Abandoned airplanes

Joshuajayg

Joshuajayg

Line Up and Wait
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'Merica
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Joshua
Anyone know what their local airport rules are on abandoned airplanes?

My local airport has nothing official so we have several aircraft that have been sitting on the airfield with no ramp fees paid for years.
 
Same here. Several airplanes full of mildew and flat tires, that have sat on the ramp for years. Can't imagine somebody flipping the bill to keep them tied down. It's a sad sight when owners allow their aircraft to go to pot.
 
Interesting. I think many sit there with legalities preventing their removal. There's still 5-6 C-130 w/ desert paint scheme sitting at Dobbins AFB near ATL. They were bought by Iran for the Iranian Air Force, and after the Shan was overthrown in '79 we kept them there (C130s built there also). You can see them on google earth. Another old DC4 or similar sits at Gulfport and has for years. Drug plane. Local owners I think most small airports either don't care or don't know it's abandoned. Especially if their fees are paid. So, IOW, I don't know.
 
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Idk but I wish people would let them go. There was a commanche that's been sitting for over 2 years and is sunk halfway up its gear into the dirt. Now even getting it for free it might not even be worth it since i'm sure everything will need replaced.
 
I tried for the last 5 years to buy a Luscombe my father had taken me flying in when I was 4 years old.
It's been sinking into the weeds for even longer then I've been trying to buy it.. The guy wouldn't sell the plane. Wouldn't even discuss it.
Last month the airport crushed it with a backhoe and put it into a dumpster.
sigh......
 
Shepherd said:
I tried for the last 5 years to buy a Luscombe my father had taken me flying in when I was 4 years old.
It's been sinking into the weeds for even longer then I've been trying to buy it.. The guy wouldn't sell the plane. Wouldn't even discuss it.
Last month the airport crushed it with a backhoe and put it into a dumpster.
sigh......
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That's tragic.
 
Shepherd said:
I tried for the last 5 years to buy a Luscombe my father had taken me flying in when I was 4 years old.
It's been sinking into the weeds for even longer then I've been trying to buy it.. The guy wouldn't sell the plane. Wouldn't even discuss it.
Last month the airport crushed it with a backhoe and put it into a dumpster.
sigh......
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Terrible. You think they'd auctioned it off for fees unpaid or whatever. Senseless. Aren't they required to give legal notice on things like that?
 
The rules vary, state by state. In this case I didn't even ask after the details, I was so disgusted.
 
Shepherd said:
I tried for the last 5 years to buy a Luscombe my father had taken me flying in when I was 4 years old.
It's been sinking into the weeds for even longer then I've been trying to buy it.. The guy wouldn't sell the plane. Wouldn't even discuss it.
Last month the airport crushed it with a backhoe and put it into a dumpster.
sigh......
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He must have fond memories of teaching his wife how to fly "the stick" in that plane. When something has that many "love stains" in it there is no hope of selling.
 
Shepherd said:
I tried for the last 5 years to buy a Luscombe my father had taken me flying in when I was 4 years old.
It's been sinking into the weeds for even longer then I've been trying to buy it.. The guy wouldn't sell the plane. Wouldn't even discuss it.
Last month the airport crushed it with a backhoe and put it into a dumpster.
sigh......
Click to expand...
Good grief, you would have thought he would have sold it to you rather than have that happen? I would have thought the airport would have sold it to you also rather than just smash it. Did anyone at the airport know you'd been trying to buy it?
 
falconkidding said:
Idk but I wish people would let them go. There was a commanche that's been sitting for over 2 years and is sunk halfway up its gear into the dirt. Now even getting it for free it might not even be worth it since i'm sure everything will need replaced.
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I actually know of a Comanche that had been sitting for 15+ years in a barn down in Southwest OK that was finally sold to a new owner and throughly rebuilt, I'm hoping it's finally done. The owner had it for years sitting on a pile of mattresses due to a gear problem or something. I remember going in to look at it once, I was shocked to see a bunny looking back at me from under the engine! It had made a nest in there, seemed happy.
 
3 years ago the city auctioned a Beech A23 that had been sitting on the ramp for years (no engine or prop). My wife went to the auction and offered $200, that offer was rejected because the tie down fees owed by the owner exceeded $1600. The city wanted $1600 as a minimum bid. I called the airport and offered $400, told them I wanted the plane for parts. I explained I would move the plane off airport at my expense. Built a shed to store the parts $1000, $200 for a uhaul truck to move the plane. Took 1 month working weekends to dismantle and move. Sold $1400 worth of parts and have the rest of the plane in the shed.

Wings, landing gear, flaps, ailerons, stabilator all fit my Beech Sport..:)
 
There was a C170 sitting on the ramp since the Vietnam war ended. The owner was killed in Vietnam and the father paid the ramp fees all those years. The left wing strut corroded and in a wind storm the wing fell off. The airport finally disposed of it.
 
Joshuajayg said:
Anyone know what their local airport rules are on abandoned airplanes?

My local airport has nothing official so we have several aircraft that have been sitting on the airfield with no ramp fees paid for years.
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well, if they were abandoned cars at a parking garage, apt bld complex or repair facility the owner of the property could apply for what is called in Illinois a salvage title. it can take a while but it can be done. can't imagine the same wouldn't be true for abandoned aircraft. the real question is...have the airport owners looked into this?
 
We have a Bo, Toga, and Stinson 108 sitting here at TUP. The Bo and Toga are even in a hangar.
 
There was a pretty Swift sitting in Ohio, and a couple guys in my squadron looked into buying it. Story I heard was classic - owner passed, and the family was advised by a friend to price it far above a rational market value. It sat, value dropping, for years, but the price never came down. Not sure how it ended, but it was pretty far gone last time I passed through, many years ago. . .
 
