetallic)Great Lakes Aero 1⁄4” grey tintside glassCunningham Covers cabin cover& engine cowl plugsCygnet dual yoke w/ dualDavtron chronometers & flightdeskCopilot AI and DG flight instrumentsPAI vertical card compass

AVIONICS:Garmin 340 audio panel & six-place stereo intercomKLN-94 IFR-Certified GPSMid-Continent MD41-528annunciator/switching unitSkyforce Tracker IIIC movingmap slaved to GPSDual Narco Mark 12D nav/comsNarco AT-150 transponderOtto Controls T5-0055,five-position toggle/pushbutton“hat” switchCentury IIIB autopilot w/ altitudehold coupled to nav #1 & GPSBonzer Mark 10X radar altimeter

EQUIPMENT LIST — N2023W — 1965 B55 — S/N:TC971