Looking for something different to do this Spring Break week?
Consider checking out the First Annual MODAERO NextGen Aviation Festival in Conroe, TX. It’s a fly in event, complete with camping opportunities, at the Lone Star Executive Airport, KCXO. The festival itself is being held right next door to the airport at the Lone Star Convention Center.
What’s the draw, do you ask? Not only are there going to be representatives from all the major aircraft manufacturer’s (along with tons of airplanes), there will be a multitude of speakers and live music. There are even drone races! The live music sets the event apart from the well known national fly in events like Osh Kosh and Sun N Fun. It’s a different type of Festival, geared toward the younger generation of pilots.
For more information or to register, check out MODAERO’s website. The festival runs from Wednesday through Saturday, March 16-19.
Looking for an airplane with more seats, more useful load, and good speed? Look no further than the PA-46-310P Piper Malibu. It feels like a corporate airplane, but this turbo charged piston single is good owner/pilot airplane for taking the family on vacation or using on business trips.
The original Piper Malibu, which was manufactured between 1984-1988, is a great next step airplane for Cirrus owners, Saratoga or Lance owners, and Mooney owners looking to move up to a pressurized, 6 seat piston. The pressurization has got to be one of the best parts of the Piper Malibu. The ability to climb up to the low flight levels (the service ceiling is FL250, but the airplane performs great between 16,000 and FL190) to catch better winds and get a better true airspeed (the airplane gains about 2.5 KTAS for every thousand feet) without having to wear oxygen makes the ride much more enjoyable.
Equipped with six seats and a 4,100 pound gross weight, the Piper Malibu allows for a lot more carrying ability than a Cirrus or even a Saratoga. Now, like most piston airplanes, you can’t take 6 average adults, bags, and full fuel, but here’s the great part: the Continental TSIO 320 only burns 16.5 GPH in cruise at 75% power. The plane will still fly 200 KTAS at 16.5 GPH. With 120 gallon capacity, even taking half tanks still allows for a 2.5 hour range with an hour reserve. At 200 KTAS, that’s 450 miles. And, you gain an extra 360 pounds useful load at half tanks. That’s not too shabby.
The Piper Malibu was designed to be comfortable, fast, and be able to carry some baggage. There are two baggage compartments, one in the nose behind the firewall and one in the rear behind the rear seats. The nose baggage is wide enough to fit golf clubs in, while the back baggage is large enough to fit rolling suitcases in (the front baggage has no problem with roller bags either). Lots of weight in bags? Again, no big deal. Just plan on taking less fuel and still flying for 2.5 hours.
From a pilot’s standpoint, the Piper Malibu is a pretty straightforward airplane to fly, though it does require some specialty training. A lot of PA-46s on the market right now have upgraded glass panels and digital engine monitors, making piloting the airplane that much more streamlined. Most Piper Malibus are equipped with the KFC 150 autopilot. Some have a yaw damper installed, others don’t. Some have the vertical speed and altitude capture installed, others don’t. It just depends on that specific airplane. They aren’t like a Cirrus where they are all made the same.
Looking to upgrade to something with more seats, a higher service ceiling, but not a significant increase in fuel costs? Look into the Piper Malibu. You can get one in good shape from about $300,000.
If you’ve ever been to Nantucket Airport during the summer, you’ll understand when I say that it is a crazy place. During the summer months, especially on weekends, the airport is visited by an endless parade of airplanes ranging from the smallest GA airplanes to the biggest private jets.
One sunny Sunday afternoon I was standing in line at the front desk of the Nantucket FBO when the ramp door opened and a very grumpy and entitled man walked in. The man marched right up to the front desk and barked a fuel order at the girl working there, which she mistakenly read back wrong. After yelling at her for her wrongdoing, he announced that he had flown in to go to the restaurant and stormed off to drown his sorrows in fish and chips. Although he was a jerk, his attitude got me thinking about FBO’s and everything that the people who work at them do for us pilots.
For anyone who may not know, FBO stands for Fixed Base Operator. FBO’s can be found at airports everywhere and their business is to provide services such as fuel, hangar space, and tie downs. Bigger FBO’s can offer more services including rental cars, food, maintenance, flight instruction, etc. FBO workers have the ability to make life really good or really miserable for pilots, and, it seems to me, we pilots have the same power over them. Based on my personal experiences and the experiences of some friends who have worked at airports around the country, here are some things to think about next time you taxi onto an FBO ramp.
