Originally Posted by Denny

Good deal Mort... I don 't have to worry about you pestering me for a
ride in Fat Albert...

Now, let me point out to the group that the original 150 hp (actually
the original was less than that) was marketed as a cost effective
trainer and low end business twin and as competiton to the Cessna 310
(which it was not)... My Apache (1957) worked as an airline commuter
for 4 years then was sold to an FBO where it remained doing training
and hauling freight... I took my twin rating in it a long time ago...
When the FBO owner died I purchased the plane from his son to keep it
from being left outside to rot...

The majority of old twins up for sale (not just Apaches) are for sale
because the owners do not want to put the money into the IRAN and AD's
that the airplane needs, so they peddle it... Buying an Apache is like
buying a 1957 Chevy that has set in the back of someones garage for the
past 20 years... It is going to take TLC and a significant infusion of
cash the first few years to make it right... OTOH, very few 57 Chevy's
can be put on I-75 and driven at 75% of maximum horsepower from mid
Michigan to Southern Florida and back... Fat Albert does that
regularily without working up a sweat - even with 6000 hour engines...

Now, the 150 hp has anemic single engine climb... Maintain the engines
like it is a single and it will not be an issue... Cruise is 130 knot
going cross country... I file IFR at 125 knots and have no problems
meeting my times.. Fuel burn is 17.5 gallons cross country... Local
flying burns less fuel because I pull the throttles back...

The instrument panel looks like the house that Topsey built... It's a
mess... So what?
The paint and interior are doggy (woof woof) but I leave it that way
because:
1. I am tighter than a Scotsman on a budget cruise
2. Looks do not make an airplane fly so I spend like a drunken sailor
on the things that make it fly...
3. I am really, really, tight...

The Apache when lightly loaded pops off the ground and lands short...
With 2 people, a dog, and fuel, it is like driving in your Grandpas
Buick - big, roomy, and comfortable as you sit straight up and your
shoulders do not rub... You want style get something sleek and
flashy... But be prepared to be cramped and to be at higher risk of a
bad outcome if you lose an engine... Yes, you can crash an Apache but
you have to work at it - which is not true of many other twins...
OTOH, I have at times put 4 adults and baggage in Fat Albert and headed
off on vacation into the wilds of New York... The Fat Boy handled the
load like it was nothing... Of course there was no margin left for a
failed engine and I flew the plane carefully...

When buying an old Apache get an old, grizzled mechanic who speaks
Apache fluently to do a pre-buy inspection IN DEPTH... Make sure you
know every screw and rivet that will need attention... Do just a quick
once over and buy the plane, and you will be cursing a lot... These
are old machines that need considerable work to fix the faults that
have been glossed over - sometimes for decades..

The annual on Fat Albert is due this month...
If I were the typical airplane owner on the field I would be ragging
the mechanic to get it through the annual as cheap as possible...
But, I'm not so every annual is a mix of IRAN and preventative
maintenance (PM):
Up on the squawk list are 5 very minor items mostly radio stuff ...
Up to bat for PM is a complete set of new teflon / fire-sleeve hoses on
the right engine - the left engine was done last year...
Some hydraulic hose are likely to get PM also - to be determined
I am going to discuss a power pac overhaul - no problems at this time
but I'm wondering when we should think about this...

What's a half dozen AMU's between friends...

cheers ... denny and Fat Albert...


Mortimer Schnerd, RN wrote:
Robert Bates wrote:
I'm thinking about buying an Apache but can't find performance data for a
160hp Geronimo or a turbo. Also, does anyone have real world data for a
180hp Geronimo rather than what's on the website?

I Now the 150 HP Apache? WOOF WOOF!!! I wouldn't
take one if you gave it to me.




--
Mortimer Schnerd, RN
mschnerdatcarolina.rr.com