Looking for airplane

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spcalan1

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SpcAlan1
I am looking for an airplane to purchase.

I have 160tt and studying for instrument rating written now.

I fly with the CAP now, but with the restrictions, I am looking to buy one or find a partnership.

Home base is KGVL.

Interested in Cessna, Piper, Mooney models.
 
What is your mission? Meaning how far do you plan to fly and how many passengers do you plan to take on trips. Also define budget. Last I recommend flying these to find what you enjoy best. I went through this and flew a bunch of different planes before I found the one I like best. It takes time so enjoy and be patient. Hope this helps!
 
Another good site is aso.com

I like the cross reference feature.
 
Look at everything. Anytime you get a chance to ride along in something you are interested in do it. I have flown in planes I thought I'd like and didn't. My favorite plane is one I originally wasn't very excited about but I bought anyway. Now as I fly others I appreciate it even more.
 
As you get your choice narrowed down, research the evolution within a specific model.

Many planes got wider and/or lengthened in succeeding model years.

The bigger cabins are nicer and more comfortable with a slight penalty, in many cases, on performance.
 
spcalan1 said:
I am looking for an airplane to purchase.

I have 160tt and studying for instrument rating written now.

I fly with the CAP now, but with the restrictions, I am looking to buy one or find a partnership.

Home base is KGVL.

Interested in Cessna, Piper, Mooney models.
Click to expand...

Can you narrow down your objective just a little?
I have a beautiful C172 with a 180 upgrade. Less than 402 hr smoh. GNS530W, JPI700, FS450, digital tach, Garmin 496 w air-Gizmo in-panel mount, excellent glass, excellent leather, always hangared. Just out of annual with new alternator, new battery, new starter new brake linings, new Rosen visors.

But I have no idea if this is anything you would be interested in.
 
your price range would also be helpful. The 172 above sounds nice, but it doesn't sound like a $20k beater if that's what your looking for.
 
Also budget for 20-30% toward MX of the purchase price at least that's what I've heard.
 
rbridges said:
your price range would also be helpful. The 172 above sounds nice, but it doesn't sound like a $20k beater if that's what your looking for.
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Yeah, not quite $20k. But for $65k I'll throw in the custom cover for the times when it has to be parked on the ramp.
 
Have you considered a Cessna 182? That's a great all around plane.
 
It's not clear what your objective is here. Are you looking for someone to offer a plane for sale, or are you looking for advice on what to buy? If the latter, one would need to know the mission (speed, payload, range, seats, etc) and your budget (initial purchase as well as ownership cost).
 
Ron Levy said:
It's not clear what your objective is here. Are you looking for someone to offer a plane for sale, or are you looking for advice on what to buy? If the latter, one would need to know the mission (speed, payload, range, seats, etc) and your budget (initial purchase as well as ownership cost).
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He made one post 24 hours ago and hasn't been back. He may not be looking for a lot of dialogue and back-and-forth.
 
Sorry about the post and run...
Let me be more specific....
And yes... I did manage 3.2 hrs a few days ago.
 
So I rented a 172 from the local flight school for my PPC.
After finishing, I continued to rent at $185/hr wet for a 2005 cessna 172-non glass.
Realizing that nearly $200/hr is too much, I joined the CAP and now fly for $38 plus fuel.

I 'had' 2 airplanes in front of me for sale:
1978 piper cherokee 140 upgraded to 160hp with autopilot and G430. $25k
1959 Comanche 250. $7k for 1/4 share, $10/hr, split hangar and maintenance.

Cherokee has sold...
Comanche has 50 year old equipment and not a good platform to get my IFR rating in.
Can be done-yes, but whew...

I'm looking for something other than a 172- since I have the cap plane.

So a piper, C182, Beechcraft.....
Outright by around $25k, would really like a partnership.
Autopilot would be nice and a nice IFR rated gps is mandatory.

