Now the ‘best 150 on Earth’

New Yorker Kevin Coughlin was inspired to earn his private pilot certificate shortly after watching Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s heroic saving of US Airways Flight 1549 when it ditched in the Hudson River in January 2009. The professional photographer purchased a well-worn airplane in 2009 for $18,000. He reasoned that he could save a few bucks during flight training by owning his own airplane.

However, when he bought the aircraft, he neglected tell his wife, Joelle, about the purchase. Coughlin said “she blew a gasket” after finding out by reading the N number on a crumbled piece of paper stuffed into a jeans pocket. Although she eventually warmed to the idea, the purchase has sometimes led to financial friction.

Nonetheless, the 150G became a platform for future aerial photo assignments, including a remarkable aerial shot of the 2015 World Series (“Behind the Photo,” May 2016 AOPA Pilot) with a company he formed called All Island Aerial LLC. Coughlin logged about 95 percent of his 900 hours flying N8361J throughout the Northeast, with occasional forays farther away including landing on the ice runway at Alton Bay, New Hampshire, which he described as “very challenging” in a Cessna 150. But, except for an engine rebuild in 2013, the aircraft had seen only marginal improvements since.

Then in 2019, Coughlin’s longtime mechanic and good friend Roberto Ruiz suggested he consider replacing the frayed tan and oil-stained carpet on the aircraft, which Coughlin had affectionately named Juliet. Flaking and fading paint, vinyl seats long past their prime, and ancient avionics were all a part of the aging aircraft. But finances were tight, and the timing wasn’t right.

Tragedy hits home

During the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, Coughlin nearly gave up trying to maintain flying status for his beloved 150 as the red-and-white two-seater seemed to encounter setback after setback beginning with an annual inspection. The aircraft’s Continental O-200A engine seized up during routine maintenance when the oil pressure relief valve failed while on the ground at Coughlin’s home base of Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York (FRG).

The previous day included a 400-mile round trip flight with his nephew from Farmingdale to Albany with no hint of trouble. “I thank my blessings it happened on the ground and not in the air,” said Coughlin.

Now in need of a second engine rebuild within 10 years, Coughlin was disheartened. Mandatory workplace shutdowns, labor shortages, and parts scarcity affected nearly every facet of life. Aviation manufacturers, repair facilities, and other businesses saw their operations grind to a halt during much of 2020 and part of 2021. Adding to his woes, Coughlin learned that engine parts suppliers and crankcase inspectors were working with very limited staff or were completely closed, adding to months of delays while he awaited the return of the little Cessna’s heart—its engine.

As the world came to grips with the new reality of masking mandates, tests, vaccines, and other health precautions, Coughlin’s A&P Ruiz contracted COVID-19 and died. The 70-year-old local resource was a constant fixture in and around the flight schools populating the airfield and a close friend to scores of aviators, including Coughlin.

“I was devastated,” Coughlin said. He again considered throwing in the towel, especially when a close friend of Ruiz’s, an A&P who had previously worked on N8361J and who had pledged to finish the job, was too distraught to take up where Ruiz had left off.

It takes a village

After Ruiz’s death, Coughlin said he struggled to continue refurbishing the airplane and even contemplated selling it as a parts bin special. “I was still paying rent on a tiedown spot I couldn’t use. My crankcase, crankshaft, and cylinders were in separate inspection and overhaul shops across the country. I’d invested $29,000 on this [engine] rebuild and I’m not a rich guy, either. My salary isn’t enough to sustain an airplane, house payments, utility bills, food, insurance, and other expenses,” he said. Deep down, Coughlin never gave up on completing the project, although pressure was building at home—and from his accountant—to sell the airplane piece by piece.

Gibson Aviation in El Reno, Oklahoma, overhauled the airplane’s Superior-branded Millennium cylinders, but it took seven months to complete the process. Coughlin was left with an aircraft engine in various stages of completion and no resources to finish the rebuild and reinstallation.

In the middle of a pandemic one pilot put everything on the line—including his marriage—to restore his beloved 1967 Cessna 150G.He paid for repairs and upgrades piecemeal through numerous freelance photography, drone, and aerial jobs. He rarely turned down photo missions to help make ends meet, sometimes working up to 80 hours a week between his then-day job as a photographer for the state of New York, and his contract photography.

Numerous dead ends took Coughlin’s search from New York to the Midwest and beyond, until he found Continental engine specialist John DiLavore of Mutual Aircraft Services—in his back yard—at Brookhaven Airport (HWV) in Shirley, New York, about 25 miles away. The experienced engine builder assembled the powerplant from assorted boxes that Coughlin carted in and had the airplane ready for pickup in June 2021.

With the engine finally ready to be bolted on, Coughlin still needed to find a shop to install it and conduct the long overdue annual inspection. West Harrison, New York’s Heavy Metal Air mechanic and IA Alex Duran had known Ruiz, had some familiarity with Coughlin’s treasured Juliet, and finished the process.

By August 2021 Coughlin was finally back in the air, but that’s when other things “began to go south” on the Cessna 150, he said.

Avionics that had been cutting edge during the Nixon administration began to fail, so he replaced them with a Garmin GTR 225 communication radio, a Garmin GTX 327 digital transponder, and an ADS-B-compliant skyBeacon wing tip strobe to navigate New York’s tricky Class B airspace. The tried-and-true yoke-mounted Garmin handheld GPSMAP 396 with its built-in Jeppesen database and optional satellite weather was relocated to an AirGizmos bracket near the center radio stack.

Comfortable but well-worn gray vinyl-and-fabric seats and the frayed floorboard lining of the cozy cockpit still bothered him. Remembering Ruiz, he finally swapped out the flooring for a plush deep red carpet from SCS Interiors. Custom burgundy and tan leather seats sourced from Mac’s Airplane Covers completed the interior and closed out 2021.

Desperate makeover

For the first time since he purchased the airplane in 2009, Coughlin was flying behind a reliable engine, new avionics, and with a comfortable interior. And he could finally fly to a January 2022 aircraft repainting appointment that he had made with Ed’s Aircraft Refinishing at Brookhaven Airport two years prior. Appointments were hard to get because the paint shop is recognized as one of the best in the region. A Matterhorn white base coat now anchors the 1967 Cessna 150’s coral-red metallic lettering and striping. It’s finished with a gold-dust metallic 3D accent. Coughlin complimented owner Ed Yezarski’s personal service for the “new, exciting, and jaw-dropping” design scheme.

“This airplane needed a desperate makeover,” said Coughlin. “I knew it was going to be costly and that I was going to hit a lot of hurdles along the way. However I had no idea what I was in for.”

The repairs and upgrades added up and put an unexpected strain on Coughlin’s bank account and on his marriage to Joelle. “But now she really likes traveling with me in it to Cape May, Block Island, or Martha’s Vineyard when conditions are right,” he said. The value of single-engine training aircraft rose significantly during Coughlin’s downtime. Vref now values the aircraft at about $63,000—which is in line with the price of similarly equipped Cessna 150G models listed for sale online. “I think this is the best Cessna 150 on Earth right now, but, of course, I’m biased,” Coughlin said. His plans for 2023 include a bucket list flight with Joelle, from Long Island, New York, south along the Eastern Seaboard to Key West, Florida. [email protected]