Beech A-23 w/ IO-346 ?

[New_PIC]

I just want to make sure I understand this correctly, so please let me know if I've misconstrued anything.

This Continental engine wasn't built for long and not in great numbers. The top end can be replaced with jugs for an IO-520 or IO-550, but there is no source of new bottom end parts and the old parts are getting scarce. There is also no STC to replace that engine in a Musketeer. You could spend more than a plane is worth to replace everything back to and including the firewall with parts from a Custom III, etc. One of the linked threads talks about plating worn cams and cranks up to service limits, but some problems can't be repaired.

Does this mean an IO-346 bottom end failure might mean the plane is only good for salvage? Maybe the crank, etc. lasts as long as the rest of the airframe, but roughly what chance is there that with proper care it still fails, irrepairably, earlier? Some planes with this engine are less expensive but it sounds to me like that might still be gambling money. I don't know enough about aircraft engines, so could someone offer a guess: "What are the odds on that bet?"

A couple of threads I found on another forum:
http://www.beechaeroclub.org/showthread ... A23-IO-346
http://www.beechaeroclub.org/showthread ... rhaul-Shop

[Colonel Sanders]

There is also no STC to replace that engine in a Musketeer

Doesn't matter. You wouldn't want to ever do it -
financial suicide. You might spend (e.g.) $60,000
changing the engine (you have no core), new prop,
new mount & biscuits, new engine controls, new
engine baffles and seals, all new engine accessories,
new cowling, etc.

And at the end of all that work, you would have a
$30,000 aircraft. Assuming you paid $25,000 for
the aircraft in the first place, you now have sunk
$85,000 yielding a $30,000 payout.

You probably only need to do that two or three
times before you figure out that you don't want
to do it any more. See why no one has developed
an STC?

Many older airplanes suffer from this "financial
suicide" problem and as such are certain to
disappear. A friend of mine has an old Bonanza
with an obsolete E-225 engine. Doesn't make
sense to sink the money into it, to repair it,
because it would be worth less than the repair
would cost afterwards. Sound familiar?

Same thing with older tube & fabric airplanes.
Even if you were given them for free, you
are going to spend more on restoring them,
than you could sell it afterwards. Ever wonder
why you don't see many Aeronca Champs,
Chiefs or BD12D T-crafts around any more?

[captcrunch2013]

That explains why a B-23 sold for $15,000 in Ottawa a few weeks ago prior to which
it was used for training and rental

[Colonel Sanders]

I have never, ever met an owner who openly
admitted that he was selling a "project", even
if the aircraft was contained in many baskets
on the hangar floor.

Many older aircraft, even if you give them away
are financial suicide, as described above.

The only way you can break even is if the owner
agrees to pay you tens of thousands of dollars to
take the airplane off his hands. This is not a common
financial transaction.

Many older aircraft can be best described with a childish
game of "musical chairs" where life is great until the
music stops.

These older aircraft are great until they need major
repairs, at which time they are turned into canoes.

This problem is not unique to light aircraft. I remember
seeing many older Lear jets sold for ridiculously low
prices. They were just about due for new engines
and were similarly destined for the aluminum canoe
factory.

[tyndall]

One of the reasons there is no STC, is that since the scaremongers have tanked the value of the aircraft, nobody wants to pay for an OH, much less a complete FWF. We've been sitting on a 0 TSOH io346 for years because the customer pulled a Houdini and nobody else wants it.

[New_PIC]

...
Many older aircraft can be best described with a childish
game of "musical chairs" where life is great until the
music stops.
...

I guess my original question boiled down to asking when the music would stop. Thank you for the summary!

It seemed like it could be a relatively inexpensive way to get in the air, and any aircraft will cost some maintenance to stay in the air. Great while it lasts but, as you say, once the plane breaks there's nothing left and that could happen any time. 'Relatively inexpensive' is still more than I should gamble if I want a sustainable way to fly.

... nobody wants to pay for an OH...

I'd be willing to pay a reasonable price for an overhaul. As I understand it, that's part of the cost of flying. My worry is that there may not be the parts available to pay for. Then the music stops.