Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Airplanes Only Buying my first plane...

42 years old? How about getting a PPL and buying a plane at the age of 62? When I bought my first plane, I did everything the recommended way: used the AOPA resources, lots of advice, prebuy inspection with lots of squawks that brought the price down. And then I found myself putting money into the plane. When I was getting ready for the check ride, the hail destroyed it and all the other trainers at the field. So, for two weeks I searched day and night for a plane.

The second plane I bought was more expensive, but, for me, I realized that I could buy cheap and put money into the plane myself or pay more and buy a plane that someone else had already put the money into. But I just didn't have enough money for this plane. The owner and I went back and forth about the price until I finally realized I had one last thing to bargain with. I knew he had tried to step down to the 150 from a V-tail Bonanza and realized he had made a big mistake. He really wanted to sell this plane so he could buy something else. I offered to buy the 150 for all the money I had (leaving myself a reserve) plus no prebuy. He knew that this meant the next day he would have his money with no waiting, no having the plane tied up for the prebuy and the possibility that the buyer would back out. I did this based on the reputation of the owner and the plane at the field where the plane was based. It worked out for me.

Welcome to the club! There is a LOT of help here for new plane owners like us.

Congrats Josh on your 1st plane. I don't how you can go wrong with a 150. I have had 3 of them and never lost a penny. you could probably part it out and make $$. I just picked up another 1969 J ( our 2nd J)with the Howard Johnson's paint scheme . we plan on turning that old ho into a prom queen ! bought it site unseen (with a few pics and a good vibe from the seller ). Best deal I ever made !!sometimes you have to go with the feeling you get. Fly safe. have fun, give plenty of rides !
MIke

I, for one, have found this thread so refreshing.

It's all so exciting to see folks here describing their enthusiasm and be witness to the gusto associated with owning these wonderful airplanes.

I simply could not restrain myself this morning.

Carry on folks....150/152's rock.


Jim

Everyone. Thank you all so much for the encouragement. Counting down 5 more days to go see my new plane!!!

Ive missed out on chatting with you all. I've been at work...

Can someone please explain what a wing leveler is. Do they work?

A "wing-leveler" does just what it says - it uses the ailerons to keep the wings level. It's sort of a "poor-man's autopilot", in that it doesn't follow a course, intercept a radial, or hold altitude. However, simply keeping the wings level tends to keep a plane on course, and certainly gives time for the pilot to do other things. It's certainly a welcome option.

If you have one in your plane, and it works, consider yourself very lucky. Getting any kind of autopilot for a 150 is very expensive. You can easily spend what a 150 costs to buy just in getting an autopilot installed.

Any update, Josh?

hi everyone here's an update. I thought about naming N61112. because its got blue paint on it and I own a blue truck I thought about naming it little blue.. because the trucks named "big blue" but after seeing the plane I think I am going to name it BORB short for "bucket of rusty bolts" and dont mind the fuel stain... and stink...
So... after flying 4 hours in it and getting a serious first hand lesson in carb icing... and by the way I have to thank all of you guys for writing the articles about carburetor icing because when it happened I knew what to do!!!! you all rock!
So as of 4pm today I now own a 46 year young Cessna 150!....
I think it has a leaky fuel tank...
The owner said it will burn about 8 gallons an hour in cruise...
The Carb heat works.. and so does the cabin heat,,,, which is good because tomorrow N61112 is flying from Oklahoma to Iowa.

I have to say thankyou again to you all because ive learned so much from you all. This is really my first experience flying a little plane.

Probably 5-6 gallons go into the engine and 2 gallons streaming behind the plane .

Congratulations, Josh. It'll just take time and money to fix the few squawks you have on the plane. In time, it'll be even nicer than it is right now. Enjoy your flight home!

Big blue, little blue, BORB or whatever.

The best thing you can call it is.......M-I-N-E


Enjoy the journey north.......the fun has begun.



Jim