N8513W Texas Old Man's
Aviation SocietyGeorgetown · KGTU

Five partners · One airplane · Hangared at Georgetown Executive

Texas Old Man's Aviation Society

A shared-ownership partnership keeping a 1963 Piper Cherokee 235 flying out of Central Texas — equally held, equally loved.

N 8513W Piper PA-28-235 · Cherokee 235
Base: KGTU — Georgetown, Texas

Air-to-air photography by Jack Fleetwood · Flown by Lenny Tropiano, June 2026

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Aircraft

PA28-235Piper Cherokee · 1963

Home Base

KGTUGeorgetown Executive, TX

Partners

5Equal-share ownership

Each Equity

20%Expenses shared evenly

N8513W is a 1963 Piper Cherokee 235 (PA-28-235, serial 28-10014 — the 14th off the line) owned and flown by the Texas Old Man's Aviation Society, a five-member aircraft partnership based at Georgetown Executive Airport (KGTU) just north of Austin, Texas. Each partner holds an equal 20% share and splits every expense, keeping this classic 235-horsepower Cherokee hangared, well maintained, and flying across the Texas Hill Country. The airplane was the cover feature of PIPERS Magazine in September 2026. Below you'll find the airplane's specs and avionics, live KGTU weather, and the crew behind it.

Home Base Weather · Live METAR Loading…

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KGTU · Georgetown Exec

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Source: NWS Aviation Weather Center · aviationweather.gov

The Partnership

Five friends, one classic airplane, and a simple idea: great flying is better when the cost and the joy are shared.

The Texas Old Man's Aviation Society is a five-member partnership that owns and operates N8513W, a 1963 Piper Cherokee 235. Each member holds an equal twenty-percent stake, and every expense — from the hangar to the oil change to the annual inspection — is split five ways.

That structure keeps a well-loved, high-useful-load Cherokee available, maintained, and ready to fly far more often than any one of us could manage alone. The airplane lives in a hangar at Georgetown Executive Airport (KGTU), just north of Austin, where the Hill Country, the lakes, and a thousand grass strips are all within easy reach.

The Aircraft

N8513W parked on the ramp at Georgetown Executive Airport — On the ramp at Georgetown Executive (KGTU)

Side view of N8513W, a Piper Cherokee 235, parked by the hangar — 1963 Piper Cherokee 235 · red, white & blue livery

Low-angle nose and propeller detail of N8513W by the hangar — Nose & prop detail · McCauley propeller

Close detail of N8513W, a Piper Cherokee 235, in flight — N8513W — note the wingtip fuel tanks, a Cherokee 235 hallmark. Pilot: Lenny Tropiano, June 2026 · Photo: Jack Fleetwood Photography

Piper Cherokee 235 MODEL YEAR 1963

RegistrationN8513W
Type / ModelPiper PA-28-235
Serial (c/n)28-10014 · 14th 235 built
PowerplantLycoming O-540 · 235 HP
ConfigurationLow-wing · Fixed gear
Seating4 occupants
Fuel Total84 gal · 100LL
Burn Rate12.9 gal/hr
Endurance5.5+ hours
StorageAlways hangared · KGTU
Engine (IRAN)Overhauled Apr 2026
Last AnnualCompleted Jul 2026
MaintenanceA&P Chris Branham

Specifications reflect the PA-28-235 type. Exact figures for this airframe per its logbooks & equipment list.

Fuel System · 4 Tanks · 100LL 84 gal total · 5.5+ hr endurance @ 12.9 gal/hr

Left Wing

Main

25GAL

Inboard main tank

Right Wing

Main

25GAL

Inboard main tank

Left Tip

Tip Tank

17GAL

Wingtip tank

Right Tip

Tip Tank

17GAL

Wingtip tank

Avionics & Panel · IFR-capable

N8513W instrument panel showing the Garmin avionics stack and dual G5s — The panel — dual Garmin G5s, GNC 355, GTX 345 & JPI EDM-830