The airport manager or the airport owner is the final authority on what happens to these aircraft. BVS for example, has cleaned the ramp of these aircraft, but there are no less than 10 hangars that haven't had the door open in 15-20 years. the Airport manager simply says as long as the rent is paid we will not take any action, it is none of the airports business how much the aircraft flys.
 
mscard88 said:
Interesting. I think many sit there with legalities preventing their removal. There's still 5-6 C-130 w/ desert paint scheme sitting at Dobbins AFB near ATL. They were bought by Iran for the Iranian Air Force, and after the Shan was overthrown in '79 we kept them there (C130s built there also). You can see them on google earth.
Click to expand...

It was actually Libya. http://www.marietta.com/30-years-after-purchase-libyas-c-130s-are-still-in-marietta

Had a friend that worked at Lockheed who went through the ten years ago. He said it would be cost prohibitive to get them airworthy.
 
AKBill said:
3 years ago the city auctioned a Beech A23 that had been sitting on the ramp for years (no engine or prop). My wife went to the auction and offered $200, that offer was rejected because the tie down fees owed by the owner exceeded $1600. The city wanted $1600 as a minimum bid. I called the airport and offered $400, told them I wanted the plane for parts. I explained I would move the plane off airport at my expense. Built a shed to store the parts $1000, $200 for a uhaul truck to move the plane. Took 1 month working weekends to dismantle and move. Sold $1400 worth of parts and have the rest of the plane in the shed.

Wings, landing gear, flaps, ailerons, stabilator all fit my Beech Sport..:)
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We should chat. You might have a couple of things I've been looking for!!!
 
Tom-D said:
The airport manager or the airport owner is the final authority on what happens to these aircraft. BVS for example, has cleaned the ramp of these aircraft, but there are no less than 10 hangars that haven't had the door open in 15-20 years. the Airport manager simply says as long as the rent is paid we will not take any action, it is none of the airports business how much the aircraft flys.
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Is there a waiting list for hangars? If so, then the airport has an obligation to make he hangars available for aeronautical use. Either get the plane flying again or get it out.
 
ktup-flyer said:
It'll be in the air eventually. The owner has a Beech 18 he restored, had a Lodestar he restored, and is in the process of repairing the 195 he did a forced landing in.
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I'd just like to know where Aubie finds the time!
 
Just get a trailer, back it up to the plane and disassemble. If you look like you belong there no one will question you.
Take the plane to her new home and get to know her inside and out.
 
well to actually answer the question...the majority of the rules lie in state law. Figure out what your state's rules for garage keepers liens are and if they are applicable to aircraft.
 
I have bought two ramp queens over the years. In 1982 bought a SNJ-6 that sat by the tower at the Spirit of St Louis airport for 22 years. We flew in in a 206 full of tools and ferried it to Idaho three days later. Flew it for 8 years. A friend and I bought a Nanchang CJ-6 two years ago that sat at the Bountiful Utah airport for 9 years. When parked it was a nice airplane but the sun and salt air took a toll on it. Should have it done this year if other projects don't get in the way.
 
GRG55 said:
Someone who likes to build things put a lot of effort into creating that tri-plane. It needs to now move to the hands of someone who likes to fly it.
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Yup...the story goes that the guy who built it scared him self....so it's been sitting like that for over thirty years. This was my hangar neighbor. Curiosity got the best of me, cause I never saw the doors open, and I snapped a picture thru the crack in the door. :eek:
 
Brad Z said:
Is there a waiting list for hangars? If so, then the airport has an obligation to make he hangars available for aeronautical use. Either get the plane flying again or get it out.
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There is no such obligation, as long as the rental agreement is met. The feds do not require an aircraft to be airworthy to be stored in a hangar.
There are county, state and federal codes to be met, such as fire safety. but there is no requirement saying any aircraft must be airworthy.
 
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Checkout_my_Six said:
Yup...the story goes that the guy who built it scared him self....so it's been sitting like that for over thirty years. This was my hangar neighbor. Curiosity got the best of me, cause I never saw the doors open, and I snapped a picture thru the crack in the door. :eek:
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Apparently Frank Christensen, the creator of the Christen Eagle kits, came across this. He noticed a large number of recently completed Eagles were put up for sale with few hours on them. He thought there must be something wrong with the way the plane handled or flew. Surveying owners he discovered there are people who like to build and there are people who like to fly, and in many, many cases they aren't the same people.

Some were selliing their plane to fund the next build project, but a number of them were low time pilots (more time in the shop than in the air) who found the Eagle was too much airplane for their experience level, frightened themselves and didn't want to fly it again.
 
Every airport has its own rules and codes, but almost all run into some situation that results in an abandoned airplane. We've had several, and have some others as well. One plane that used to adorn our ramp had been purchased by someone from out of town, that then never registered or picked up the plane. After 15 years the brother of a former owner found it and went through a lot of trouble to get it legally declared abandoned and take ownership.

On a side note, the plane at GPT is a Martin 4-0-4. There were about 6 more at HSA about 30 miles west of there. They were owned by a startup airline, who's owner was arrested by the DEA and all assets were seized including the numerous 4-0-4s. The ones at HSA were scrapped about 12-15 years ago once the airport was finally able to get ownership of them.
 
GRG55 said:
.Some were selliing their plane to fund the next build project, but a number of them were low time pilots (more time in the shop than in the air) who found the Eagle was too much airplane for their experience level, frightened themselves and didn't want to fly it again.
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best reason I know to sell and move on.
 
I know of two aircraft that the ownership was finally given to the airport over back ramp fees. one was bought for one dollar, by a salvage yard. When the guy came to get it. the airport gave the second one to him too, because it had no bids.
 
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