Flying the new engine

After nearly a year in the shop, the engine upgrade is complete! And what a delight. Early flights showed nearly 2,000 FPM in climb from sea level, and cruise speeds at 8,000 feet of over 165 knots. We were delighted. Unfortunately, during the year that the engine was installed, trouble arrived for the partners. One partner was forced to bow out due to difficulties with his restaurant business, and the other partner chose to spend more quality time with his ill wife. The end result was that I was now the sole owner of this airplane.

And as the sole owner, I was interested in upgrading the avionics. I made the case to my trusting wife that these expenses I was proposing to incur were all in the interest of having a safer airplane. After all, who could argue with safety when it comes to general aviation? So one thing lead to another (hence the original blog title of "As Long As...").

And then more bad news. Like many males over the age of 50, I found myself plagued with more and more frequent episodes of a heart arrhythmia known as Atrial Fibrillation. This arrhythmia became more serious, and ultimately jeopardized my flight medical. All work on the airplane stopped.