Moving a C172 to Australia from California

After 30 years of fun and excitement in the SF Bay area, I've taken a
new job in Perth, Western Australia. Now I need to decide what to do
about my iBugsmasher, a wonderful 1969 C172K that I have modified so
that it's just the way I want it:

C172K, 2050 hours on airframe
New Garmin IFR panel
100 hours on O-360 180 HP conversion
Hartzell constant speed prop
Horton STOL kit
Powerflow tuned exhaust

As I see it, there are three options.

[1] Sell the precious iBugsmasher and buy a new airplane in Australia.

[2] Ferry it. (The first 2100 NM leg to Hawaii is kinda long without an
autopilot!).

[3] Take the wings off, crate it up and ship it.

Pros and cons for each option:

[1] Easiest, but I have the a/c just as I want it except for paint and
interior (that was going to happen later). The Australian market is
much smaller and it would probably take some time to find the 'right'
airplane. And it's probably more expensive, but I really don't know
yet.

[2] While parts of the trans-Pac adventure would be worth writing
about, I'm not interested in tanking the a/c and flying it myself.
There might be a ferry company willing to do this, but the costs
involved will not be trivial. With an STC it might just be possible to
put a bladder in the a/c that could get it to Hawaii for the long leg.
But there is still a long way to go after that.

[3] This option seems the most sane, but there are major
disassembly/reassembly costs and after that there are additional costs
of inspection and certification by the Australian authorities.

I'd really appreciate hearing from folks who have some experience in
this area. Which of the options (or one I haven't thought of yet) are
reasonable and/or practical?

Thanks.

argon39

Totally different angle to consider and investigate:

If you import it as a new resident you can probably take it in tax free.

If you buy one there, and if planes are treated anything like cars are
there, the tax bill will be considerable. (My brother bought a 6 year
old Explorer in Oz for the same price as I paid new in Canada)

You can probably ship for what you would pay there in tax alone on a
similar a/c.

HTH

--

Tony Roberts
PP-ASEL
VFR OTT
Night
Cessna 172H C-GICE





In article .com,
"argon39" wrote:

After 30 years of fun and excitement in the SF Bay area, I've taken a
new job in Perth, Western Australia. Now I need to decide what to do
about my iBugsmasher, a wonderful 1969 C172K that I have modified so
that it's just the way I want it:

C172K, 2050 hours on airframe
New Garmin IFR panel
100 hours on O-360 180 HP conversion
Hartzell constant speed prop
Horton STOL kit
Powerflow tuned exhaust

As I see it, there are three options.

[1] Sell the precious iBugsmasher and buy a new airplane in Australia.

[2] Ferry it. (The first 2100 NM leg to Hawaii is kinda long without an
autopilot!).

[3] Take the wings off, crate it up and ship it.

Pros and cons for each option:

[1] Easiest, but I have the a/c just as I want it except for paint and
interior (that was going to happen later). The Australian market is
much smaller and it would probably take some time to find the 'right'
airplane. And it's probably more expensive, but I really don't know
yet.

[2] While parts of the trans-Pac adventure would be worth writing
about, I'm not interested in tanking the a/c and flying it myself.
There might be a ferry company willing to do this, but the costs
involved will not be trivial. With an STC it might just be possible to
put a bladder in the a/c that could get it to Hawaii for the long leg.
But there is still a long way to go after that.

[3] This option seems the most sane, but there are major
disassembly/reassembly costs and after that there are additional costs
of inspection and certification by the Australian authorities.

I'd really appreciate hearing from folks who have some experience in
this area. Which of the options (or one I haven't thought of yet) are
reasonable and/or practical?

Thanks.

argon39

"argon39" wrote in message oups.com...
After 30 years of fun and excitement in the SF Bay area, I've taken a
new job in Perth, Western Australia. Now I need to decide what to do
about my iBugsmasher, a wonderful 1969 C172K that I have modified so
that it's just the way I want it:

C172K, 2050 hours on airframe
New Garmin IFR panel
100 hours on O-360 180 HP conversion
Hartzell constant speed prop
Horton STOL kit
Powerflow tuned exhaust

As I see it, there are three options.

[1] Sell the precious iBugsmasher and buy a new airplane in Australia.

[2] Ferry it. (The first 2100 NM leg to Hawaii is kinda long without an
autopilot!).

[3] Take the wings off, crate it up and ship it.

Pros and cons for each option:

[1] Easiest, but I have the a/c just as I want it except for paint and
interior (that was going to happen later). The Australian market is
much smaller and it would probably take some time to find the 'right'
airplane. And it's probably more expensive, but I really don't know
yet.

[2] While parts of the trans-Pac adventure would be worth writing
about, I'm not interested in tanking the a/c and flying it myself.
There might be a ferry company willing to do this, but the costs
involved will not be trivial. With an STC it might just be possible to
put a bladder in the a/c that could get it to Hawaii for the long leg.
But there is still a long way to go after that.

[3] This option seems the most sane, but there are major
disassembly/reassembly costs and after that there are additional costs
of inspection and certification by the Australian authorities.

I'd really appreciate hearing from folks who have some experience in
this area. Which of the options (or one I haven't thought of yet) are
reasonable and/or practical?

Thanks.

argon39



They used to tank up C-177s in Oxnard and fly them across - took 24-28 hours to HI and every once an a while one would
ditch because of poor navigation, fuel problems, etc. The aux fuel was in the fuselage and pumped to the wings (I
think). Long flight indeed, they were modern day Lindbergh's in my eyes at the time...

I also remember c-150's and 172 crated up and shipped - sounds like that would be the best way for you to go...

argon39 wrote:

[3] Take the wings off, crate it up and ship it.