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I’ve divided this article into two sections:
FBO Etiquette: What can we as pilots do to make life easier for the workers at the FBOs
FBO Pilot Perks: Ways that FBOs can help make a pilot’s life better (besides basic services like fueling)
FBO Etiquette
Be Polite
Everyone I talked to about their time working at an FBO said that simply by being friendly and polite is one of the biggest ways we can help. Most of the people that work at the FBOs love aviation and likely are working there to be around the industry in hopes of eventually being more involved. The girl working the desk at Nantucket didn’t deserve to be yelled at just for reading a tail number back wrong; don’t forget that “please” and “thank you” are still magic words.
Call Ahead
Whether you are flying to the airport, or you left your airplane at the FBO and you need them to pull it out or fuel it, calling ahead is greatly appreciated. Most FBO’s have a radio at the front desk and have their frequency listed online and in foreflight. Call ahead and tell them that you’re coming, when you’ll be arriving, and what you’ll need when you get there (gas, rental car, taxi..etc). That way they wont feel rushed and you may get what you’re looking for more expediently upon arrival.
Fuel orders
If your fuel order is difficult or confusing (example: 6.54 gallons in the right side and 4.32 in the left) you may be better off just to do it yourself at the self serve. One of the guys I talked to said that he would have pilots ask for extremely specific numbers and then stand there watching, ready to pounce when it wasn’t fueled exactly right. Its also worth noting that fuelers do make mistakes. Its highly recommended to watch and make sure that the correct truck (Jet A or 100LL) is the one pulling up to dispense your gas. Make sure you check that the fuel caps are properly installed before departing.
Look outside
A lineman motions for the pilot to stop.
Taxiing onto the ramp is not the right time to be doing your after landing and shutdown checklists. Wait until the airplane is stopped before taking your eyes off the person marshaling you to your parking spot. I’ve been told that it isn’t uncommon for a pilot to be looking inside while taxiing and it makes the linemen very nervous as they are motioning to the pilot to stop (For those unfamiliar, with lineman hand signals, here’s a helpful link).
Brakes
Unless you have talked to them and get the okay, don’t leave the parking brake on when leaving your airplane at an FBO. Often the lineman will direct you to park upfront to make loading and unloading easy, but if you’re going to stay for a long period, the airplane will need to be towed and parked out of the way. Leaving the parking brake on can make serious headaches for the people trying to organize the ramp after you leave.
Lights
Don’t blind the poor guy parking you by leaving all your landing, taxi, and recognition lights on as you’re pulling into your spot at night. Likewise, when you are ready to leave your parking space, its courteous to signal the person waiting in front of your airplane by flashing one of your lights at them so they know you are ready to be directed off of the ramp.
FBO Pilot Perks
Good parking
This one is pretty basic. I’ve heard through the grapevine that you may get parked in the boondocks as punishment for being rude to the FBO staff. However, if asked, much of the time they can pull your airplane right up front and may even let you pull a vehicle onto the ramp to load people and bags more easily.
Cheaper hotel rooms/ rental cars
Some FBO’s have special rates with hotel and rental car companies around in the area. Although it varies from place to place, you may be surprised with the amount you can save on these travel essentials. I had a flight last week where I called and was given a quote of 185 dollars for a rental car…after telling them that I was parking at the local FBO, I got the special price of 125. Check with the FBO you will be stopping at for any of their current offerings.
Fuel discounts
Sometimes the price of fuel or the minimum uptake to waive the fees can be negotiated. Sometimes, the fees may be forgotten entirely. If you are unable to take the minimum amount of fuel to waive the landing or ramp charges, tell them what you can take and you may be pleasantly surprised with the response. Its not uncommon with our Bonanza that even though the “minimum” may be 20, I can waive the fees by up-taking 10 or 12 gallons instead.
Points/ Rewards cards
Some FBO’s offer incentives to pilots for buying gas. Many of the rewards programs are free to sign up for and will pay the fuel purchaser cash based on how much fuel they buy over a specified time period. I am a member of the Avtrip program which rewards fuel purchases at Avfuel airports with points that are redeemable for money. Avtrip is just one example of an FBO fuel rewards program; if you fly regularly, it may be worth looking into whether or not there is a fuel rewards program you can take advantage of.
Crew Cars
Most FBO’s have cars designated for use by the pilots. They are extremely nice for going to get lunch or taking care of whatever short errands you may need to run around town. Most crew cars are limited to about 1-2 hours of use, but they can often be loaned out longer based on the discretion of the people working the desk. On a few occasions, I’ve had the cars loaned to me for longer, even over night, by the nice people at the FBO (They always appreciate pilots splashing a few gallons of auto gas into the cars while they are out, too).