Thanks
 
spcalan1 said:
So I rented a 172 from the local flight school for my PPC.
After finishing, I continued to rent at $185/hr wet for a 2005 cessna 172-non glass.
Realizing that nearly $200/hr is too much, I joined the CAP and now fly for $38 plus fuel.

I 'had' 2 airplanes in front of me for sale:
1978 piper cherokee 140 upgraded to 160hp with autopilot and G430. $25k
1959 Comanche 250. $7k for 1/4 share, $10/hr, split hangar and maintenance.

Cherokee has sold...
Comanche has 50 year old equipment and not a good platform to get my IFR rating in.
Can be done-yes, but whew...

I'm looking for something other than a 172- since I have the cap plane.

So a piper, C182, Beechcraft.....
Outright by around $25k, would really like a partnership.
Autopilot would be nice and a nice IFR rated gps is mandatory.

Thanks
Click to expand...


The "nice" IFR requirement is a challenge at your price point for the 182's.
you can get pre-62's for $30-38k, avionics may or may not be what you seek.

For $25k, another poster is buying a nice 172.

There will be Cherokees that are in your price range.
 
I am not in a rush, but if something did come along. I would be very interested.
The Cherokee 160 was nice.. 430, autopilot, 160hp ( kinda small ), but the paint wasn't that great ( not a deal breaker ) and he wanted answer after me seeing it only once.
 
Lol good thing your not in a hurry. You'll be hard pressed to find what your looking for if your budget is 25k. That's asking a lot.
 
Too bad you can't quadruple the budget... I know of a really, REALLY nice late model 201J coming on the market soon.
 
A decent 182 or Bonanza with IFR GPS will cost at least 50-80K. I've been shopping for one and looking for the past year and it's tough finding a nice at less than this price point.
 
skynewbie said:
A decent 182 or Bonanza with IFR GPS will cost at least 50-80K. I've been shopping for one and looking for the past year and it's tough finding a nice at less than this price point.
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I am sure by the time he spends a year looking, he will come to a similar conclusion.

From my research, $25k is for Cherokee 140's, and really old 172's (and 150's / Tomahwaks). Essentially anything under 159hp. Not a lot of autopilots, not a lot of GPS units... And LOTS of tradeoffs on engine time vs. Interior vs. Paint vs. maint history.

I think the cheapest 182 I found, that was still flying, was a 1964 with 2400 hours on the engine for $32k, don't remember the avionics, but likely VFR.
 
spcalan1 said:
So I rented a 172 from the local flight school for my PPC.
After finishing, I continued to rent at $185/hr wet for a 2005 cessna 172-non glass.
Realizing that nearly $200/hr is too much, I joined the CAP and now fly for $38 plus fuel.

I 'had' 2 airplanes in front of me for sale:
1978 piper cherokee 140 upgraded to 160hp with autopilot and G430. $25k
1959 Comanche 250. $7k for 1/4 share, $10/hr, split hangar and maintenance.

Cherokee has sold...
Comanche has 50 year old equipment and not a good platform to get my IFR rating in.
Can be done-yes, but whew...

I'm looking for something other than a 172- since I have the cap plane.

So a piper, C182, Beechcraft.....
Outright by around $25k, would really like a partnership.
Autopilot would be nice and a nice IFR rated gps is mandatory.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Partnerships can be great, but you have to shop the partners as much or more than the aircraft. If there are significant differences is maintenance philosophy or if all partners want to use the plane at the same time.

BTW, Comanches are an excellent IFR platform. You will have to get some time in to catch up to a faster plane than a C-172, but other than that . . .
 
Correct, a nice Cessna 150 is probably one of the cheapest planes for his budget. I'm planning cash buy on mine due to the headaches I had getting financing at banks to approve my loan due to the asking price versus bluebook value difference.
 
spcalan1 said:
So I rented a 172 from the local flight school for my PPC.
After finishing, I continued to rent at $185/hr wet for a 2005 cessna 172-non glass.
Realizing that nearly $200/hr is too much, I joined the CAP and now fly for $38 plus fuel.

