Looking at a C150

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Tucker Siddoway

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Tuckdoway
Hi everyone! I'm looking to buy a Cessna 150. I have found one that I am interested in. I contacted the owner and he is a mechanic himself. He purchased the airplane from a friend. The airplane had not flown for 5-6 years. He ferried it home and did a annual and got all the instrument inspections done one the airplane. The airplane has been stored in a cool dry hangar the whole time. I guess my question is, is there anything I need to be concerned about after a airplane has sat for that long? Dried out gaskets or seals gone bad? I do plan to send a mechanic out to do a pre-buy. I just being cautious, I am a first time buyer.
 
What fuel was left in tanks?

Mo-gas residue and possible critters would be big for me.
 
Five years is a long time to sit without flying. Unless the engine is close to TBO and the aircraft is priced accordingly, I would look at another candidate...
 
So they guy that owns it now bought it early this year and flew it 300 miles home to do the annual at the beginning of June. He wants 38k for it. It is IFR certified
 
The biggest concern I would have is the engine and whether or not any corrosion has taken place. Once corrosion gets a foothold there is no going back and that means an overhaul. At $38K that would be an expensive proposition. It may be a great aircraft but at that price I would expect low time all around and outstanding avionics, i.e. Garmin 430, etc. Just be careful, you don't want to experience a story like this one:

https://www.pilotsofamerica.com/com...s-first-and-last-annual-advice-needed.130394/
 
Don't let the fact that he flew it once for 3 hours convince you the engine is A-OK. An engine can run and seem fine to you while you're flying and be making metal. If he presumably just changed the oil at the annual you aren't going to find anything in the filter or be able to drain a little oil for any useful analysis. Personally I'd be leery taking the word of a guy flipping a plane in a hot market.

Then again it could be good to go. You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?
 
No way would I pay $38K for a C-150 that hasn't flown regularly in 5 years.

The issue with these 50 year old airplanes is that if they sit, stuff degrades. So when you start flying it regularly a LOT of little stuff will break. My first 150 was a '67 model that I owned from 2014-2017 and it had so many tiny little things break on it. I got another one last year that was a 100 hour a year flyer just to avoid that stuff.

For $38k, I'd expect good paint, a low time engine, and at least a decent IFR panel.
 
Check accessory times pretty carefully. Vacuum pumps sitting that long... radios that basically aren’t repairable... all that little stuff.

Almost gotta assume a lot of it is pretty time limited at this point.

I’m involved in getting TWO 150s going that have extended sits. That’s what we are seeing. Check the mag times pretty carefully. 800 hr engine, not bad... but 800 hr slick mags...

Best of luck to you! It’s not a deal breaker, but look carefully and be a little cautious.
 
FredFenster said:
Don't let the fact that he flew it once for 3 hours convince you the engine is A-OK. An engine can run and seem fine to you while you're flying and be making metal. If he presumably just changed the oil at the annual you aren't going to find anything in the filter or be able to drain a little oil for any useful analysis. Personally I'd be leery taking the word of a guy flipping a plane in a hot market.

Then again it could be good to go. You've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?
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A guy just did this with an airplane at my club that was sitting for 15 years with the classic 30 minute yearly ground run at annual. He bought the hangar and plane, flipped it for 10k more than he bought it for. Was it a good plane? Maybe, or maybe not, but I bet nobody actually knows and it may grenade itself in a few dozen hours at the buyer's expense. It did not seem very kosher and I hope the buyer did not get screwed.

But if the mechanic actually did a thorough inspection, and IRAN on all the parts, it could be a good plane. My C150 was at one point in its life sitting for several years, bought by an AP and restored, way back in the early 90's. But he did an overhaul at that time and the plane has been flying regularly since then.
 
Proceed cautiously, Tucker. If the airplane was in a cool, dry place, the airframe should be okay, depending on where it was before that. You can learn quite a bit just by going through the log books, and see from year-to-year how many hours were flown between annuals, where the annuals were done (gives you a hint on whether it was in a coastal area or not), what was done at each annual, etc. My main concern, like most here, would be the engine. It may be okay, but a thorough inspection by a mechanic you trust is very much needed. You are right in that seals dry out and start leaking. For the price you quoted, you should be looking at a 150 in good shape with good radios. Being IFR certified only means the pitot/static system and transponder has been checked, not that the airplane is equipped for "modern" IFR flying. Find out what kind of avionics it has before you send your mechanic out. Good luck! C-150's are great airplanes, and good for first time owner.
 
