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Welcome, Paul.

Look! A NEW guy! Welcome aboard!

Hang around Paul. You'll get more help and suggestions here than you can shake a cactus at.

Paul,
Welcome to the club. You are taking that step the rest of us took at one time. While you are in AZ, if the plane in question spent its life in the desert, chances are corrosion won't be an issue. As for looking at a potential aircraft, one thing that sneaks up on people is 'lack of documentation' for prior maintenance and especially, ADs. This is where I'm leery of 'airplane sold with fresh annual'. Yeah its been deemed airworthy for a year but what happens in a year when your IA does the annual on a 40+yr old airplane he's never seen before.
The 'pre-buy' inspection is crucial and you have to find someone you trust. I was lucky, I work with a bunch of A&P/IAs that own airplanes so I told them that I'm hiring you to find a reason NOT to buy this airplane. I was fortunate that my airplane was pretty much in order. Even as an A&P myself, I hired an unbiased opinion, second set of eyes.
Expect to rule out a bunch of planes before you settle on one... Some of the questions you can ask over the phone would be:

Was it ever a trainer?
Is the plane flown regularly?
Is there any damage history?
Has it ever sat idle for an extended period of time?
When was the last engine overhaul, as in calendar date. Was it field or factory overhaul?
Any cylinder replacements since last overhaul?
What are the latest compression readings.

Others can add to the questions you can ask, and regardless of the answers, none are a dealbreaker... It just paints a better picture of what you're looking at, therefore what you'd pay for it. It's more about what the airplane is worth and paying a fair price than buying a lemon.

The answers for my plane to the Qs above...

Yes, in the 60@ thru early 80s.
No, maybe 15hrs/yr, but flown about 80hrs/yr now
No
Yes, 7yr gap in logbook, airplane was a ramp queen
Field OH
All 4 cylinders replaced since overhaul.
Low-mid 70s, about 240hrs now on factory new cylinders.

The thing is, its all documented so I knew what I was buying.... These airplanes are old, a bunch of mechanics have had their meathooks all thru them, tough to find a creampuff...

Welcome to the club, Paul....you've landed a good place especially if ownership is on your horizon.

You'll get all kind of advice on what to buy and what not to buy and tracking down the "right" plane can be frustrating but doable

Being patient is one of the leading requirements.

Good luck on your search.

Oh, if you find one that peaks your interest that's not close to home, it's fairly common that a member living in close proximity to it could swing by for a first pass, look see. Also, most members around the country have trusted, knowledgeable mechanics who can do a prepurchase inspection for you with an unbiased point of reference.

Again, welcome to the club and best wishes on your search.



Jim

Much thanks to all for the great advice. There are no 150's for sale in my area so i guess i will end up a "long distance" shopper. i am not looking for a "perfect" airplane i just want to know what i am getting for my money. Thanks again to all. paul

Welcome to the club Paul!

Lots of good info here!

Paul!

With the resources available here (read - people, tribal knowledge of the 150/152, and so on), you shouldn't have any problem with finding a bird, even if it's not local (say, within a day's round-trip drive - 200 miles?).

Someone can and will stop by and look over the bird for you, maybe even get a chance to go through the logs and find out all sorts of things for you.

Sure, closer is better, but it's not a deal killer.

Good luck!!!

Before getting too serious about any airplane (and if there's time) order the FAA CD of the planes history. It has everything that the FAA knows about the airplane. If a current modification needing a field approval or STC isn't on the CD, that can be a big problem. The CD also lists all of the previous registered owners (including flight schools... so he says it's never been a trainer, eh?). Google the N number... you never know what you will find!

Paul
First you need to find your 150 mechanic/IA, this should be a 150 knowledgable mechanic or one that can learn from websites like this one, as a last resort a mechanic that will read and follow the maintenance manual will work also.
You need to be comfortable with his style of repair/inspection. Example; stuck exhaust valve. The repairs can range from a cylinder overhaul to my favorite trick of cleaning the valve and guide without removing the cylinder, it depends on your mechanics experience and knowledge level. Same thing goes for the inspections, there should be a list of airworthy( can"t fly till it's fixed) items and this is getting worn we should fix it some time items.
Trouble shooting is another area where a less than stellar mechanic can flush aviation units down the drain quickly. Aviation Units= AU = $1000.
Ideally I recommend you have your mechanic annual the plane you intend to buy so you both are satisfied/aware of it's condition. That almost never happens tho. The 172 I bought is one I have annualled for 8 years, I think I know it's condition pretty well as well as it's short comings, that is a rarity when buying aircraft! Having a disinterested 3rd party look at the aircraft is cheap protection for you.
Sounds like you gave already made the choice of airplane type so we can skip that. 150= fun flying and really fun cross country flying.
Now to find a good airplane for you. What equipment do you want/need? Most 150s are VFR as is 29T, a comm, transponder and encoder, intercom and an old Garmin 100 with a AV8OR on the yoke, worked good for all our flying. Do you need or want more, then make your list and start narrowing down the choices. Same with engine times, paint and interior and any personal quirks like 29" bush tires you may have.
What density altitudes will you be operating from, there may be a reason there are no 150s around you. On hot days you can't load a 150 very heavy and get any kind of take-off/climb performance, it becomes a 1 man airplane.
These are old airframes and as long as the damage/corrosion/ wear has been fixed correctly I don't get too worried about that, same with airframe times, they will last a long time if the maintenance is done correctly. I inspect a 150 with 14000 hours on it, probably tighter than most 150's cause if ianything is loose it gets fixed.
Engines; they will go along time also but they need to be flown regularly, most of us do not fly enough to make that happen. The cylinders on the O-200 are the problem area ie stuck valves. I advocate regular inspections to know your valve condition, just like the 500 hour mag inspections. The aerial photographer I work for flys 8 hours a day, changes oil at 80 hours, no filter, and we got 6000 hours out of the last overhaul, it wore out 3 sets of cylinders but the bottom end looked great. Flying is not hard on them, sitting is.
My $.02 Alan Core