Hey all!

I'm a new member of the club, considering purchasing a 150. I'm a student pilot with around 15 hours, looking for a way to (more economically) get my Private Certificate.

I happened to stumble across a C150J in my local area that's up for sale. It certainly isn't perfect, but may be a good deal for the price--I just don't know enough to fully evaluate it. I talked to a family friend who is incredibly knowledgeable about planes & has been involved professionally in aviation his whole life. He had a lot of good advice, one such piece being to come here.

Airframe total time is 5400 hours, and about 1525 hours SMOH. I looked through the maintenance logs which fortunately were complete back to the factory. Last major overhaul was in the mid 90s, so it's only put on 1500 hours in the last 20 years. However, the engine compressions are good, 75-77/80 on all cylinders. The gentleman who sold it to him had one cylinder replaced right before the sale because the compressions weren't good on that cylinder. It has the STC for auto gas, and ethanol free gas is plentiful around here. Annual was just done on Feb 1, and he is waiting for oil analysis results. I believe the prop is around 900 hours, but not certain.

I'm interested in the prospect of a relatively cheap plane to build time in. However, since I'm still incredibly new to flying, the prospect of purchasing a plane is a little daunting. I don't want to purchase it only to have the engine die or have to sink money into it for other repairs.

The doesn't have any special equipment, and isn't equipped for the ADS-B mandate (another good chunk of money I may have to sink into it--fingers crossed for the FAA to approve a portable solution!). 2 radios, transponder, basic instrument package. Not IFR certified, though he said it does have the panel. He took me up for a short flight the other day and it flew quite well.

I'd also like to get your thoughts at what a reasonable price is for the aircraft given the information provided. If you need more info to make that judgement, I'll do my best to answer it!

A side note: I have looked into taxes (sales and property), tie down fees, and insurance which have all worked out to make this a real possibility. I'm still trying to figure out how to best accomplish a pre-purchase inspection--in addition to being a new pilot I'm also new to this area, so haven't quite worked that out yet. At this point, I'm trying to decide if I should make an offer and take that step. Thanks in advance for your help!

Edit: Also meant to ask about average engine overhaul cost. I figure I would have 300-500 hours left on the engine in current state, but please let me know your thoughts!

Further edit (keep thinking of things to add): The paint isn't great--it is cracked and chipped in some places. Wouldn't necessarily need new paint, but it isn't anything great to look at. Maybe 5-6/10? Don't really know enough to rate it accurately. There is also a slight dent/crinkle on the right side/bottom, aft of the door. He says it was checked out by the IA and isn't structural. I get the impression that he is an honest guy. He's active in the local pilot club, and had several other pilots come up and chat with him while we were there looking over the logs, seeming to be pretty well liked. He is selling for health reasons. Finally, I noticed a crease/dent in the metal on left side of the rudder where something bumped into it. I also looked up the aircraft report and saw this:

#FAA1
Accident/Incident Occurred on: 1981-01-21
Narrative: ENGINE STOPPED DURING TAKEOFF. PILOT FEELS CAUSE WAS DUE TO ICE IN T FITTING DRAIN.

#FAA2
Accident/Incident Occurred on: 1981-07-10
Narrative: CROSSWIND GUST DRIFTED AIRPLANE OFF SIDE OF RUNWAY. WHEEL STRUCK VASI LIGHT STUDENT FAILED TO CORRECT DRIFT.

Just trying to do my due diligence! Hope the extra info helps.

Last edited by Grant_Anastas-King; 02/08/17 01:31 AM.