FBOs and the services that they provide are invaluable to pilots, both commercial and private. If we as pilots are willing to work with the linemen and service reps we can make both our lives and their lives easier. Remember to be polite and don’t be afraid to ask if you need something….that’s what they’re there for!
Andrew Robinson is a 135 Charter Pilot and flight instructor who lives with his wife and 2 daughters in Pennsylvania. He flies Pilatus PC-12s and instructs in Beechcraft Bonanzas.
Flying a missed approach can be stressful enough. When you haven’t done one in a while and your GPS isn’t showing you how to get to the missed approach point and you can’t remember which button to press, that adds a lot more stress. Recipe for disaster? Quite possibly!
No need to fear, we are here to help. The procedure for getting a Garmin 530 or 430 to give you missed approach guidance is actually simple and straightforward, if you know what to do!
Note:Because of the variety of different autopilot configurations in different airplanes, this article will focus solely on the GPS.
What the GPS is Thinking
The way Garmin designed the Garmin 530 and Garmin 430 is to be as helpful to pilots as possible. Their thinking was, 95% of the time, a pilot will make a landing on an instrument approach. This is pretty accurate as most of the time, this is what happens. Most general aviation pilots don’t fly approaches to minimums all that often, thus negating the need for a missed approach.
Garmin designed their software with this in mind. When an airplane crosses the missed approach point, the GPS will go into what’s called suspend mode (a SUSP annunciation appears above the OBS key). It will keep the missed approach point as the active waypoint because it assumes the pilot is going to land.
This can be confusing to pilots. This is what happens when software engineers and pilots come together. Engineers often believe they are smarter than pilots! (See the Airbus fly by wire roll out)
The Procedure
In the case of a missed approach, the button pushing on the GPS is actually relatively simple. There is no SUSP key to take the GPS out of SUSP mode (thanks Garmin!). Instead, you press the OBS key. This will take the GPS out of SUSP mode, making the first waypoint on the missed approach procedure the active waypoint. Your GPS will now give you guidance on the missed approach procedure.
If you are going missed off an ILS, LOC, or VOR approach, then there is one more key you’ll have to press. Your CDI needle (whether it is digital or analog, an HSI or just a CDI gauge) will be reading off the NAV radio and your CDI indication on the GPS will be VLOC. After you press the OBS key, press the CDI key on the GPS so you will start getting course guidance from the GPS again.
That’s it. Button pressing on the different autopilots will vary, but if you are familiar with yours, you’ll be able to tell it to follow the GPS and climb to the proper altitude.
I get asked some version of the same question almost every day right now: “Hank, what’s going on with the airplane market?” Owners are nervous. The market has definitely slowed down, and the second quarter has been especially quiet. So let me give you a straight read on what’s actually happening, why, and what it means for your airplane.
Here’s the short version: don’t panic. A slow market is not a market crash. It’s a market that rewards sellers who price realistically and buyers who are ready to pull the trigger. Patience is the name of the game right now.
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Used airplane values shot up through the COVID years, peaked somewhere around 2022, and have been softening ever since — really since about 2023. That’s carried into 2026. But in most piston airplanes, it looks a whole lot more like a slow, steady give-back than a crash.
Now, here’s where I’d rather look than at asking prices. An asking price is just what a seller is hoping — or dreaming — to get; it isn’t what the airplane is worth. What an airplane is actually worth is what VREF tracks. And when I pull the VREF values on the single-engine pistons I’ve been appraising lately, a clear pattern shows up:
Older and less expensive airplanes are holding up the best. A clean normally-aspirated G1, G2, or G3 Cirrus SR20 or SR22 is down about 3% over the last twelve months. Older, more classic airplanes — Bonanzas, a Cherokee Six, a clean P210 — are flat to down just a few points. One outlier is the Cessna/Columbia 400 market — those are down about 13%.
The newer and more expensive, cabin-class singles have dropped more. A pressurized Malibu Mirage is down around 12% on VREF value, with other PA-46 pistons and turbines valued a little better, but still down between 8–12% over the last year.
Call it roughly 5% on average across the segment. That’s more than the under-1% you’d guess from asking prices alone — but it’s still less than 15% down over the last year, not a crash. The rule of thumb: the older and less expensive the aircraft, the better the values are holding; the newer and more expensive the aircraft, the more the value has dropped over the last year.
