Plane purchase - prop strike question

Arob16

Arob16

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Arob16
Hey Team - I am in the process of aircraft shopping (Arrow or similar RG piston single). I have noticed some listings advertise prop strike inspections/overhauls. I dug into one particular Arrow for sale, and inspected engine logs. I guess my real question is, I'm sure people buy/sell aircraft that have prop strike history... is this not a smart idea? Wondering if it's better to steer clear of an A/C that has had this kind of incident. It appears as though the engine goes thru a significant overhaul after such an event. (Engine log entry attached).
 

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My OPINION is that time since the incident is the most important thing. If there's a strike followed by a tear down inspection/repair and all the rest of the compartment is also repaired and logged in the airframe log than I'd look to how much flying the plane has done since then.

10 years and a thousand hours, I'd buy it. 10 months and 5 hours, I'd pass.
 
I'm surprised they didn't overhaul the cylinders at the same time. Isn't that pretty much the only thing preventing that from being an overhaul?

I would ask where the crank was inspected and would like to see the work order. Case was repaired by Divco so that's going to be ok. But there's nothing about the crank.
 
From what Ive seen, with RG aircraft (or RG pilots...) it's not if, it's when. As long as it's been tore down, inspected and repaired properly, I'm ok considering it.
 
Arob16 said:
Hey Team - I am in the process of aircraft shopping (Arrow or similar RG piston single). I have noticed some listings advertise prop strike inspections/overhauls. I dug into one particular Arrow for sale, and inspected engine logs. I guess my real question is, I'm sure people buy/sell aircraft that have prop strike history... is this not a smart idea? Wondering if it's better to steer clear of an A/C that has had this kind of incident. It appears as though the engine goes thru a significant overhaul after such an event. (Engine log entry attached).
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Using your reference of the log book page, I'd say they did more than was required by the AD, and a lot more than most operators.
 
Just like any other damage, if it was repaired properly/fully it doesn't matter
 
JCranford said:
From what Ive seen, with RG aircraft (or RG pilots...) it's not if, it's when. As long as it's been tore down, inspected and repaired properly, I'm ok considering it.
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Always thought it was just a one instance thing, ether a close call or a full on up, every RG pilot has ONE, after that they are pretty bullet proof, just a matter of that one "Oh ****" moment ends with just pucker factor with all the bits intact, or a crane and call to your favorite sheet metal and engine guy.
 
I've seen that an engine had a prop strike, then the next log book shows a different engine serial number. after searching the entries between you'll see where the engine was swapped out.
 
As previously mentioned, the time since the incident would be a major factor for me. If it was repaired properly, after a few years and a few hundred hours, it's ancient history.

As for the amount of work done, when the nose gear collapsed on my 182RG, the engine was at about 1850 SMOH. So I just had it overhauled. Essentially I got an OH at half price. :cool:
 
Accident history, if properly repaired, can end up being a "push".

You should pay a bit less when buying, but will get a bit less while selling.

I personally would not let it dissuade me if everything else was as represented.
 
My plane was gear-upped several years before I bought it. The repair came with several upgrades, including a one-piece belly that I am thankful for every annual.
 
My plane had a weld in the step so I assumed we had a gear up (turned out it was a "near miss" gear up). Anyhow, it was amusing that there were several engine swaps on the plane including going back to the original engine. Apparently, at one point (gear up or for whatever reason), he pulled the engine for overhaul (from something like Hal's Engine Shop, not one of your big names). He swapped in another engine for a few months until the first came back (I was told this guy had a bunch of Navions in his hangar).
 
What caused the prop strike, if the engine was torn down and inspected you should be fine. Have a good mechanic inspect the logs,also make sure you get a good pre purchase inspection.
 
As always, I appreciate the excellent feedback. Helps a relatively inexperienced aircraft buyer understand the situation, etc.

For those who asked.... the pilot was feet from accidentally performing a gear-up landing and scraped the prop prior to the aircraft hitting the ground. He allegedly initiated the go-around without hitting the ground. I have to be honest with you all.... I am not sure I understand how he executed that quickly enough to go-around without belly-landing. But according to the logs, no airframe damage was noted.
 
I could see how that is possible. If you noticed in the flare and throttled up, you'd still sink some and maybe just clip the prop.

Seems more likely it was a really bad landing and he was porpoising......
 
Yeah I guess catch it at just the right time, full throttle, and go.
 
Arob16 said:
As always, I appreciate the excellent feedback. Helps a relatively inexperienced aircraft buyer understand the situation, etc.

For those who asked.... the pilot was feet from accidentally performing a gear-up landing and scraped the prop prior to the aircraft hitting the ground. He allegedly initiated the go-around without hitting the ground. I have to be honest with you all.... I am not sure I understand how he executed that quickly enough to go-around without belly-landing. But according to the logs, no airframe damage was noted.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of one that happened in San Diego a couple years ago. A C182RG I think it was. He didn't realize he'd had a prop strike until after landing an hour later. It happened on departure, gear comes up early and the plane settled a tad bit. I think the handle was up and the squat switch started the retraction.
 
Arob16 said:
As always, I appreciate the excellent feedback. Helps a relatively inexperienced aircraft buyer understand the situation, etc.

For those who asked.... the pilot was feet from accidentally performing a gear-up landing and scraped the prop prior to the aircraft hitting the ground. He allegedly initiated the go-around without hitting the ground. I have to be honest with you all.... I am not sure I understand how he executed that quickly enough to go-around without belly-landing. But according to the logs, no airframe damage was noted.
Click to expand...

Wow.... just wow.... a lot of bad accidents start this way.
 
donjohnston said:
As previously mentioned, the time since the incident would be a major factor for me. If it was repaired properly, after a few years and a few hundred hours, it's ancient history.

As for the amount of work done, when the nose gear collapsed on my 182RG, the engine was at about 1850 SMOH. So I just had it overhauled. Essentially I got an OH at half price. :cool:
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How'd that work? Insurance cover half of it??
 
Have the case inspected very closely. Before my Lance I owned an arrow. The plane had prop strike I believe about 2 years before I bought it. Repair and teardown etc was done by the book. My mechanic inspected case visually during the pre buy and did not found anything. I bought the plane in September 2003. I flew the plane for about 50 hours over next 4 months and in January 2004 it went for annual. The same mechanic called me next day and said he found a crack in the crank case . We had to pull the case apart and sent it for repairs. It was not repairable we ended up with OHed yellow tagged case and after 6k $ and 3 months plane flew again. I suspect the owner know all along and hid it from us. Bitter and expensive lesson
 
donjohnston said:
Insurance covered the cost of the IRAN (IIRC about $11k). The overhaul was $23K. So it only cost me $12k out of pocket.
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Hmm. I'm surprised the insurance didn't pro rate based on the expected remaining life of the engine. I wonder if more prop strikes happen later in an engines life than earlier.
 
luvflyin said:
Hmm. I'm surprised the insurance didn't pro rate based on the expected remaining life of the engine. I wonder if more prop strikes happen later in an engines life than earlier.
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Surprised that they didn't?

I would be surprised if the insurance company did pro rate the IRAN.
 
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