Here's my tale of two airplanes. Both had sat for an extended period of time - longer than five years. Both were stored in "cool, dry" hangars in the same geographical area, only a few miles apart. One was a Citabria and the other was a C-182. When I started the inspection on the Citabria I first noticed that when I pulled the prop through the impulse couplers didn't trip so I pulled a mag and found that the mags and gears in the accessory case were encrusted with a heavy, heavy layer of rust. End of inspection. On the 182 things all seemed okay, it sold and the new owner flew it for a number of years without issue. As far as I know it's still flying today.

Bottom line - it's a crap shoot and no one here can tell you, based on the information you have given, one way or the other.
 
Silvaire said:
When I started the inspection on the Citabria I first noticed that when I pulled the prop through the impulse couplers didn't trip so I pulled a mag and found that the mags and gears in the accessory case were encrusted with a heavy, heavy layer of rust. End of inspection.
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Ground running did that. We found similar rust inside a 277-hour, ten-year-old Lycoming that had been faithfully ground run for its last five years or so.
 
I'll just add my 2 cents to try and help this guy out.

Bought my late 1975 150M, the last of the 150 series before the 152 came out, for $15K two years ago this past May. The guy that sold it to me flipped it. He paid $8K for it a few months prior. It was not flown and out of annual for two years. It was close to TBO, so I took a chance.

Had a very reputable and experienced IA do the pre-buy according to a full page list I had sent to him. We talked. I called the seller and we made the deal. The same IA then did the annual. Cost me $1600 for the pre-buy and annual. Very fair, I felt.

Since then, I have had to replace the OEM Delco starter, which blew up on the ramp on a shut down, for $700 and the vacuum pump for another $600, as I recall. Those have been the only major repairs other than adding new three-point seat belts, which was my call.

I think $38K is way over priced... but you not see many 150's around, so he can ask high.

I'd get the CD from the FAA on the plane and see what it has been used for and where it has been stationed. They charge $5. It will have all the documentation from day one. All the updates, all the accidents, all the registrations. If it has lived in a damp area like Florida, then I'd stay away. If it has an accident history that may also be a deal breaker depending on what it hit or what hit it.

Good luck... but don't be too eager on this one. Your plane is out there but it may take a bit of digging to find it.
 
For what it is worth I just looked on Barnstormers and there are only two 150s over what you are looking at this one for and one of those has a 160HP conversion.

There are several decent ones under 30K and for me personally if I were in the market for a 150 it would have to be in the low 20s to even peak my interest but I like cheap planes.

ETA: For perspective we paid 13K for our bare bones '57 172 a year and a half ago. We have flown it over 130 hours since then. We did put a couple of cylinders on it. It isn't perfect but hec it is a flying 172. Oh and no I wouldn't sell it for that now. Actually that reminds me I need to up the hull a little on the insurance. :)
 
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Price seems a little high even in today’s market. What are the compression numbers ,and how are the avionics.get a good pre buy.
 
After five years, I would pull a front and rear cylinder and inspect cam and lifters VERY CLOSELY. A tiny corrosion pit in a cam follower will start tearing out like a chuck hole and scatter metal throughout the engine easily wrecking it.

That Is a premium price! They should be good with pulling cylinders and thoroughly inspecting for that price.

Three years ago I bought a plane with an engine that had sat that long. They pulled ALL cylinders, inspected thoroughly and put in new rings. It ran great for a hundred hours before showing metal. Upon pulling a few cylinders and inspecting, spalling on two lifters was found. Split the case and found damage from the metal. Just got finished with the overhaul and it came out great, but I now have more money in it than I originally planned. Moral of the story is to PROCEED CAUTIOUSLY!

I’ve done major overhauls on both my planes this year and believe me when I say that this seriously drained my aviation budget.

I would strongly advise that approaching any engine that has set idle for an extended period of time is risky business. My advice is, get it at a bargain basement price or look elsewhere. Also, it would have to have a pretty decent panel to be worth that much.

My $0.02,
 
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You may want to contact the Prop Shop on this.

Was it a Routine Overhaul or the results of a Prop Strike?

I always suggest folks have this documented by the Shop.

This could turn $$ .
 
