Jon,
We live in NY (just north of the city). Everything around here seems
to be more expensive than in many other parts of the country. I do try
to shop around online but some of the items are pretty much
single-source such as the wet pump for Cardinal. Only Airwolf has it
for close to $2K. The Air/Oil separator is $500. The photo window
from LPAero plastics is $500/window. There are only two sources for
fiberglass wingtips (Stene and Globe fiberglass) and none could be
found for the nose bowl. If we have a more common plane such as C172,
there would be more sources for parts but the Cardinal is our choice.
All the paint shops within 200nm pretty much quote the same price
range for painting. I may check out the Arkansas paint shop then
weighing the pros and cons of saving some money vs. the logistic of
getting the plane down there, back etc. esp if there are problems.
Regarding annual cost, the AP rates around here are pretty much the
same range ~ $70/hr. The current AP is one of the very few who would
allow owner-assisted annual and his cost seems to be more reasonable.
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