After receiving several bids from paint shops in
Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Texas, I decided to have our aircraft painted by
R&B Aircraft
in Topeka, Kansas . They are a small, family-owned
business located at Philip Billard Municipal Airport (KTOP) that
has been in
business for 40+ years. They have an outstanding reputation
for their workmanship and were listed in Aviation Consumer
and Flying Magazine as one of the better shops in the country. I also
went with them because they were
close to home and I could visit as frequently as my
schedule would allow, which was a huge bonus. Greg and
crew were very accommodating in
putting up with me during my visits...
Overall, I could not have made a better choice!!!
R&B Aircraft is located
just off runway 18/36 and taxiway Charlie. You can't miss
them.
Total downtime
was 4.5 weeks from start to finish and included all of the body work required to patch the holes left
by the antennas removed during the panel upgrade. I also
decided to change all of the hardware in the flight controls and
add stainless steel screws throughout the aircraft.
The aircraft also
received a new
tail number; N3248F was changed to N597ND. This
new number has special meaning for our family and the
process was super easy. The FAA
website is pretty straight
forward with one exception: what the letter must look like
to reserve your custom N number. You can download the version I used here:
Sample Memo for Special Registration (Word 2007 file). You'll need to change all of the
information highlighted in RED before printing. Also
delete the blue areas where you'll need to sign before sending
it off to the FAA. After you send that off, you'll need to
visit your local FSDO office to have the airworthiness
certificate updated with the new N number. Oklahoma City
only changes the registration.
The N Numbers are
three inches on my aircraft and are authorized under CFR 45.22.
Basically, any certified aircraft over 30 years old may retain
2" numbers as a minimum size. There are some that believe
CFR 45.29 overrules 45.22, but if they read closely, 45.29
actually points back to 45.22. I highlighted the areas in
the reg which I copied directly from the CFR and posted here:
N Number Reg.
Now on to the photos.