No way would I consider that.
Last week I passed on a C152 (Lycoming O-235, 200hrs on o/h’d engine-2400hr TBO) NICE paint, including wheel pants. IFR panel to include Garmin 430WAAS.
It did have 15,000hrs on airframe but had belonged to an USAF base flying club. Complete logs since new. $35,000.

Don’t be a settler. Be patient.
 
For 38k you might be able to get a quite decent AA-5 Traveler. Faster, more payload.
 
Tucker Siddoway said:
Hi everyone! I'm looking to buy a Cessna 150. I have found one that I am interested in. I contacted the owner and he is a mechanic himself. He purchased the airplane from a friend. The airplane had not flown for 5-6 years. He ferried it home and did a annual and got all the instrument inspections done one the airplane. The airplane has been stored in a cool dry hangar the whole time. I guess my question is, is there anything I need to be concerned about after a airplane has sat for that long? Dried out gaskets or seals gone bad? I do plan to send a mechanic out to do a pre-buy. I just being cautious, I am a first time buyer.
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The price sounds high and the risk high. No way I would trust the sellers recent annual.

2 months ago a high time 150 that was in good shape with a decent panel with ADS-B out sold for 32K at my airport. It was a school plane and the owner IA made sure it was in good shape when sold. There was some work that he listed that had been done right before listing it for sale.

I went down this road and it turned out good. My motor only flew 10 hrs in 10 years. The motor survived the down time as I took apart to inspect cam and clys after flying it 500 hrs.
 
The biggest risk for an inactive engine is corrosion. While it is relatively easy to assess corrosion in the top end using a borescope, determining the condition of the bottom end is a lot harder, and will require removal of one or more cylinders to gain some access to the crank, cam and lifters. Any corrosion or spalling there is a dealbreaker. FYI, anything with a prop strike requires more investigation. Sometime prop strikes are "disguised" as a premature "prop overhaul" or replacement. For a first time owner, imwould encourage you to look for something that flies regularly. Whatever you buy, expect 2-3 years of additional maintenance to clear out all the deferred maintenance and bring the plane up to your personal safety standard. Many sellers, especially ones whose plane has sat a while, are selling because they can't keep up with proper maintenance.

Cessnas command premium prices. You might find more value in other models. I think it would be hard to spend 38k for a basic to very nice AA-1A/B/C, and that price range should get you into a decent Cherokee or Traveler. You can save a lot if you don't insist on pretty paint. Paint doesn't fly an airplane, but it can greatly affect purchase price. I got a whale of a deal on an AA-1A as a first time owner because it had ugly paint. But it had a great mid time engine and flew great. It looked OK too if you were more than 50 feet away. I put 400+ hours on it, and sold it for more than I paid for it after 4 years when I moved on to my current AA-5.
 
There is absolutely no way to inspect the internals of a Lyc engine (camshaft in particular) without opening it up. Once you open it, you are in for a few thousand just to replace the parts required once you open it.

There is no way any mechanic can know the internal condition of the engine, period. End of story.

Continentals are slightly different, by a Lycoming? Nope.

Unless you have the spare funds to IRAN the engine at the first sign of trouble, walk away.
 
Possum said:
Here is another option....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/265254877626?hash=item3dc26c39ba:g:8~oAAOSwRTlhDENM
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"Plane was privately owned for most of its life and seen limited use in the 2000’s. Recent owner of 12 years was a certified AP and did not keep up on annuals as he felt it was unnecessary.. He flew locally for fun."

So this is a red flag. What other massive corners were cut??

Also Florida and salt water corrosion. Without an EXTENSIVE prebuy this is a worse deal than OP
 
IK04 said:
For $38K, you can get two C-150s.
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Not any more. Last year or 2019, sure, but not now. Lowest price for C-150 on Controller was $25K with an engine at 2027 hours (overhaul now/soon-ish). Highest was $80K. Median was around $35-40K
 
There has to be a better candidate out there. Cessna made a lot of those things.
 
The experts recommending pulling cylinders have failed to mention that certain cylinders, once pulled from an O-200, are not able to be simply bolted back on without specific inspections, which are neither cheap nor performed by onsite mechanics. ;)

IK04 said:
For $38K, you can get two C-150s.
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How long would it be before one of those “cheap” 150s needs multiple thousands of dollars’ width of work to remain airworthy in today’s market? (I got a very good deal on my 150M in 2018, and yes, I think ~$40k for anything short of spectacular is silly for a 150. I sure love mine, though!)
 
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