New Member: Patrick; 1966 Cherokee 180 (PHJR)

stallfp

Aloha everyone! I recently took the leap and purchased a '66 Cherokee 180 here in Hawaii. I've been flying around the islands for a couple years now and finally decided to try going the ownership route. I did most of my primary training in PA-28s so it felt like coming home. Definitely shows some wear but flies great. Fortunately, we don't really have to worry about long-distance or bad weather flying.

I normally fly out of Kalaeloa on Oahu but the pictures are after ferrying to Honolulu for annual and transponder replacement. I don't have pictures yet but for anyone looking to replace their seats, I highly recommend sportaircraftseats.com. Their replacement seats are extremely comfortable and super easy to install.

Scott Sherer

Hi Pat and welcome aboard! When you get a moment or two, post some pics of your flights around Hawaii!

stallfp

Scott,

I'm usually too preoccupied with driving the bus but a passenger did snag this one on the Napali coast of Kauai. The helicopter tours there are absolutely out of this world.

The halfway point from Oahu is about about 35 NM from land in either direction. The first time I flew over in a 172, both islands were obscured by clouds, so it was nothing but clouds and water in all directions. It was one of the most surreal flying experiences I've had. I got my instrument rating shortly thereafter.

griff390

stallfp;

Welcome! Nice airplane!

Scott Sherer

OH Wow! Thanks for posting the pic. Awesome!

MikeJJ

Greetings! I too have a 1966 Cherokee 180. I've been taking care of this aircraft for 30+ years. If you plan to do seats, carpet, radios, instruments, there are plenty of experienced owners on this forum to assist with not only info but I'll bet with physical labor if provided a place to sleep

By the way, it's hard to tell from your photo but if your Garmin 430 screen is not cracked but only a deteriorated and scratched up coating, I have a fix for that! Novus polish , #2 followed by #1 will completely remove that overly delicate and in my opinion unnecessary anti reflection coating and restore the finish. I did this to mine and after looking worse during the process, it finishes up looking like new!

Regards,

Mike

stallfp

Mike,

Thanks for the info. I hope I'll be able to make a similar statement many years from now. Part of the reason I decided to join this forum was all the good info I was able to absorb leading up to the purchase. My condo is a pretty tight squeeze but I guess with a big enough project it might be worth the trade.

I believe you are correct and the coating on the 430 screen was pretty deteriorated due to sun exposure. A few of the buttons were also sticking so I gave it to the local avionics shop for a refurb. I'm not sure what they used but it came back looking and working great.

-Patrick

Scott Sherer

Thanks for the posts Mike and Patrick!

Ray McNaught

Aloha, and welcome aboard. The islands are my wife's and my favorite vacation spot for about the past 25 years or so! In 2018 we rented an SR-22 and instructor for a 2-hour tour... his name was not Gilligan! We flew from PHOG to PHLU and PHHN then back to PHOG. It is kinda cool having "P" airports in the logbook! Having driven to Hana a couple of times it was awesome to get there in minutes instead of hours, it was an awesome, beautiful trip! The only bummer of the trip was the malfunction of the GoPro :-( !

You should have many great adventures flying around some of the most beautiful islands in the world! Plus you will become VERY GOOD at crosswinds!

Mahalo for posting this, it brings back some very fond memories, past, and future!