Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Airplanes Only New Member - Need advice on 150 Purchase

Hey all!

I'm a new member of the club, considering purchasing a 150. I'm a student pilot with around 15 hours, looking for a way to (more economically) get my Private Certificate.

I happened to stumble across a C150J in my local area that's up for sale. It certainly isn't perfect, but may be a good deal for the price--I just don't know enough to fully evaluate it. I talked to a family friend who is incredibly knowledgeable about planes & has been involved professionally in aviation his whole life. He had a lot of good advice, one such piece being to come here.

Airframe total time is 5400 hours, and about 1525 hours SMOH. I looked through the maintenance logs which fortunately were complete back to the factory. Last major overhaul was in the mid 90s, so it's only put on 1500 hours in the last 20 years. However, the engine compressions are good, 75-77/80 on all cylinders. The gentleman who sold it to him had one cylinder replaced right before the sale because the compressions weren't good on that cylinder. It has the STC for auto gas, and ethanol free gas is plentiful around here. Annual was just done on Feb 1, and he is waiting for oil analysis results. I believe the prop is around 900 hours, but not certain.

I'm interested in the prospect of a relatively cheap plane to build time in. However, since I'm still incredibly new to flying, the prospect of purchasing a plane is a little daunting. I don't want to purchase it only to have the engine die or have to sink money into it for other repairs.

The doesn't have any special equipment, and isn't equipped for the ADS-B mandate (another good chunk of money I may have to sink into it--fingers crossed for the FAA to approve a portable solution!). 2 radios, transponder, basic instrument package. Not IFR certified, though he said it does have the panel. He took me up for a short flight the other day and it flew quite well.

I'd also like to get your thoughts at what a reasonable price is for the aircraft given the information provided. If you need more info to make that judgement, I'll do my best to answer it!

A side note: I have looked into taxes (sales and property), tie down fees, and insurance which have all worked out to make this a real possibility. I'm still trying to figure out how to best accomplish a pre-purchase inspection--in addition to being a new pilot I'm also new to this area, so haven't quite worked that out yet. At this point, I'm trying to decide if I should make an offer and take that step. Thanks in advance for your help!

Edit: Also meant to ask about average engine overhaul cost. I figure I would have 300-500 hours left on the engine in current state, but please let me know your thoughts!

Further edit (keep thinking of things to add): The paint isn't great--it is cracked and chipped in some places. Wouldn't necessarily need new paint, but it isn't anything great to look at. Maybe 5-6/10? Don't really know enough to rate it accurately. There is also a slight dent/crinkle on the right side/bottom, aft of the door. He says it was checked out by the IA and isn't structural. I get the impression that he is an honest guy. He's active in the local pilot club, and had several other pilots come up and chat with him while we were there looking over the logs, seeming to be pretty well liked. He is selling for health reasons. Finally, I noticed a crease/dent in the metal on left side of the rudder where something bumped into it. I also looked up the aircraft report and saw this:

#FAA1
Accident/Incident Occurred on: 1981-01-21
Narrative: ENGINE STOPPED DURING TAKEOFF. PILOT FEELS CAUSE WAS DUE TO ICE IN T FITTING DRAIN.

#FAA2
Accident/Incident Occurred on: 1981-07-10
Narrative: CROSSWIND GUST DRIFTED AIRPLANE OFF SIDE OF RUNWAY. WHEEL STRUCK VASI LIGHT STUDENT FAILED TO CORRECT DRIFT.

Just trying to do my due diligence! Hope the extra info helps.

Welcome new guy!!

Good choice to join. Lots of very knowledgeable people here. I can't post anything useful tonight due to time pressures, but I'll try as share what I've learned that may be applicable to you tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm sure others will chime in.

The average owner flies a 150-152 about 50 to 100 hrs per year. So 1500 hrs in 20 yrs is not out of the norm.

