VIKING of the MONTH
January 2001
"Miss January"
aka "Woody"
Watch Woody's Fly-By!!!
N77TV is a 1977 17-31ATC owned by Tim Averett
This Viking is based at Leeward Air Ranch (FD04) in Ocala, FL
Settin' pretty!
Tim writes: "For me, buying a Bellanca Turbo Viking was the culmination of a young boy's dream. In the early 70's, I had flown a Viking many times, right off the pages of Air Progress and Flying magazine. As a line boy, I always thought the Viking had a style that was missing in other planes. At Embry-Riddle in 77', I wrote a term paper about the Turbo Viking. In 78', I became a salesman for a Bellanca dealership. Many years and flying jobs later, I finally achieved the financial horsepower to purchase my very own Bellanca Viking."
"I bought N77TV in September 99', as a 1977 17-31ATC Turbo Viking. My focus was getting a pristine airframe with the engine condition secondary. I preferred the Lycoming, but either engine would have been fine as long as the rest of the airplane was well cared for. The Turbo's were a plus, since I have often desired greater capability to top weather and terrain. When purchased, the airplane had about 1900 hours total time on the airframe and engine. As fate would have it, this airplane was sold new by the same dealership I had worked for in the late 70's."
"77TV came equipped with a slaved NSD HSI, a full Collins Microline radio stack, a Northstar M1 Loran and a Century IV autopilot. The autopilot will fly a coupled approach and a coupled miss if necessary. In 92' the airplane went through a Weber's repaint using Stits Durathane. They also did the wingtip mod, shortened the exhaust stacks, removed the step, recovered the seats and installed the 160mph gear door mod. For AD compliance, a new prop hub was installed with overhauled blades in 97'."
"This year the airplane went to Tom Witmer's for a complete firewall forward rebuild. The engine was overhauled by Charlie Melot and his crew at Zephyr Aircraft Engines. A fraction of the work completed by Witmer included, replacing the old asbestos firewall blanket with Amiglass and powder coating the engine/turbo mounts and nosegear. Installed were a JPI EDM-700 engine monitor with data logging, a lightweight kevlar wrapped aluminum O2 cylinder with fixed flow regulator, a PM3000 4 place stereo intercom and plush wool carpet all around."
"For night flying, I replaced the wingtip/tail strobe power supply with a Whelen Comet flash unit. One uncommon feature of 77TV is that it came from the factory with landing/taxi lights in each wing. I took advantage of this setup by installing a Pulselight system for traffic recognition."
"Every dollar spent on a Viking is rewarded by a beautiful view out the window when it is flown. The wings are the magic that fulfill the expectations of every pilot lucky enough to own one. My wife and I have enjoyed getting to know a Viking we call "Woody", and we look forward to the many grand adventures that lie before us."
Tim can be reached at:
taverett@tampabay.rr.com
Picture YOUR Airplane Here!
Send me photos and some history about your Viking, and I'll place it on this page for all Bellanca Fans to see! Snail mail photos to: 3741 N. Forgeus Ave, Tucson, AZ 85716 (all photos will be returned promptly)...or e-mail .jpg files to:
Vikingdrvr@att.net
Previous "Vikings of the Month"
N 1285R...Don Ame's 1972 Turbo Viking
N 93570...Larry Smalley's 1973 17-31A
N 39819...Jim Howell's 1973 17-30A
N 4081B...Tom Binder's 1975 17-31ATC
N 4052B...The DeFoe's 1976 17-30A
N 28067...Craig Gifford's 1979 17-30A
N 6578V...James Gryder's 1970 17-31ATC
N 93554...Troy Foster's 1974 17-31ATC
N 110CB...RJ Lint's 1974 17-30A
N 6639V...Michael Waiwood's 1970 17-30A
N 147PH...Ron Bianchi's 1974 17-30A
N 7379V...Bob & Bette Nixon's 1969 17-30
N 7358V...Troy Foster's 1969 17-31TC
N 8811V...Jeremy Reiley's 1971 17-30A
N 9996V...Lee Moore's 1971 17-30A
N 14732...Lynn Walker's 1975 17-30A
CFMJT...Eric Hansen's 1974 17-31ATC
N 4101B...Peter Knize & John Sullivan's 1974 17-31ATC
N 8229R...Bill Dudley's 1972 17-30A
N 4851V...Carl Fleece's 1968 17-30
N 7300V...Lee McGee's 1969 17-30
N 8281R...Victor Catalanotto's 1972 17-30A
N 228CM...Curtis Hannay's 1973 17-31ATC
N 8842V...Richard Dews' 1971 17-30A
N 28058...Rex Warren's 1978 17-30A
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