.Ben wrote:
has anyone else bought a light aircraft recently? I know there's tons of aircraft owners on here but it seems most have owned them and kept them maintained for some time now, not just purchased one recently, im starting to think were running out of 60's/70's aircraft worth buying.
They are out there, but the good ones are few and far between (and typically extremely overpriced). I bought a 1966 Cherokee 180 last spring, 1050 SMOH 4400TT for $30,000. I had been reading the airplane ads nearly every single day for the past 10 years (not seriously looking, but you've got to be prepared for that lottery win, right?
) I had a really good idea about what was for sale, what sat around and what sold for how much. When I saw this one come up I knew I had to go take a look even though I was really not in a position to buy an airplane (having bought a house the same month). So I did a road trip to where the plane was, spent a couple hours crawling around it and reading through the paperwork before the owner showed up, we did a test flight (3 whole circuits), and we closed the deal. About 3 weeks, a prepurchase inspection, annual, and insurance checkout later I flew my airplane home.
The simple fact of the matter is that the previous owner's misfortune happened to be my good luck. He needed the money and he knew how to price his airplane to get it fast. He said he had a broker that was going to list it for $47000 and from years of studying ads I know that would be pretty average (even on the low side) for that airplane.
From all of the ads I've seen, and my own observations of airplanes I've seen at various airports is that the majority of privately owned light airplanes in this country are garbage. They have become garbage through neglect and lack of use. People buy more airplane than they can afford to run, they treat them like seasonal toys parked for 7 months out of the year, or they lose their medical and keep the plane in hopes of getting the medical back and the airplane rots. Not only are they garbage but often the owners have an idea of their airplanes' value that is completely out to lunch.
In perusing the ads you can tell when someone is getting serious about selling their airplane because the price will start to drop. I would often see an airplane listed at an outrageous price for a long time (even a couple of years), then the price reductions come $5000 this month, $2000 next month, and the hyperbole in the ads increases "priced to sell!" "Need it gone!" it's almost like a dutch auction.
I think the most important thing when looking for a good airplane is to find one that moves. I think this is far more important than finding one with low times. The flight school airplane that I used to rent got used, abused, and beaten hard by students but their engines go way past TBO because that airplane is constantly in motion. When I was reading the log books for my airplane I noticed that in the last 20 years it has never gone more than 3 months without a flight (and those breaks were far and few between). I'm no mechanic, but I know that a machine that is sitting is rotting and not being maintained. An airplane that is flown often is probably having the little squawks taken care of as they arise, buefore they become larger issues. One of the ads that caught my interest was for a PA-22/20, beautiful looking airplane. Nice fabric, nice interior and only 178 SMOH for a decent price. The problem is that it's only seen 178 hours since the engine was overhauled in 1996! I shudder to think of what the inside of that engine looks like.
.Ben wrote:
so are you better just going for it and buying a 1975 ish piper, cessna or similar and then budgeting 5-10k+ for the first annual to get the thing airworthy and then more for things you want like GPS, newer radio, interior repairs/replacement, etc? or does it make more sense to just move into a higher price range and buy something way more modern. I seem to think you can sure sink a lot of money into a 68 piper Cherokee that no one will part with for less than 35k that has an engine on condition, an original radio and a shredded up interior.
It is always better to buy an airplane that is equipped as you like, but it may not be feasible with the market being what it is in Canada. Focus on finding a sound airframe and engine and go from there, everything else is just lipstick. I don't know what you goals are with your airplane, for VFR flying all you need is a reliable COM radio, transponder and a portable GPS (perhaps an ADF if you want to listen to the hockey game
). When I first bought the airplane I really wanted to put an IFR GPS in it, but the reality is that in about 90 hours of flying this airplane I have only once been prevented from going by not having an IFR airplane (and instrument rating for that matter), and once I had to take a less direct route because of cloud. Sometimes a dose of reality can save you money.
Buy the best airplane you can afford (and afford to run). One of the best pieces of advice I've read on here about buying airplanes is "Decide what kind of plane you want, then buy the best one you can find" $40000 will buy you a nice Cherokee or it will buy you a clapped out Mooney. The Mooney is sexy and the Mooney is fast but a $40k Cherokee is a hell of a lot easier to live with than a $40k Mooney. In the long term spending more money now is a much better way to go than cheaping out now with the intention of making improvements later. Be conservative in your choice of type and buy a great one. Keep in mind that the real cost of buying the airplane isn't the initial outlay, it's the upkeep.
There are a lot of overpriced heaps of scrap out there on the market right now, but there are some solid airplanes too. Just be patient and one will come up that's right for you.