I 'had' 2 airplanes in front of me for sale:
1978 piper cherokee 140 upgraded to 160hp with autopilot and G430. $25k
1959 Comanche 250. $7k for 1/4 share, $10/hr, split hangar and maintenance.

Cherokee has sold...
Comanche has 50 year old equipment and not a good platform to get my IFR rating in.
Can be done-yes, but whew...

I'm looking for something other than a 172- since I have the cap plane.

So a piper, C182, Beechcraft.....
Outright by around $25k, would really like a partnership.
Autopilot would be nice and a nice IFR rated gps is mandatory.

Thanks
Click to expand...

I hope you don't expect the autopilot to work for $25k.
 
Henning said:
I hope you don't expect the autopilot to work for $25k.
Click to expand...

yeah, I was pretty surprised to see it had a G430 and autopilot for 25k. Even with bad paint, it would have to have some other issues to sell at that price unless the guy was in a hurry to unload it.
 
I am new to the site so not familiar with posting, pictures and currently am selling a very nice Piper Dakota (PA 28 ). It's total time is 1265. Lift is a true 1200 #
 
docf01 said:
I am new to the site so not familiar with posting, pictures and currently am selling a very nice Piper Dakota (PA 28 ). It's total time is 1265. Lift is a true 1200 #
Click to expand...

Welcome, I'm pretty sure it's 5 posts before you can post links and pictures, so post in a couple of other threads, then you can post the pics and details over in the Classifieds forum as well.
 
If you can bump up to 60-100k that opens up many choices for high performance single piston retract market purchase based on what I'm seeing right now.
 
One needs to be careful when discussion an IFR Bonanza. It can be had for under $30k, I know because I've bought them. They will be old, they will have tired paint, prolly no autopilot. Of course, newer, bigger, faster, better equipped a "Bonanza" can go up well over $100k.
 
paflyer said:
Yeah, if you don't get a good pre-buy or buy a ratted out example.
Click to expand...

20-30% is really no longer an accurate figure considering the low prices of airplanes now. A $12k engine bill is more than 50% of a $20k plane.
 
Henning said:
20-30% is really no longer an accurate figure considering the low prices of airplanes now. A $12k engine bill is more than 50% of a $20k plane.
Click to expand...
You might get SOME engine work done for $12k, but when my enginge blew up, taking the crank shaft with it, it cost me over $32k.
 
JOhnH said:
You might get SOME engine work done for $12k, but when my enginge blew up, taking the crank shaft with it, it cost me over $32k.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's why that 20%-30% rule is no longer accurate with cheap airplanes. While the cost of the airframes has come down, the cost of engines and avionics has gone up.

The cheap airframes only make sense in two situations to me:

You found a really good condition un updated airframe of a type you want to keep long term, you get it and do a refurb and have a really nice plane to fly equipped exactly as you want, and the engine overhaul was done to the specs you request.

The other is when you want to build time as cheap and fast as possible, you buy it with a fresh annual and just fly the balls off of it doing only the bare minimum repairs to keep it flying. Come annual time, if it doesn't pass and it's going to take more than just minor stuff to keep it flying, scrap it out.
 
I did find a cherokee 180, garmin 430,
For $29k... But it has 1850 towards a 2000 TBO...
180hp rebuild is $20-30k
Yikes
 
You might keep saving that's my situation until I find the right one. I'm looking for a decent Bonanza with IFR autopilot and GPS and decent Bo sell for 60-100k and even these need another 50k due to runout engine or outdated avionics.
 
spcalan1 said:
I did find a cherokee 180, garmin 430,
For $29k... But it has 1850 towards a 2000 TBO...
180hp rebuild is $20-30k
Yikes
Click to expand...

Depending on the condition of the airframe and engine that still may not be a bad deal. It is known for a frequently used O-360 to go 4000hrs with no major problem requiring overhaul. Any used plane has a crapshoot element as does any engine. In fact one is most vulnerable to catastrophic engine failure in the first 20 hours.
 
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