I tend to believe there are two types of owners of older airframes:
those that can't afford newer as described by Mike, and those that have
a nostalgic tendency. Personally, when I owned my Funk B I kept it in
top shape and tripled my money on it when I finally sold. Yes, it was
only 3 months younger than me but that was part of the mystique.

To paint the owners of older airframes as condoning sloppy or cut-rate
maintenance is to use way too wide a brush. To me it seems there are a
greater percentage of 30 year old derelicts than there are of 60 year
old derelicts. (Notice I said percentage, not number).



-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Spera ]
Posted At: Saturday, July 15, 2006 11:17
Posted To: rec.aviation.owning
Conversation: High time or missing logs?
Subject: High time or missing logs?


.... clipped...

The fleet average is over 30 years old now. Most owners of high time
old
airframes will staunchly defend their mounts. They make statements
like
"if it was maintained" and "by now everything has been replaced". When
I
recall all the birds I have seen, the reality out there is quite
different. Most have NOT been "well maintained". Most owners are
operating on a shoestring and wait for something to fall off before
they
fix it. When they arrive at the day when they absolutely have to do
something, they usually choose the cheapest method to band aid the
thing
together. Over the years, all these patch together parts start failing
again and the list just keeps growing.

Very few owners replace with OEM or better quality. Fewer still
upgrade
to the most modern version. This is especially true with avionics.

So, IF these birds were being taken care of, I would have no fear in a
high time, older airframe. But from everything I have seen, my money
will go to a 15-20 year old bird with 2500 hours or less. There are
exceptions but the vast majority of airplanes out there are flying
junk.
Many who interact here tend towards the "upkeep and upgrade" method.

Good Luck,
Mike