To pre buy or not...

Clip4 said:
Avionics all working properly.
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Yep..ive flown it about 3 hours now with a CFI and ran through all the stuff. Avionics all work as they should, and all temps and pressures where they should.
 
Very nice!!! You'll really enjoy the step up from the Cherokee 180, and probably use the Bo a lot more because it's more capable.

BUT, more pics please. :D
 
simtech said:
V TAIL and I fully understand the ruddervator problems..hehe this plane had them recently stripped and painted so I'll take my chances. I know, I know....hahaha
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hindsight2020 said:
as long as you're informed and understand the opportunity cost moving forward in your ownership experience, then by all means. Your monkey your circus brother. Good luck to ya!
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No shortage of ruddavators out there from what I can see.
Here's a set at Boise, just waiting for someone to make an offer. ;)

Seriously, if they are properly protected with good paint and kept dry because the plane is hangared, I don't see why there should be an issue?

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GRG55 said:
No shortage of ruddavators out there from what I can see.
Here's a set at Boise, just waiting for someone to make an offer. ;)

Seriously, if they are properly protected with good paint and kept dry because the plane is hangared, I don't see why there should be an issue?

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Just leave that skeleton buried tbh. I'm done pontificating about the ruddervator skins. Cults will defend their airplanes to a fault. You can do a search on BT if you want to rehash the topic, I'm only replying to the degree you quoted me, but my position is people can do whatever the hell they want with their money.

I do have first hand experience of what it's like to take an airplane with a hole in the wing, back in the air. The fact I would choose a PA-28/32 variant, or cessna fixed gear variant over faster/bigger/higher/more cultish/potato airplanes, on dispatch grounds, is certainly not prescriptive for everyone, merely my prerogative. The difference of course is that I'm not speaking from the cheap seats; I've actually had to incur repairs due to ground damage of a structural component of my aircraft. I.E. It's not a hypothetical from which I pivot my position on this topic from.
 
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I seem to recall some nitwit dropped a toolbox on your plane, while it was in a hangar?

Point taken, but to one degree or another these increasingly ancient airplanes of ours are all slowly becoming more difficult to keep airworthy with the relentless passing of time.

The V-tail ruddavator is just the leading edge of a developing problem, even for models like the Bo that were built in significant numbers. As another example, in the past couple of years two Comanches at my airport have been written off and parted out as a result of gear extension failures and the subsequent controlled gear up landing. The cost of parts and labor to fix them exceeds the steadily declining value of these aging airplanes, and perversely some, such as my Aztec and the Comanches, are already more valuable as parts sources than as flyable planes.

In a way we are fortunate. With only a few exceptions, mostly the trainers and a few select taildraggers (such as the Cessna 180), the price of capable used airplanes (Mooneys, Arrows, Comanches, older Bonanzas, piston twins) is a pittance compared to the pre-financial crisis era. If one can bear the spread-out cost of maintaining and flying them, the up-front AMUs to get into a plane one can really use to go places has become pretty attractive.
 
I wouldn't bother with a pre-buy inspection. Airplanes need work whether you buy them or not. The real question here is to use escrow or not. ;)
 
simtech said:
View attachment 78656 Well after some time inspecting anything and everything that we could I pulled the trigger! 136GB is in its new hangar just one row over where it lived for many years. It's bizare to open the hangar and see this now!
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Bizarre.... Nice looking airplane. IMHO, if I trusted the mechanic, that would be good enough. Just because you get a pre-buy inspection DOES NOT guarantee anything. I think it boils down to the $$$$ involved. If I was spending upwards of a quarter million I would definitely get a second opinion. If significantly less than $100K, I'd trust MY judgement and my trusted mechanic. I've bought two airplanes with no pre-buy. No surprises at my regular annual with either.
 
Got to be a rich man to even think of not getting a prebuy.

I’d also bring in a “helper” who has nothing to do with that plane, what firefighters used to call bringing in a fresh nose.
 
My mechanic and I went over line by line the ABS pre buy checklist. Had a few questions, consulted a few beech experts, and I feel comfortable with how it went down. And since I was involved I have seen every nook and cranny of the plane with my own eyes.

It is a purdy plane, I like just looking at it if nothing else!
 
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Shepherd said:
Find a mechanic who hates your mechanic. You will get the most thorough pre-buy you ever saw.
But get a pre-buy.
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Ain't that the truth. I've often thought about doing the same thing for marine surveys, pitting two surveyors against one another. The one that finds the most faults gets the bragging rights.
 
FWIW: as I've mentioned before, the best mechanic to do your prebuy is the one who will maintain/annual your aircraft after the purchase...because he's the one who will give you the bill for those items missed by the other mechanic(s).;)
 
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