Need some aircraft buying suggestions...

[wtl0715]

I realize I wrote this post in another forum but thought I might get a bit more feedback in this one, so here goes again...

I am interested in buying an aircraft but am having some trouble narrowing down my choices. I have a $35,000 budget and want a used low wing aircraft that is fairly economical and doesn't burn a ton of fuel (less than 8 gph). I'm willing to sacrifice speed for lower operating costs; I would be happy with 100 mph cruise. The problem I've been running into is my size. I'm 6'1" and 250 lb. With all of this in mind, can you please throw some suggestions my way that might fit these criteria. I realize that given my situation there may not be tons of options available, but here is what I've come up with:

-Zenith CH 601
-1978/1978 Piper Tomahawk (112 or 125 hp)
-Early model RV (RV-3/RV-4)

I'm learning about used aircraft and the research/buying process as I go and would appreciate any advice that you can give.

Thanks,
Taft

 

[gkrangers]

Take some of the money and get a gym membership, and lose some weight.

Then buy a nice C152.

 

[wtl0715]

Well, I appreciate the tactful suggestion, but weight loss isn't the issue, I'm just big. I'm a police officer and am assigned to my department's SRT team where I work out a lot more than the average person. I have really broad shoulders and wide arms. If I could fit in a 152 I'd love to, but I don't think that will be an option in the near future?

Anyone have any options that don't involve unbroadening my shoulders?

 

[Slice121]

Why low wing only? How about a tandem single like a Champ or Cub, etc? Personally, if I were to buy a slow single-engine aircraft it would be a taildragger!

 

[SpyFlysDOTs]

A few ideas.
Consider a partnership.
You WILL NOT be flying this plane 24/7 365.
If you get a GOOD partner, one that flys the same or less than you do, all of a sudden, your budget doubles!
Are you worried about fuel consumption?
Is roominess your main issue?
Might want to consider a Tiger, Rockwell 112, older C 182 and many others.
What part of the USA are you going to have this plane hangared or tied down?

 

[cobraman]

THe partnership is a great idea. Someone said your budget doubles. Here is a website that is excellent for finding your aircraft.
http://www.controller.com/

6'1" and 250 is not abnormal at all. I don't think you want a traumahawk, might consider looking at C172s, 182's or an old 206. IF your not looking to do long hauls, get a cub. They sip fuel. Slow, but economical. You can always tow banners with it along the line. (no pun intended)

 

[wtl0715]

What part of the USA are you going to have this plane hangared or tied down?

I live in North Carolina in the foothills. I'm about twenty miles East of the mountains. Depending upon the airport at which I will keep it (club airport or Hickory Regional) it could be tied down or hangared. I will most likely keep it hangared at a club airport near where I live.

Why low wing only? How about a tandem single like a Champ or Cub, etc?

Although this isn't going to play any major role in whether or not I purchase any one type of aircraft, I simply like the way low wing aircraft look and feel. I have flown a C172 and a low wing Piper and simply like the feel of the low wing better. I made it sound earlier like I've made up my mind and will not entertain the idea of anything but a low wing, but I will consider anything that makes sense. As I said before, I'm new at this, and that means that I'll likely change my mind a thousand times before I really make a serious decision.

 

[charter dog]

I don't know if it'll quite fit your proposed budget, but have you considered a Cherokee 140? With it's fat Hershey bar wing, a more honest and forgiving plane is rare indeed. Good for a hundred knots or so and equipped with a tried and true Lycoming O-320 which will burn 7-8 gph average. What's more, big guys will find there is more room here than in most price competitive models. Forget about using the back seats for adults though. With full fuel, two persons is a full load. High, hot and heavy is not to be taken lightly. (pun intended!) All things considered, a '65 or so '140 might fill the bill if you can find the "right" one.

One other bit of free advice for whatever it's worth: Don't buy any airplane without a thorough pre-purchase inspection performed by YOUR choice of A&P/AI! Preferably one who has worked extensively on the PA28 series. Also make use of the resources of AOPA to do lein, title and history searches on this plane as well as escrow services. These precations will cost some money, but will help protect you from worst-case scenarios. Also be prepared to spend a little more in the early days of ownership to fix undetected discrepancies that always seem to crop up. 40+ year old airplanes require more careful buying but are probably the only way to get something close to your proposed budget.