The Time Between Overhaul (TBO) of the O-200 Continental engine in a 150 is 1800 hrs. You'll likely face an overhaul in 3 years. Overhaul cost varies depending on whether it's a field overhaul done by local mechanic or a factory-quality overhaul done by a well-known shop. The lowest cost will be about $12K, and the highest cost will be over $20K.

If I were you, I would look for a plane with about 800 hrs left before the engine reaches TBO. That way, you'll have some time to save up money for an overhaul. Unless you already have money available to do an overhaul within the next 3-4 years.

The club's membership data base shows member Joseph Folsom is in South Carolina. Maybe you can send him a Private Message (PM) by clicking on Send PM while viewing his profile and see if he can assist you in checking out the plane. You'll see a blinking flag near the word "My Stuff" at the top of the screen if he replies to your PM. Click on the flag to read the PM.

It depends...without looking at it or a picture, it's hard to tell what caused the wrinkle/dent. It could be something as simple as someone inadvertantly leaving the seatbelt/buckle hanging out the door, a fairly common mistake.

I just bought my A150K last August. I got back into flying after about a 15 year absence. This is my first airplane and it has been a learning experience so far, but not that bad (mostly positive!). A few items came up during the annual in Dec. that I wasn't expecting such as having to replace the spinner bulkhead (the plastic and metal part).

Best advice I can give you so far is to find a good mechanic that can do a pre-buy inspection and let you work with him so you can learn more about the airplane.

Best part about owning my own airplane is that I can fly it when ever my schedule and weather allow me to. No waiting for a rental airplane to get out of maintenance, etc.

I think a 150 is a good plane to learn airplane ownership on too, since the parts are not as expensive as a larger airplane.

Where in SC are you located? I'm in Camden, SC KCDN.

Certainly can't argue with anything you stated Joseph. I was 18 years dormant in flying and Delmar is my first airplane as well.

Welcome Grant!

There are many on this forum much more knowledgeable than I am. I agree a C-150 is a good airplane to try out ownership. Still, they can get kind of expensive.

As far as hours, our engine was overhauled in 1990, has just over 1,600 hours on it and is still running strong. Take a look at the logs and see how many hours it was flown between annual inspections. Flying once a week for an hour or so is very good for an engine, along with regular oil changes (25 hour intervals if it does not have an oil filter, and a lot of 150's don't). Regular flying is also good for the airframe and instruments. Any moisture buildup can get blown out and dried and the gyros for the instruments do better if run regularly. I would prefer an airplane that had been flown 50 hours or so between annuals over one that had been flown 200 or 300 hours one year then sat without flying much for another year or two. This happens quite a bit when (as my Dad used to say) "the new wears off." I agree with Hung on approx. overhaul costs. Be sure your mechanic that does the pre-buy looks inside the airframe for corrosion. That can be a deal killer if there is much of it. Be sure all the radios and other equipment work like they are suppose to. Get with ATC (you can do this with flight following) and be sure the transponder is reading the right altitude and is consistent. ADS-B Out will be required in Classes B, C airspace and above 10,000 msl. If you are out in the country and plane to not fly in those areas, you won't have to have it. If you need it, figure on around $5,000 or so. I would guess roughly around $15,000 would be a top price based on your description provided everything looks good.

My cost of flying a 150 for 13 years is around $4000+ a year for around 55 hours of flying time.
Be aware this can vary year to year with good years and other years not as good. That is why I work extra jobs, it is worth it to me. My wife goes along with my ownership, and she has the cost of the plane and flying down to the penny. IF one is considering ownership, the costs need to be considered.

Good info. Thank you!

It's bigger than what I'd imagine a seatbelt would do. Approximately a foot long and 10 inches tall (if memory serves, I don't have a picture unfortunately). Best I can describe it is concave in the middle with creases at some of the edges. It is over the beginning of the baggage area, and contained within a section of rivets. It certainly may not be structural, but I don't know enough myself to answer that. Would absolutely have it checked in the pre-buy.