Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Airplanes Only Help finding 150/152

Welcome to the club Steve! Like you, I wanted a plane I could use, not just one to have. I already had my PPL, but wanted to get my IR and Commercial. So far, I got my instrument rating in my C150. That is doable. After a long search, I ended up buying a 1969 J model, and adding a VOR/LOC/ILS radio to make the airplane suitable for IFR training. If you want a standard 6-pack of instruments, with the gauges in the traditional places for learning an instrument scan, consider a J model like mine or newer. Of course, if you plan on a modern glass-panel MFD, it could be any year of bird, because that would be an add on (and very expensive).

It’s good you know what you plan to do with the airplane (e.g. PPL, IR, Commercial). That will help guide your search. I had a $25K budget. It took me maybe 9 months of searching before I found my bird. Don’t give up! Don’t compromise on your requirements! It would be better to wait for that airplane that you can use to succeed in your piloting goals than to fall in love with the first shiny paint that attracts you. Of course, any year airplane can get you your PPL and can later be modified to train for your IR, given enough money. However, you’d probably blow past your $30K budget, if you have to add radios. For example, my plane, with the 6-pack and a newly overhauled engine cost me $23K in 2014. I later added a radio for $8K to get my IR. Also, there are usually “surprises” on any airplane you purchase, so leave a little room in your budget (for me it was a GPS/Comm that could not detect satellites and cost $2K to fix). While my buy in was at budget, my total cost was higher.

Geoff