Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Everything But Airplanes Searching for a 150

John,

Where do you live? Do you have an e-mail address?

Mont

John,

Contact me by e-mail. I know of a plane that you may be interested in.

Mont

Hey John,

I'm not an owner yet either. I'm in absolutely no rush, and mostly enjoy just "window shopping" on Trade-a-Plane.

Anway, if you haven't already, you should get a copy of the 150/152 book that's for sale on this site. I read it cover-to-cover as soon as I got it, and I felt it was worth the money even for a renter such as myself. Even more so for the soon-to-be owner.

- Jeff

I'll second Jeff's suggestion. I bought the book early on and found it informative and useful, although reading about the number of things that could be wrong with a 150 gave me pause. Since I haven't bought a 150 yet, you might say that, to date, the book has saved me thousands.

Mike, the author, will even answer email regarding specfic questions you might have after reading the book. Well worth the bucks!

Don

Mike admitted there are things that can be wrong with our 150's? Horrors!! Lemme at them stars!

Wow! I can't believe how many of you responded to my post. That?s awesome! Thanks Jeff Davis for your evaluation of the planes I listed. What you said sounds reasonable. The 1972 150, N5428Q, looks the best to me too based on the numbers listed for TT and SMOH. I actually talked to the owner today about coming and seeing it. He said a few things that I thought were odd. For instance, he seemed to be talking about a top overhaul like it was equivalent to a major overhaul. I could have misunderstood though. Anyway, according to him, it is in the shop for a top overhaul right now. I don't understand why he would be doing a top overhaul on a 0 SMOH engine but I am sure the log books and "in person" meeting will make everything clear. He hopes to fly the plane to the DFW area this weekend but I will be in the DE and PA area over the weekend. However, he is on my list to visit the weekend after next.

Bill?
Thanks for the suggestion regarding a 172. I admit, I would like a 172 but here are my thoughts on why I should stick with a 150. First, I think the 150 will be easier and cheaper to maintain and operate (gas, insurance, annuals, surprises, etc...). I have no personal experience to validate the position but it seems reasonable. Additionally, I am a low-time pilot with the majority of my flight time in a 150 so; I am familiar with flying the 150. I plan on using the plane to gain more experience, and play. Hopefully, if I can get it bought right, I will be able to sell it later and recoup something close to my purchase price. I think that is reasonable if I make a fair buy.

Don?
Thanks for the info on the plane. Good luck with your 172 partnership.

Mlb2?
To answer your questions, I live in the DFW area and my email is [email]johnwebb@objecttoolbox.com.[/email] I will contact you via email as you suggested.

Jeff?
Thanks for reminding me about the book. I have been meaning to purchase it. I?ll do it tonight. As for the ?window shopping?, I have been doing that for 10 years on and off. I?m ready to get a plane.

All?
Based on what Jeff and Bill said, it sounds like most of the planes I have found on the internet are overpriced. I don?t really know. I plan on being cautious and holding out for the right plane. My criteria follow:

• 1973-1977 Cessna 150
• Low TT is good, I have seen it as low as 1200 but I am thinking between 1200 and 3500
• SMOH needs to be low
• IFR to pursue my IFR rating
• Radio with RNAV/DME would cool
• I would like a pretty nice interior and exterior
• Damage history tends to make me shy away. I am sure most repairs are fine but, I?d prefer to just stay away from damage history
• Lost logs are scary; I want all logs from birth

Do these criteria sound reasonable?

Thanks again for your willingness to help. I am surprised by the response I received.
Happy to be a 150-152 member,

John

Sounds like you are being very reasonable. Except maybe restricting yourself to 73-77 aircraft. I think you would do yourself better by broadening that a wee bit. 66-77 are basically the same airplane with just fine differences. In 1971 they changed from leaf to tube gear. Sometime in there they went to a taller rudder and longer dorsal fin. Those being maybe the major differences. But all in all, the same airplane. You may also want to keep in mind the type of overhaul. a field overhaul can be much different than a actual overhaul company. Though, ours was field overhauled and it has done just fine. And, even though I also prefer the 150, I wouldn't rule out a good 152 if the price was right. Especially maybe a Sparrowhawk. But, chances of finding one cheap would be remote at best.

And I fully understand your wanting only a 150 or 152. I've debated going to a 172, but just have not been able to justify doing so. The 150 suits us about 90% of the time.

You are well on your way of making an informed decision and purchase. You will do well!

Then there's the Cherokee 140. Seems to me to sit pretty squarely between the 150/152 and the 172, in terms of both price and performance.

- Jeff

Just another person's opinion, but going back to the '67 G model expands your available options that much more. That year is the one in which they increased the cabin width by bowing the doors slightly.

The only other comment I might argue is the damage history. If it is fully disclosed and the repair is A) Done Right; and B) Some (or many) years ago, then don't exclude planes w/ DH. As many will tell you, a properly done repair that happened 20 years ago assures that the repair "took" and shouldn't really be a factor.

Best wishes in your hunt.

Having gone through the buying process in 2003, I want to caution you on this one. Whenever you sense something is not quite right, or 'odd,' your beacon should start flashing. In this case, you should give the seller another chance to explain what's going on in a clear and concise manner. Don't settle for some political sounding mumbo-jumbo...write your questions down on paper if you have to, but clear this issue up now. Not doing so can cost you $$$ later.

How do I know? Of course, it happened to me. My plane partner and I were all settled in on a "mid-time" engine plane that had great avionics, decent glass and appeared well maintained. Great! All we want is the logbooks for a thorough evaluation. No problem!

Except the logs never showed. The seller was busy, forgot them, was out of town, blah blah. By the time we finally pinned him down and looked in the engine log, the first thing we saw was the mid-timed engine was 200 hrs beyond TBO. We walked. I have several of these types of stories, where the seller won't volunteer any information about the plane, leaving it to you to uncover its hidden and sometimes dark secrets.

My point is this: IF you feel for any reason that something's 'odd', 'not right' or 'funny', trust your gut and walk. There's plenty of these A/C out there, and the next one you find will probably be better.