Best of success in your search,

 

[icefr8dawg]

I think 35K may be a stretch for a Cherokee but an older 140 would probably be within that budget. They'd dont come any less costly to operate as a 140. Yup, you may have to re-do the gear struts which you'll wouldn't have to do on a 172 and the tanks may need to be resealed in it's lifetime but it's a damm cheap airplane to operate. The autogas stc is a good thing too except you may be hard pressed to find gas without additives in your area.


I second the good pre-buy. Your Mx should have a good feeling about the airplane. A good mechanic will fly the plane to really see how it runs.

 

[JungleJett]

Take some of the money and get a gym membership, and lose some weight.

Then buy a nice C152.

What a tool. How about he gets your address and pays you a visit?


Anyway..buy a Yak and spend twice the money, burn three times the gas, get ten times the airplane, and have a 1000 times more fun.

 

[icefr8dawg]

What a tool. How about he gets your address and pays you a visit?


Anyway..buy a Yak and spend twice the money, burn three times the gas, get ten times the airplane, and have a 1000 times more fun.

Yea dude, just don't forget that you'll be taking out the lights on the right as opposed to the left side side of the runway with a 55 What a rocketship!

 

[AC560]

THe partnership is a great idea. Someone said your budget doubles. Here is a website that is excellent for finding your aircraft.

I would be careful running down the partnership path, while I have personally had good luck with partners it has been with guys I have known for a number of years (before, during, and after the partnership). I know a lot of guys though who have destroyed relationships, planes, and each other over them though.

Not saying don't do it just exercise a little caution.

 

[gkrangers]

What a tool. How about he gets your address and pays you a visit?


Anyway..buy a Yak and spend twice the money, burn three times the gas, get ten times the airplane, and have a 1000 times more fun.

When did Flightinfo become a no humor zone?

 

[SpyFlysDOTs]

Buddy of mine is selling a Varga, for about 40K.
Low Wing, roomy, tandem seating.
He hasnt listed this yet on the net, but it has fairly low time and is a bunch less than a couple I have found for sale online. This is near Oakland Calif.
Saw the photos and it looks straight. Know the guy, he is a straight shooter, not a dealer.

 

[LearLove]

never flew one but was going to say Varga also. Wish I had 40g's i'd pick it up.

Other than that I'd have to say some form of a pa-28

 

[Van Hooydonk]

When did Flightinfo become a no humor zone?

On October 23, 2004 at 17:45 Zulu

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Think Viking, Super Viking (people are afraid of the wood spar, suckers)
Aircoup. I am partial to the Piper series, PA-28-161, 181, 235

CE

P.S.
Also consider a Cherokee 140/180 with a MoGas conversion. Lots cheaper.

 

[Immelman]

I also suggest getting a single partner and then buying a decent C172 or PA28...which means spending 45-50K or so. Main thing if you're on a budget will be to do your homework right to avoid costly maint to get the thing airworthy, and keep a GOOD chunk of cash to fix the things that will crop up.

FWIW I am preparing to do similar, but I am skinny and want a traveling machine.. am thinking Mooney C model.

Also, I love the RVs, but I looked at a couple used RV-4s.. to the point of pre-purchase. You DO get what you pay for! Beware the cheap ones. The airframes tended be constructed correctly, but wiring, baffling, accessories, etc. were not on both aircraft I looked at closely.

 

[Rowsign]

How about a Beech Slowdowner......I mean Sundowner.

I never have seen the need to buy a flying hothouse (aka low wing plane), but supposedly these Sundowners are pretty spacious. They are not fast but that keeps the price down. Take all of this with a grain of salt because I have never personally been in a Sundowner.

Chris

 

[groundpointsix]

Also consider a Cherokee 140/180 with a MoGas conversion. Lots cheaper.

Careful about heading taking the MoGas route. While it is cheaper, many (if not all; I'm not sure) of the STCs do not allow for the use of MoGas with ethanol. If you're in an area that has switched to ethonal over other additives or will in the future, you will be out of luck.