That's what I'd do. The Pacific is too damn big to cross in a small
single, even if you have adequete ferry tank capacity. Too much chances
for something mechanical to go wrong that would not be much of a
problem over land, or to run into weather with nowhere to land as
alternate, etc. Ditching in the Pacific will probably kill you.



[3] This option seems the most sane, but there are major
disassembly/reassembly costs and after that there are additional costs
of inspection and certification by the Australian authorities.

If you're going to register it as an Australian plane, you're going to
have to go thru a bunch of bureacracy anyway. Taking the wings off a
172 and putting them back on is not really all that too terribly
involved of a thing to do. The hardest part IMHO would be packing
everything up securely so that it's well-protected inside the
container, which will likely get some pretty rough handling.

Skyview Avation at Hayward (www.skyviewavaition.com) does aircraft
shipping, long range ferrying and tanking, and their prices are very
reasonable.

I wouldn't take a single over the pacific for the reasons mentioned...
but that's just me.

argon39 wrote:
After 30 years of fun and excitement in the SF Bay area, I've taken a
new job in Perth, Western Australia. Now I need to decide what to do
about my iBugsmasher, a wonderful 1969 C172K that I have modified so
that it's just the way I want it:

C172K, 2050 hours on airframe
New Garmin IFR panel
100 hours on O-360 180 HP conversion
Hartzell constant speed prop
Horton STOL kit
Powerflow tuned exhaust

As I see it, there are three options.

[1] Sell the precious iBugsmasher and buy a new airplane in Australia.

[2] Ferry it. (The first 2100 NM leg to Hawaii is kinda long without an
autopilot!).

[3] Take the wings off, crate it up and ship it.

Pros and cons for each option:

[1] Easiest, but I have the a/c just as I want it except for paint and
interior (that was going to happen later). The Australian market is
much smaller and it would probably take some time to find the 'right'
airplane. And it's probably more expensive, but I really don't know
yet.

[2] While parts of the trans-Pac adventure would be worth writing
about, I'm not interested in tanking the a/c and flying it myself.
There might be a ferry company willing to do this, but the costs
involved will not be trivial. With an STC it might just be possible to
put a bladder in the a/c that could get it to Hawaii for the long leg.
But there is still a long way to go after that.

[3] This option seems the most sane, but there are major
disassembly/reassembly costs and after that there are additional costs
of inspection and certification by the Australian authorities.

I'd really appreciate hearing from folks who have some experience in
this area. Which of the options (or one I haven't thought of yet) are
reasonable and/or practical?

Thanks.

argon39

I wouldn't take a single over the pacific for the reasons mentioned...
but that's just me.


He could just take the scenic route - via Alaska, etc...
It might take a while....

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

Actually, after I posted, I fired up Google earth and looked at that
route.

Seems doable... fun even... just might take a while, and there's still
some significant over-water time.



David Lesher wrote:
I wouldn't take a single over the pacific for the reasons mentioned...
but that's just me.


He could just take the scenic route - via Alaska, etc...
It might take a while....

--
A host is a host from coast to
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433

"argon39" wrote in message
oups.com...
After 30 years of fun and excitement in the SF Bay area, I've taken a
new job in Perth, Western Australia. Now I need to decide what to do
about my iBugsmasher, a wonderful 1969 C172K that I have modified so
that it's just the way I want it:

[3] Take the wings off, crate it up and ship it.


[3] This option seems the most sane, but there are major
disassembly/reassembly costs and after that there are additional costs
of inspection and certification by the Australian authorities.

I'd really appreciate hearing from folks who have some experience in
this area. Which of the options (or one I haven't thought of yet) are
reasonable and/or practical?

Thanks.

argon39

Hi I'm an Aussie and am currently in the process of shipping my Yak-52 from
Vermont to Queensland, Australia. It is not that big of a deal. It is
costing me $2500 USD for disassembly and packing in the container and $6300
USD for the shipping costs. Reassembly costs are approximately $5000 AUD.
As you already own the aircraft, I would think it unlikely that you would
have to pay tax (Goods and Services Tax, GST).

There are companies here who can deal with work required for certification
and today I met the specialist (private individual) who does the final
inspection on behalf of CASA ( I have his details if you need them as he is
an expert on what is required). I would think that with your plane being a
certified aircraft, it would be pretty easy but I don't know. My Yak has to
be registered in the Warbird Limited category and there are a few hoops to
jump through for certification and registration.

If you decide to purchase a plane here, there is an abundance of C172's,
however, yours does sound like a special one. If your want to check out the
Aussie plane market to see what is available for what price, go to Aviation
Trader Online at http://www.aviationtrader.com.au/ . This is the electronic
version of our only aviation monthly trading paper.

Hope this is of help.

Bob.

argon39 wrote:
: After 30 years of fun and excitement in the SF Bay area, I've taken a
: new job in Perth, Western Australia. Now I need to decide what to do
: about my iBugsmasher, a wonderful 1969 C172K that I have modified so
: that it's just the way I want it:

Did you consider the long way around? Atlantic - Europe - Asia - Australia?
I worked with a guy who flew this route, round trip, twice, in a C172 with
factory "long range tanks". It took a while!

Also don't forget that there are sometimes problems with US STC's in Aus.
Australia has its own AD notes, of which many more are issued than in the
US (I checked for my airplane which is not a C172).
--
Aaron C.

("Aaron Coolidge" wrote)
I worked with a guy who flew this route, round trip, twice, in a C172 with
factory "long range tanks". It took a while!


Is California to Alaska, then over to Russia and down that edge of The Rim
an option? Is anybody using that route these days?


Montblack