What a Crash Actually Looks Like
Worth being precise about what I mean. A real crash — like 2008–09 — is sudden and disorderly: values plunge almost overnight, financing dries up, buyers walk away from their deposits, and airplanes sit because there’s no one to buy them at any price. New business-jet deliveries fell nearly 34% in a single year, and it took years to climb back. What we have now is the opposite on every count — value drops of 15% or less, financing that’s tighter but still available, and airplanes that are still changing hands. That’s a soft, orderly market, not a crash.
Why Q2 got so quiet
A handful of things piled up at the same time. None of them is a disaster on its own, but together they explain why the phone has been ringing less.
Rates didn’t come down the way everybody expected. Oil shot past $110 a barrel after the conflict with Iran, inflation came roaring back, and the Fed stopped dropping rates — so financing an airplane still costs more, and that takes the urgency out of buyers. Financing also got tighter; the days of 100% loans with no money down are basically over, and lenders want bigger down payments.
The tax rush already happened, too: when the One Big Beautiful Bill brought back 100% bonus depreciation, it set off a mad dash to close before year-end, and a lot of the folks who’d have been shopping this spring already bought last winter. Plus, there are simply more airplanes to choose from now, which hands buyers options and pulls pricing power away from sellers.
So what should you do?
It depends on which side of the deal you’re on.
If you’re selling, price to today’s market — not the 2022 peak, and, unfortunately, not what you paid for the airplane. Realistically priced airplanes are still selling; the ones that sit are the ones chasing a number the market left behind. Keep your logs complete, stay current on inspections (don’t forget those 24-month IFR inspections!) and ADs, and present the airplane well. Have a thorough annual done before putting it on the market. Keep it clean and do whatever cosmetic or avionics fixes or upgrades you’ve been neglecting — you want it to show as well as possible, because there’s a lot of competition out there.
Re-dyeing the leather seats is a cost-effective way to spruce up the interior without replacing the seats. A good wash will certainly help the exterior. Glass in the panel always shows better than steam gauges, so even something simple like an Aspen upgrade, two Garmin GI 275s or G5s, or a 7-inch Garmin G3X will bring value to your airplane and make it show better — any of those are less than $10,000. If you do still have a Garmin 530W or 430W, consider changing them out for a newer Garmin or Avidyne IFD unit; Garmin won’t support the 530W/430W anymore. And Avidyne is quietly ending support for the Entegra system this fall — but the good news is the Avidyne Vantage panels are finally certified.
And if you can wait, give it some thought — the back half of the year is shaping up stronger. The fourth quarter is traditionally the best stretch for used sales, and now that bonus depreciation is permanent, that year-end push resets every fall.
If you’re buying, this is your window. Higher rates have thinned out the competition, there are more airplanes to pick from than there have been in years, and sellers are more willing to deal. If you’ve got cash ready or financing lined up, you’ve got leverage you didn’t have eighteen months ago. Be picky — buy the clean one with good records.
If you’re just holding, relax. There’s no reason to panic-sell. Most piston values are easing off slowly, not collapsing. Patience wins here.
The right move always comes down to your specific airplane, your timeline, and what you’re trying to accomplish. If you’d like a current valuation — or just an honest read on where your airplane sits in today’s market — give me a call. That’s what we’re here for.
Thank you to everyone who made the 2022 Texas Top Aviation Fly In at the Hilton Santa Fe Buffalo Thunder Resort a success!
We had 22 attendees and 12 airplanes make it out to beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico for the week.
After 2 days of very competitive golf, Chris Travland was our 2022 Texas Top Aviation Fly In Golf Tournament Champion.
While you are out in Santa Fe on your next trip, go check out the Rancho de Chimaya restaurant. It was excellent and a true New Mexican experience.
Mark your calendars for the 2023 Texas Top Aviation Dallas Fly In at the Westin Stonebriar Resort in Frisco, TX. McKinney National Airport (KTKI) will be our host airport. The event will be April 12th-April 14th, 2023. Hope to see you all there!
You just bought your Cirrus SR22. You do some flying, and soon find yourself with a brake temp sticker that isn’t white anymore. You remember from your transition training that any color other than white is a no go. You now ponder…. I don’t remember getting on the brakes hard, or riding the brakes while taxiing, but sure enough they aren’t white anymore. You now start thinking that all the horrible rumors of Cirrus brakes are true. They overheat so fast!
I would like to share some little-known facts about the Cirrus factory equipped braking system. Following the procedures below can help make the brakes last a little longer. There is also a very popular STC that allows upgraded brakes to be installed on all SR series aircraft. More to come on that.