 

[icefr8dawg]

Careful about heading taking the MoGas route. While it is cheaper, many (if not all; I'm not sure) of the STCs do not allow for the use of MoGas with ethanol. If you're in an area that has switched to ethonal over other additives or will in the future, you will be out of luck.

We just found out that the gas stations near us have ethanol and some other garbage added to the fuel. So we stoped. About a month ago we took the engine apart and rebuilt it. Needless to say there were some interesting deposits in our little C-65. The junk in mogas eats plastic/rubber needle valves tips and seats and who knows what else...

 

[CrimsonEclipse]

Careful about heading taking the MoGas route. While it is cheaper, many (if not all; I'm not sure) of the STCs do not allow for the use of MoGas with ethanol. If you're in an area that has switched to ethonal over other additives or will in the future, you will be out of luck.

Crap, I didn't think of that. Good catch .6

At least with the MoGas conversion, you can still use 100LL

There's always the CRI-CRI (and turbine Cri-Cri)

http://www.cricri.co.uk/
http://flight.cz/cricri/english/

Personally, I'd go for the jet version. Multi-engine turbine PIC....
ohhhhh yeah!!!

CE

P.S.
http://www.amtjets.com/gallery_real_plain.html

 

[pilotyip]

Be prepared for big bills you do not expect. I.e. a 0-320 crankshaft inspection AD, $1,500, or a bad cylinder $1,000. I own a C-172 that is paid for and I spend around $4,000/yr for inspections, parts, insurance, and hangar rent. That is before I spend my first nickel for gas. How many hours could you rent for $4,000 at $80/hr? I instruct in my airplane, which helps off set the cost. Plus I run it through a subpart S corporation, which allows me to write off a lot of airplane expenses.

 

[cobraman]

If you need Fuel economy, there is a guy at X50 here in Florida that runs corvair powered aircraft. 4 gallons per hour and 170 some knots. Slick airplanes and CHEAP to own and operate!

http://flycorvair.com/GM086.jpg

Here is a video of what these guys do.

http://flycorvair.com/601mxvid.wmv

 

[Murdoughnut]

There's a guy near me selling a 1/4 share of an '83 172 for $8750. The engine has around 1100 hours on it, but the aircraft itself has 18k. Not knowing anything else about the aircraft, should I even be considering this? It was used as a trainer, but has full logs and has never been in an accident. How long can a 172 fly without developing stress fractures?

 

[icefr8dawg]

There's a guy near me selling a 1/4 share of an '83 172 for $8750. The engine has around 1100 hours on it, but the aircraft itself has 18k. Not knowing anything else about the aircraft, should I even be considering this? It was used as a trainer, but has full logs and has never been in an accident. How long can a 172 fly without developing stress fractures?

Good question. I'm sure the major flight schools have some really high time aircraft. I know the landing gear box on a 172 is a real bear to get to, other than that I believe everything else on a skyhawk is repairable/replacable. I flew an 18,000 hour aztec for a year and a half without so much as a working rivet but I woudn't buy the plane unless I got a reeeealllllyyy good deal on it. You never know where the feds will go with their "aging aircraft" and "fatigue" studies. After all they're looking out for the general public.

 

[wtl0715]

What are your opinions on buying experimental aircraft. I have seen a lot about the CH 601 online and it seems like a great plane. I take everything I hear online with a grain of salt because I realize 99% of the information on the internet is put there by someone with an agenda. There are a few other types of experimentals that look like neat, inexpensive to operate, and safe aircraft. If I ever bought a used experimental, I'd treat it the same way I would a Cessna or Piper. By that I mean I'd have an A&P check it out as thoroughly as possible and spend whatever money was necessary to have it in safe working order. Do you think I'm still taking unnecessary risk by buying an experimental like a CH 601 despite the precautionary steps I take?

-Taft

 

[Headwind]

If you could learn to like a high wing the PA-12 is a sweet flying aircraft. It would be good for a guy your size and a good investment too. Find someone who has one and go for a ride - you may get hooked.

HEADWIND