Page 20 - mmopaMJ21

colors and a design that matched the elegance of the plane.
The interior was even more of a team effort with Jimmy as we consid- ered the near endless combinations
of carpet, seat and sidewall leather, and headliner colors. We eventually settled on a color combination that our friends have described as “King Ranch Edition” with tan carpet and side walls and deep brown seats. It is a timeless look, and it complements the new paint job.
Jet Shades and eventually decided to just to keep the original window tint and remove the curtains.
Dianne: Finally what advice or lessons learned would you share with some- one thinking of undertaking a similar upgrade. Were there any hiccups?
Dean & Tammie Jo: All-in-all the paint and interior installation went pretty smoothly. There were items that needed extra attention along the way, but they were all addressed without
a hint of push back from the shop. A
on the engine mount. Oversteering in either direction while towing can be costly at best and potentially disas- trous if it results, as it has, in a nose gear collapse.
At some point in the final stages
of the project, our nose wheel was turned beyond the right limit which cracked the flange and required the nose gear trunnion to be removed and shipped out for repair. It was a sober- ing reminder that even with shops or FBOs that are familiar with Malibu’s it can happen, and it behooves all of us to be diligent about checking it on our pre-flights.
Dianne: The entire upgrade is a considerable investment in the aircraft. Why was it worth it?
Dean & Tammie Jo: Upgrading a 34-year-old Malibu with a state-of- the-art Garmin integrated flight deck, a fresh paint job, and a new inte-
rior obviously involved a significant investment, and frankly, one that we would not totally recoup if we were to put it on the market today. However, we knew that would be the case going in, and it is still an investment that
we are glad we made. The ‘87 Malibu is a safe, efficient, and comfortable traveling machine that fits our mission very well. We now have a fresh “new” ‘87 Malibu with an integrated flight deck that performs very similarly to, and in some ways better than a brand new M350, and we are all in for a
third of the cost.
With this project, a Malibu became OUR Malibu, and one in which, Lord willing, we will get to enjoy for many years to come.
Dianne: Now that the long upgrade process is over, how thrilling is it to fly this awesome bird?
Dean & Tammie Jo: As they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder. We missed our Malibu for six months but it was well worth the wait. We couldn’t be happier with how she turned out and to have her back in the air.
We decided to replace everything: carpet, seats, sidewalls, and headliner as well as the veneer on the cabi-
nets and tray table. We also did new seatbelts, cargo net, and most of the plastics which were showing their age.
Murmer rebuilt the seat cushions that had grown thin over the decades, and we had them make sheepskin
seat covers for the cockpit seats. We considered replacing the curtains with the more current Malibu accordion shades, but we did not hear good reviews, and they were expensive. Murmer offered a tinted cabin window option that was not removable, and we also considered Jet Shades, a remov- able window tint product. Unfortu- nately, we could never get a quote from
quality shop wants to put out a quality product, and Murmer certainly lived up to that standard.
We removed the original OAT gauge. Initially, the finish job of the pilot side window frame to cover that hole was a bit rough. However, the second go at it turned out beautifully.
We took the opportunity to replace the original nav/position/strobe lights with Aveo Ultra Galactica LEDs and the taxi lights with Piper LEDs.
We did experience one unfortu- nate event just prior to delivery. The Malibu has a pretty limited nose wheel steering range with the right limit defined by a flange on the nose wheel trunnion and the left by a stop
20 MMOPA MAGAZINE MAY / JUNE 2021