
On that subject a couple of things struck me recently…I was thinking about an autopilot for the C182. It has the Cessna Navomatic 200 wing-leveller fitted, but that only works if you want to fly 10nm circles, and although I could probably find someone to repair and recalibrate it, I get the feeling that I'd be in for some big bills to keep it working. I spoke to a few people about a decent retrofit autopilot (S-TEC is really the only game in town). The bottom line is that it would be cheaper to pay for my wife to get a PPL and an Instrument Rating than it would be to fit an S-TEC 55X. I guess I'll be hand-flying for a while.
I'm typing this from the world's biggest pilot shop - Sporty's. The company is celebrating its 50th year this weekend and is having a fly-in at Clermont County Airport. I paid less for my ticket on United than I paid to fill the tanks in the C182 last week. I'm trying not to think about that.