COM 1 · GPS Nav/Com Garmin GNC 355 Touchscreen WAAS GPS navigator with LPV approach guidance and a built-in VHF comm radio. Garmin · garmin.com →

COM 2 · Nav/Com KTX 155 Second VHF nav/com radio with frequency pre-select for staying ahead of the airplane. BendixKing · bendixking.com →

Transponder · ADS-B Garmin GTX 345 All-in-one Mode S transponder with dual-link ADS-B In/Out — subscription-free traffic and weather. Garmin · garmin.com →

Flight Instruments · AI/DG Garmin Dual G5 Two electronic flight instruments serving as the attitude indicator and the directional gyro / HSI. Garmin · garmin.com →

Engine Monitor JPI EDM-830 Color engine data monitor — per-cylinder EGT/CHT, fuel flow, % power, oil temp & pressure. J.P. Instruments · jpinstruments.com →

Autopilot · Legacy Piper Century IIB Single-axis (roll) autopilot with heading hold and automatic VOR/localizer tracking — a Century Flight Systems classic. Century Flight Systems · centuryflight.com →

The Crew — 2026

P-1 · Officer

Jack Schanck

President

20% Equity

P-2 · Officer

Lenny Tropiano

Treasurer

20% Equity

P-3 · Member

Florin Micle

Member

20% Equity

P-4 · Member

Mark Sheehy

Member

20% Equity

P-5 · Member

Maure Bunch

Member

20% Equity

Lenny Tropiano standing with N8513W on the ramp — Lenny Tropiano — with N8513W on the ramp at KGTU

The five members of the Texas Old Man's Aviation Society

Crew Manifest

The partners, on the ground

Five members, one shared logbook. From left to right in the photo:

1 Lenny Tropiano
2 Maure Bunch
3 Florin Micle
4 Mark Sheehy
5 Jack Schanck

On the Cover

PIPERS Magazine September 2026 cover featuring N8513W, a 1963 Piper Cherokee 235

PDF Click the cover to read the feature · PDF, 2.9 MB

PIPERS Magazine · September 2026 · Vol. 39 No. 9

Dad's Wing Wagon

A Cherokee 235 Built for Family, Friendship & Flying

Feature by Diana Jones · Cover & feature photography by Jack Fleetwood

N8513W made the cover of PIPERS Magazine, the official publication of the Piper Owner Society, as the September 2026 featured airplane. The article follows partner Lenny Tropiano from a boyhood spent watching Apollo launches, through a flying dream deferred for 27 years, to earning his certificate in 2021 — and to the one-fifth share of this 1963 Cherokee 235 that made it possible.

It's a good look at how a five-way partnership actually works day to day: the shared T-hangar, the engine reserve fund that covered a full IRAN overhaul, the Garmin panel upgrades, and the 84 gallons of fuel that make this airplane such a capable traveling machine.

“The guys in the partnership make it work.” — Lenny Tropiano, in PIPERS Magazine

Download the article (PDF) PIPERS Magazine → Jack Fleetwood Photography →

Fleet Operations

Managed With

Fully managed on Pilot Partner

Every side of running N8513W — scheduling, maintenance & inspection tracking, fuel reimbursements, equity dues, and member invoicing — is handled through PilotPartner.net fleet management software. Each flight is logged once, and the partnership's books, MX status, and reservations stay current automatically.

Scheduling
MX Tracking
Fuel Reimbursements
Member Invoicing
Equity Dues

Visit pilotpartner.net →

Get in touch

Talk to the Society

Questions about the partnership, the airplane, or N8513W? Reach the members directly.

contact@n8513w.org

Now on the App Store · iOS

Flybound

Ever stared at good weather and wondered where to go? Flybound answers that. It's an iOS planning tool for general-aviation pilots that maps wind-shaped range rings around your home airport and grades reachable airports GO / CAUTION / NO-GO from live weather, aircraft performance, daylight, fuel, and your own minimums — so you can spot a good trip at a glance.

Severe clear. Let's go.

Download on the App Store Visit flybound.app

Developed by Lenny Tropiano

Scan to download