First Time Buyer - High Time Turbo Arrow

Before spending a lot of time and money traveling to see the airplane, why
not have an objective person located nearby have a look? What we did in
this case was arrange for a local mechanic (NOT the one doing regular
maintenance on the plane) spend about an hour looking for obvious problems.
This is NOT an adequate pre-buy, just an initial screening to keep you from
wasting time and money on obvious dogs. A good $60-80 investment.

I wonder what an A&P can actually tell in that amount of time. When I
was shopping for a Champ most A&Ps said they would need at least 5
hours before they know much of anything. My Mooney pre-buy cost be
$2500. I guess if there is something really obvious, this might help,
but otherwise, I'm not sure.

-Robert

(Robert M. Gary) wrote
I wonder what an A&P can actually tell in that amount of time. When I
was shopping for a Champ most A&Ps said they would need at least 5
hours before they know much of anything. My Mooney pre-buy cost be
$2500. I guess if there is something really obvious, this might help,
but otherwise, I'm not sure.

Unfortunately, most of the planes on the market have really obvious
things wrong with them. I can't comment on the Mooney, but here's
what I can tell about a Champ in an hour:

Condition of fabric - does it pass the punch test (at the minimum
acceptable strength using a Maule tester) on the top of the wings,
fuselage, and tailfeathers? Is there a shiny enamel coat? Cracking of
paint? Ringworm?

Condition of engine/prop - is there a weak jug when the prop is pulled
through? Are there exhaust leaks?

Condition of lower longerons - when I tap with a wrench, is there a
dull sound?

Condition of spars - have the inspection holes been cut? Are there
nails sticking out? Will a screwdriver go into the wood?

I assure you that I can accomplish all the above in an hour, and I'm
not a Champ expert (though I have wrenched on them a bit). What's
more, my experience is that 90% of the Champs for sale won't pass
those tests. Most of the planes out there for sale are dogs - and
that goes double if you're trying to get a 'deal.' If you pay for a
full-blown prepurhase for each one, you will soon run out of money.

Michael

(Michael) wrote in message . com...
I assure you that I can accomplish all the above in an hour, and I'm
not a Champ expert (though I have wrenched on them a bit). What's
more, my experience is that 90% of the Champs for sale won't pass
those tests. Most of the planes out there for sale are dogs - and
that goes double if you're trying to get a 'deal.' If you pay for a
full-blown prepurhase for each one, you will soon run out of money.

That's what caused me to give up the idea of buy a Champ as a second
airplane. I personally think most of them were airworthy but few
passed the FAA AD on the spar. A lot of A&Ps argue that the nails on
the spar were only there to hold it until the glue dries. In anycase,
the problem is finding an A&P to sign of your plane every year with a
non-AD compliant airplane. I did see some nice Champs, most of those
where in the $30K range.

-Robert