The following Wren 460 has been sold

 

I am the owner of a 1965 Wren 460 Aircraft, Tail Number N2067X.  This is an original Wren Aircraft made in 1965 by Wren Aircraft Corporation of Mecham Field, Ft. Worth, Texas, from a brand new Cessna 182.  I purchased it about 1982 from a retired MD in Brainerd, Minnesota.  At that time it had approximately 640 hours total time on the aircraft and the engine.  That owner had put approximately 200 hours on the aircraft, having purchased it from an aviation company in New York State some years before.  He had it hangared its entire life in Minnesota.

 

This aircraft has all the original Wren features including canard, ten fences on the wings linked to the ailerons, full length double fowler flaps, a modified leading edge cuff on the wings and an automatic mechanism to adjust the trim on the horizontal stabilizer in conjunction with the degree to which the full length double fowler flaps are engaged.

 

When I purchased 2067X, it was equipped with the Heartzel-Wren Beta Prop, a reversible propeller system that provided a variable prop control between 21 degrees of forward thrust and 14 degrees of negative thrust.  I also received an original non-reversible prop and spinner.  Ultimately I replaced the reversible prop with the standard prop after it was overhauled, because I was having problems maintaining consistent adjustment to the Heartzel Wren Beta Prop.  Upon removing the Beta Prop, I learned that the problem was simple:  the housing for the two control cables was the old style that was steel wrapped with cloth between the winds.  The cloth had gradually deteriorated.  Thus an adjustment made to the cable would go out of adjustment as cloth further deteriorated and the overall length of the housing diminished.  But I did not realize this until I had taken the entire Beta Prop system out.  So I left it out.  Although I still have it and it would work fine with the simple replacement of the two cable housings.  The dash board in 2067X is already set up to receive the Beta Prop control.  This is an extremely interesting system and virtually the same as the Heartzel reversible propeller used on turbo prop aircraft today.

 

This Wren also came from Wren Aircraft Company with a Cessna 206 nose gear and an 8 inch nose gear tire.  The other tires are 8 inches as well.

 

Avionics are generally standard and have not been changed out since I set up the aircraft after purchasing it.  The two Navcoms are Bendix 2000’s.   The transponder with altitude read-out and audio panel are King Avionics.  It also has a coupled auto pilot which is extremely useful to reduce pilot fatigue and to deal with unexpected weather that might be beyond the skills of the pilot.

 

The interior of the aircraft is original and in good condition.  The aircraft received its Annual in June 2014 and has received regular annuals throughout my ownership of it, replacing anything which the A&P wanted to be replaced.  Wren 2067X is in excellent condition and currently has approximately 1700 total hours on the engine and the airframe.  During my ownership we replaced one piston.  During the previous owner’s ownership he landed it on a muddy runway and flipped it over, requiring the installation of two new wings and adding a second layer of aluminum to the firewall.  I was pleased with the latter installation because this firewall (which supports the nose gear) is now considerably stronger than Cessna’s original single ply firewall.

 

Finding a Wren aircraft for sale is extremely difficult, whether it is an original aircraft manufactured by Wren Aircraft Company of Ft. Worth or a later conversion of an existing Cessna 182 which was performed by Todd Peterson in Goodyear Arizona and other locations. Note that a number of the Peterson conversions were only partial conversions and, for economic reasons, did not include all of the features of the original Wren aircraft.

 

Throughout the 1100 hours of time that I put on this aircraft no one else flew the aircraft other than myself, my wife and instructor pilots flying dual with us.  Only once did I land it off runway, in a flat rural area of New Mexico.  So it has not received rough use in any way.  Plus, this aircraft has never lived in a saltwater environment near an ocean.  The predominant portion of its life was spent hangared in New Mexico, an area of minimal humidity and thus an environment that does not foster rust or corrosion.  This is an extremely important point as many aircraft have spent time along the coast of the United States in a corrosive saltwater environment. To further protect the aluminum, one of the amenities originally ordered on 2067X from Cessna Aircraft Company was special zinc oxide coating to the interior of the aluminum skin and all structural members to prevent corrosion.

 

Wren 2067x is for sale at $125,000. The engine has 1700 hours total time.  Although this is over TBO, the Continental 0-470-R engine was underrated by the FAA and it is common for this engine to go over 2,000 hours before there is an indication of inadequate cylinder compression.  The cylinder compression was well above minimums during the last Annual and there is no indication of a need to overhaul this engine for some years to come.  However, if the purchaser desires to have the engine rebuilt or upgraded to a P. Ponk Super Eagle or something similar, I will split the cost of such work with him.

 

Contact me for more information.

 

©2022 Wren 460

Contact:      (575) 405-0911     C3@netmdc.com