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I guess we were lucky when we bought Molly. My nephew was just starting medical school and talked me into buying his 150 (I had sold our 172 at the time and was renting from Downtown Aviation). Molly has an IFR panel and has been in continuous IFR cert for the entire time we have owned her (over 10 years now). I use IFR panel a little loosely these days as she just has one MX300 NAV/COM with GS, marker beacons (which are becoming pretty useless), an ADF and portable GPS. Engine time just crept past 1600 hours, so I am holding my breath.

I hope James can find something with less time on the engine and maybe a panel mounted GPS for IFR work.

This tells me you know very little about corrosion.



Jim

Let me add my two dimes. Welcome to the club. I was out of flying for 30 years. Still got the magazines, never left the wish I were flying stage, but had to make a living and spend what ever time was left with the family taking them some place in a car.

Got back into the game. Rental planes were driving me insane. This club is super. Bought a club plane from a club member I had never met, but every one else had giving me glowing reports on character and the a/c. Listen to them. Great group. Congrats on joining. rdp

Congrats Rick on your new ride, and I'm thinkin it won't be long for James.


We're looking forward to meeting both of youse guys and looking at your new airplanes at a little airport in the middle of an Iowa cornfield [cessna150152flyin.org] this summer.


Oh, and drag the Gary guy with you.

Hi all! Thanks again for all the hospitality, advice, and stories. Sounds like its a very similar story when people get busy with life and responsibilities and drift away from aviation. My plan is to never again let life and/or responsibilities get in the way of flying.

So, here's a brief update. I'm looking at 3 prospects, all 150Ms (1975-1977), all with basic IFR instruments and less than mid-time engines and airframes. Two of them have long range tanks, which I like because fuel at my airport is a crime at $6+/gal, but just 40 miles away I can load up on $3.20/gal.

One of the airplanes I'm considering has 9 years of missing logs, the first 9 years of its life. I'm doing some research and have ordered airworthiness and registration documents on the aircraft to piece together its history.

What do you guys think is reasonable discount for 9 years of missing logs? Its been flying fine for the last 30 years, so if there is any hidden damage history during those 9 years of missing logs, I'm not too concerned with that, I'm more concerned that I get the right valuation and don't over pay if I decide to go with that airplane.

With it being the first 9 years of it's life, I honestly won't worry about it. Not that it's great that they're missing, but more than likely, most things have been replaced/taken care of on that airplane since then, the engine has likely been overhauled since then (and you can find the log entry for it), avionics might have been replaced, etc. You're unlikely to find anything in those missing 9 years that would affect the plane's value today, so they're not of great worth to you.

There's some variations on how missing logs affect the price of the plane. Some say 5-10% automatically. Some say it depends on what period of time the logs have been missing for, if it's greater than 10-15yrs and the plane has had major work since (engine OH, for instance), then it's negligible.

Just my $0.02... I'm sure others will have better advice!

Thanks Alex! I have some suspicion that there was some damage history in those missing 9 years, but I'm still piecing the clues and documents together. But I agree, I'm not worried about it from a safety point of view, like you said any issues would have been taken care of in the last 30 years.

I appreciate your $0.02!

So.... "W", My A&P/IA has been in the business all his life. His Dad was a WWII Pilot and stayed in aviation etc... So here ya go... recently...

Guy with a Cessna 140 heard about "W" and wanted him to do his annual. Owner tells "W", he doesn't expect any issues as the last 3 annuals have been pretty good. Bottom line.... this annual is almost the cost of the aircraft. ADs that have been in existence since the 1950s have not been complied with and yet signed off every year. "W" found a cracked motor mount and all sorts of stuff wrong. All of it serious and stuff that could not be deferred.

Bottom line... Don't ever trust anybody to take care of anything. I lucked out with Delmar. God Blessed my ignorance and foolishness. Hopefully I learned something.

Be careful. Lots of stuff isn't in the log books.

The two with the long range tanks would be a HUGE plus for anyone ever considering a 150hp upgrade. Keep that in mind if/when you plan on selling it in the future.

Just because it has the capacity for 36+ gallons with a 100hp engine, doesn't mean one has to use the entire capacity at all times.

Good luck with your search and choice.

Ooo, if you suspect there was damage during the time of missing logs, that may be a different story... if there was damage, the logs would show how the damage was repaired, whether it was by an FAA repair station, if so, what FAA-approved process did they follow to repair the damage, how extensive the damage was, etc. Without that, you have no idea how the damage was repaired and even if it's 30yrs later, that could still be a problem. If the current owner knows what the damage was, you could have your A&P check over it to make sure it was repaired correctly.