Dude wrote:
: Personally, I would not want to own a plane over 30 years old. Not that
: they are unsafe, just that I wouldn't want to have to sell it.

: I think they get harder to sell when they get a certain age. Also, it seems
: to go with decades. At this point, a sixties vintage bird just sounds OLD.
: It conjures up thoughts of antiques rather than used planes.

If you're referring to a "common" airplane, age seems to less important
then condition (as you state in a later post). The airport that I fly out
of has a large group of owners who take very good care of their aircraft,
not one of which is newer than 1975 - and many are much older. Only one I
would consider collectable, and that's a Swift. We have ramp queens, too,
but I would say about 1/2 the airplanes fly regularly and look good.
When I have shown some new pilots my airplane, thay cannot believe that
it is 36 years old (they have been flying reliable, but ugly, rentals -
all from the late 1980s, by the way). I don't think I have a collectable
airplane, but it is a desirable personal transportation airplane - despite
being older than I am. If I manage to maintain it in its present condition,
I will have no trouble selling it should I decide to. The only real
difference between my airplane and the 2004 model is in avionics. I could
have the same avionics installed into my airplane for a fraction of the
cost of changing airplanes. I am considering just this, perhaps next year
after the weather datalink settles out a bit and Chelton STC's their
autopilot for PA-28.

One other thing that I have not yet seen mentioned in this thread:
The supply of *certified* airplanes is not like that of autos. There is
a continuous reduction in the number of airplanes that are in existance.
The total yearly production does not appear to offset the number of
airplanes that are wrecked or scrapped - at least by my reading of the
NTSB data. Unless the supply of pilots decreases as well, one would think
that demand would increase.

: Having said all this, acquisition costs are not the sort of thing that bug
: me. If you are less concerned about the upkeep than the price tag or hangar
: hours, then you may enjoy the older bird more.

I don't entirely agree with your second sentence. There just aren't that many
components to break in a "common" fixed-gear airplane. Now, if the problem
cannot be diagnosed the airplane could be out of service for a long time.
I think that the diagnosis problem is unrelated to the age of the plane,
though, and newer airplanes may well be more difficult to diagnose.

I fly my airplane about 200 hours a year - probably 75 to 80 flights with
150 individual legs. I've had it for just over 3 years. I have *NEVER* had
the airplane not operate when I wanted it to. Certainly I have had items
break, and I have replaced other items that seemed to be on their last
legs. I think this policy is the key to dispatch reliability. On the other
hand, many folks seem to save up all their maintenance for annual time,
with the result of large annual bills and less than stellar reliability.

About your first sentence: Don't get me wrong. I applaud anyone who will
buy a new airplane. This ensures that the supply of airplanes will decrease
more slowly than otherwise. I personally don't see the additional value
over a used airplane in good condition, but that is my opinion, and you
know what they say about opinions...

--
Aaron Coolidge (N9376J)