Notice the Top Yellow sticker is far darker than the Bottom. The Yellow temperature indicator turns at 300 Degrees, while the bottom Blue indicator turns at 330 Degrees. This is an indication to the pilot that if the bottom sticker has turned colors, that the braking system has exceeded 330 degrees and is in need of servicing.
Above is a photograph of an SR22 G1 braking system with turned brake temp stickers. The first things you may notice is that there are in fact two brake temperature stickers. We can only see the bottom blue sticker from the inspection port on the wheel pants. The other is higher on the caliper; in order to see it, the wheel pant must be removed. This isn’t common knowledge because there is no mention of this additional indicator in the POH.
Now you may be asking yourself, what can I do to extend the service life of my factory equipped Cirrus brakes? Here are some tips. First, always taxi at 1000 RPM and use the rudder as much as you can while only tapping the brakes. This is not fool proof, since sometimes, depending on the grade, you will have no choice but to utilize brake tapping to keep the aircraft going straight. Taxiing is not typically where the brakes get overheated, though, but this is still a good practice to follow.
What we tend to see is that the Cleveland brakes are generally overheated on landing. We always recommend to make sure your final approach speed is not excessive, land in the first 1/3 of the runway, and let the aircraft rollout to a smooth stop. What tends to happen is that the aircraft is too fast, and the pilot tries to exit at a certain taxi way, or brakes hard and continues to ride the brakes after landing during taxi. If you do your best to avoid these habits, it will serve you well.
This braking system remained unchanged all the way until the 2016 G5 Cirrus SR series. Starting in 2016, the factory equipped G5 and G6 Cirrus SR series all now come standard with a single piston hydraulic braking system from Beringer. The Cirrus Beringer brakes far exceed the braking power and durability of the old system. The new system is more robust, withstands heat better, and is is very well built. There is also an option for an upgraded dual caliper system to increase durability and stopping power. A braking system STC for the older Cirrus G1 through early G5 models was created to upgrade those airplanes to the better stopping power and cooling of the Cirrus Beringer brakes.
Seen above is a page from a Beringer catalog highlighting the Cirrus SR series STC kits. Your local Cirrus service center will be able to quote prices for the kits. We have over 1000Hrs spent behind Beringer equipped Cirrus aircraft and the difference is quite apparent. The pilot has better control of the aircraft, no spongy pedal, and the confidence to get the plane stopped without possibly overheating the braking system. This, in our opinion, is one of the best upgrades you can do to your Cirrus.Above is what an STC upgraded braking kit from Beringer looks like, as well as the new temperature indicator for the pre/post flight inspection. Notice the black spot on the left hand picture. These brakes have been overheated.
One other difference for a pilot to note is that once upgraded to the Cirrus Beringer brakes, there is only one temperature indicator and it changes color at a whopping 450 Degrees Fahrenheit! Needless to say, it can handle some heat! The new temperature indicator is now Orange in color and turns grey/black when overheated.
On the left are the original Cirrus factory brakes. On the right is the caliper to the new Beringer brakes for a Cirrus.Dual Caliper Cirrus Beringer Brakes
The Cirrus Beringer brakes upgrade is quite a step up in the world of slowing down. However, this doesn’t mean that they are completely issue free. There is one little-known problem with Beringer brakes that is not that big of a deal and can be fixed with relative ease.
The rotor on the Beringer braking systems is “free floating,” meaning it is not necessarily “fixed” in position when secured down to the spindle. It is “keyed” into the wheel rim with the male and female side interlocking.
The brakes occasionally will get noisy, causing a “knocking” noise when brakes are applied. This noise is caused by the small metal tabs that tighten up the space between the wheel and the brake rotor. This is so the small tabs wear with use instead of the aluminum rim that they are fixed to. So, if your Beringers are making a knocking noise when brakes applied, this is most likely your culprit.
These gaps above are the “keyed” position where the rotor finds home in the rim. Without these tabs that wear with use, we would be replacing the rim more often than the much cheaper replaceable tabs.
It is highly recommended to upgrade your original Cirrus factory brakes to the new Beringer braking system. You will deal with less maintenance, less chance of a brake overheat, and less confusion on whether or not your brakes are airworthy. For more info, you can check out the Cirrus website for the single or dual caliper Beringer brakes.
Zach Anderson is a Cirrus Standardized Instructor Pilot (CSIP) for Texas Top Aviation. Zach comes from a auto mechanic background and is very familiar with the ins and outs of maintenance. He started working for Texas Top Aviation in December 2020.
