"Marty" wrote in message ...
I just looked at an ad in Trade a plane.
It's a Cessna Cardinal, 1968 (fairly cheap)with no paperwork which means to
me, no logs.
Besides the obvious, what kind of hassles is there to lost logs?
If I were to purchase this plane, it would be with the intention of doing a
ground-up resto.after a structural blessing by my A&P.
Say I got it, put in new avionics, new engine, prop overhauled, ADs complied
with, fresh paint and interior. What else am I faced with? Any insurance
hassles?
I really like the Cardinals and see this as a possible opportunity since
Cessna won't make any more of them.

I think the airframe can be ok with nothing more than an expensive
search of all ADs since the begining of time, ensure they are all
done, and ensure you have a current annual, transponder, ELT, etc sign
off.

The only thing the insurance co's really are concerned about is the
hours on the engine. If you get an overhaul they'll be happy (they
really only care about SMOH time).

Be aware that there may be some pretty expensive ADs that haven't been
done. Do you know if the actual maintenance was done well (did the
widow just throw out the logs or was the last owner a rebel?).

I wouldn't worry about resale value, since that should already be
taken into account when you pay for the plane. If it reduces the value
of the plane, you'll resell it for less, but you should also pay less.
That should work out as long as you don't over pay with this in mind.

BTW: In my opinion, if you have to fly a Cessna, the fix gear Cardinal
is not a bad one to have. They do run better with a 200hp
conversion though. I flew a 150hp one for a while and I felt like I
was hitting cows in the head on take off. Some have put turbo charged
engines in them and use them as high altitude travel planes.
-Robert

-Robert