Devin Gaffney
Member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2019
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
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Currently looking at https://www.trade-a-plane.com/searc...ROKEE+180&listing_id=2372501&s-type=aircraft#
I live in Boston, and actually did my flight training at the field that this plane is based at currently. I've been aggressively in the market for a plane for a year and a half now, and have narrowed it down to my first choice being one of the Baby Beeches (Sierra/Sundowner/Musketeer) or a Cherokee/Arrow. Beyond those considerations, I've been trying to find a good deal that meets my mission plus a little wiggle room beyond that (I'm going to be doing my IFR training, and occasionally I'll haul friends around New England). I could be making a decision as early as tomorrow and would love to hear folks thoughts about whether I should get off my fence-sitting spot on this plane:
I first gave the owner a deposit in early November, but had to give that up as I chased down an estate sale for a super musketeer that was ≈$15k under VREF. That didn't pan out, and I left this Cherokee owner with the deposit as a thanks for dealing with my waffling-about. I told him I'd be still interested around VREF for the plane. About 1.5 months later, he's back at me in the mid $20k's range offering the plane. Sounds like he's had a few close calls in terms of selling it, but hasn't quite made the deal. Owner has lost his medical, and is mostly just trying to wash his hands of the plane at this point. Owner's had it since 1991.
The good: it's a currently airworthy, working Cherokee 180 for less than $30k. Already at my home field so acquisition / rehoming costs are nil.
The bad: it's got a rough paint job, it's got 1500SMOH, and it in general seems like it could use a bit of a reboot. Crash in 1991 that ripped the NLG off, included a prop strike, and included reskinning the right wing and aileron. Not yet ADS-B compliant.
Some contemporaneous notes I took when talking to the owner about a prebuy that did not result in a sale the other week:
Mattituck overhaul 1994
Squawk concerns:
Alternator never been changed since 2003 - corroded
Trim line cable is kinked
Fuel line corrosion on interfaces between fuel line and other pipes
some corrosion on valve covers
corrosion on wheel struts, some pitting
corrosion on spark plugs
baggage door gasket
wing root gaskets need to be replaced
My question to the folks here are severalfold:
1. I see the word "corrosion" in here a bunch. Should one reasonably expect that word to keep appearing when paired with more important words like "spar"?
2. When you read between the lines here, what is the nightmare scenario? Mine would be lots of left-outside-for-years MX issues on the airframe. The engine is also potentially suspect, but at this price, redoing the engine would not result in a big financial loss (assuming the airframe holds together).
3. Would you buy this plane? What needs to be looked at with a fine-tooth comb here?
Apologies for the lengthy post - I figure that it's better to be overly verbose with an advice-looking question like this rather than "should I buy this plane" and barely any details behind the ask.
I live in Boston, and actually did my flight training at the field that this plane is based at currently. I've been aggressively in the market for a plane for a year and a half now, and have narrowed it down to my first choice being one of the Baby Beeches (Sierra/Sundowner/Musketeer) or a Cherokee/Arrow. Beyond those considerations, I've been trying to find a good deal that meets my mission plus a little wiggle room beyond that (I'm going to be doing my IFR training, and occasionally I'll haul friends around New England). I could be making a decision as early as tomorrow and would love to hear folks thoughts about whether I should get off my fence-sitting spot on this plane:
I first gave the owner a deposit in early November, but had to give that up as I chased down an estate sale for a super musketeer that was ≈$15k under VREF. That didn't pan out, and I left this Cherokee owner with the deposit as a thanks for dealing with my waffling-about. I told him I'd be still interested around VREF for the plane. About 1.5 months later, he's back at me in the mid $20k's range offering the plane. Sounds like he's had a few close calls in terms of selling it, but hasn't quite made the deal. Owner has lost his medical, and is mostly just trying to wash his hands of the plane at this point. Owner's had it since 1991.
The good: it's a currently airworthy, working Cherokee 180 for less than $30k. Already at my home field so acquisition / rehoming costs are nil.
The bad: it's got a rough paint job, it's got 1500SMOH, and it in general seems like it could use a bit of a reboot. Crash in 1991 that ripped the NLG off, included a prop strike, and included reskinning the right wing and aileron. Not yet ADS-B compliant.
Some contemporaneous notes I took when talking to the owner about a prebuy that did not result in a sale the other week:
Mattituck overhaul 1994
Squawk concerns:
Alternator never been changed since 2003 - corroded
Trim line cable is kinked
Fuel line corrosion on interfaces between fuel line and other pipes
some corrosion on valve covers
corrosion on wheel struts, some pitting
corrosion on spark plugs
baggage door gasket
wing root gaskets need to be replaced
My question to the folks here are severalfold:
1. I see the word "corrosion" in here a bunch. Should one reasonably expect that word to keep appearing when paired with more important words like "spar"?
2. When you read between the lines here, what is the nightmare scenario? Mine would be lots of left-outside-for-years MX issues on the airframe. The engine is also potentially suspect, but at this price, redoing the engine would not result in a big financial loss (assuming the airframe holds together).
3. Would you buy this plane? What needs to be looked at with a fine-tooth comb here?
Apologies for the lengthy post - I figure that it's better to be overly verbose with an advice-looking question like this rather than "should I buy this plane" and barely any details behind the ask.
