I feel bad that any sort of controversy erupted over the Iowa airplane. A couple of thoughts:
That airplane was listed in the club classifieds for TWO whole months previously (October & November). That should have given anyone who was interested a fairly good shot.
When it was first posted, it seemed obvious to me that it was above average because it had long range tanks, above average paint, heavy duty nose gear, and a child seat. It is my opinion that the 1963 airplanes are the most desirable of the fast back airplanes, and I was immediately interested in the airplane, on the basis that it would be great for a 150 HP and taildragger conversion. The fact is, I have no bandwidth for a project on that scale, so I passed. I was surprised that club members didn't show more interest in the airplane.
By the way, I did not see the airplane in person, nor did I have a prebuy or anything like that. I simply looked at the photos and talked to the owner on the phone. He explained that they had gone to incredible lengths to get the airplane painted, a complete strip and highly recommended "Sickens" paint, which he was told as a step up from Imron. (I have no personal knowledge about Sickens paint.) The owner says that the plane was painted several years ago, but that the paint remains flawless and glossy. Lori liked the paint color, so that was an additional plus.
No one here seemed interested last Fall, but I was reminded of the airplane when I read this thread.
No doubt there are plenty of wonderful fastback airplanes available elsewhere, by my figures an average of 400 Cessna 150-152's change hands Every Month in the US.
