I hated to throw Bart into the hotseat, but I'm glad he accepted. I'm sure he'll do you a good job and will provide you with the knowlege needed to proceed or walk away.
Hope it turns out ok. I may have to make a house payment for him.
OK Folks, I looked her over yesterday late afternoon and let me start by saying it?s a nice aircraft for 43 years old. Most of what you all have been discussing is definitely cosmetic stuff. What you don't see in the photos is that the cosmetic stuff is a little rougher in person. The panel definitely needs some TLC but it is a good place to start.
The overall condition of the plane is straight and seemingly well cared for. Most of what I saw was minor stuff that can be rectified with attention. Other items of concern I sent on to Rob with my report.
All in all it?s a nice Aircraft with good potential. Now its up to Rob if he wants to take it to the next level and do a prebuy inspection.
That's great to hear, Bart. Perhaps, we'll have another attendee at the next Ponca City/Enrique's get together, or, perhaps, at Jim Hillabrand's next hamburger fly-in! (Wink, hint, hint!)
Gary Shreve When writing the story of your life, never, ever let someone else hold the pen. [Linked Image]
Well that's an understatement!! Bart sent me a 10 page report with commentary embedded within the photos!
He took photos of such high quality that I had to hook up our e-mail to our new PC 'cause the old one couldn't handle the data coming in through our hi-speed connection.
I've had less help from siblings...so thanks again to Bart, and to this entire great group of people in this club I'm proud to be a part of.
A great 20 footer!! It is pretty dirty...and it needs a lot of TLC.
First item of attention is that the engine was done by Global Reach Aircraft out of Hastings Florida. [color:"blue"]Are these guys an accredited engine shop...or would they have done a "to limits" overhaul as Mike mentions in his book? [/color]
Secondly, the glide slope box doesn't work. Bart comments that this could take $3000 US to fix the avionics.
[color:"blue"]What the heck is a glide slope box...do I need it for VFR work...and should the price therefore be reflective of the fact that this sucker is U/S? [/color]
The glide slope box is (I'm guessing) the reciever for the glide slope. No, you dont need it for VFR, it is for flying an IFR precision instrument approach, sometimes referred to as an ILS.
To clarify the point on the avionics the dollar figure was a guess at a complete setup not just the glide slope. The reason I pointed that out is simple, if that is not working then what else in the avionics stack is not functioning properly? When making a purchase you have to calculate the cost of every item that might need repairing.
First item of attention is that the engine was done by Global Reach Aircraft out of Hastings Florida. [color:"blue"] Are these guys an accredited engine shop...or would they have done a "to limits" overhaul as Mike mentions in his book? [/color]
[color:"red"]WHOA! Possible BIG red flag, here! [/color]
I may be completely off base here, and I have absolutely NO evidence of wrong doing or shoddy work ..... but these people DO have both motive and opportunity, and few locals who know them will have anything to do with them!
I know this particular business! This is an aircraft broker, bone yard, insurance salvage, and government surplus business across the river from me, between St. Augustine and Palatka, Florida, on Hastings Airpark. I have toured their grounds on several occasions, and they've operated under several business names, under the same owner, including Earle Aircraft [earleaircraft.com] (click link for their website). They have been trying to liquidate their "parts inventory" for well over 2 years, now. Don't look for bargains, as there aren't any! (Browse the pages of their website for further clues!)
Don't be fooled by the spic-n-span pics you see on these pages. The OV-10 is at another airport, and has been for sale for years under the "Global Reach Aircraft" business name (licensed aircraft broker). It's known to be assembled from mismatched government surplus parts, and anyone that knows OV-10's won't touch it. The "Engine Shop" in Hastings had piles of used "spare parts" lining the walls, in greasy piles on top of each other on the floor. Pistons and rods here, cylinders there, crankshafts and cams over here .... you get the picture. They do a lot of airboat work, but I never knew they signed off aircraft "overhauls". With over 400 TSOH (needs to be verified), there may be absolutely nothing wrong with that engine, but ........? There must be an A&P in their employ somewhere, but the several people I dealt with here were not licensed, nor did they seem to be "experienced".
At this point, the most important part of your pre-buy inspection, should you choose to proceed, is a very detailed engine and logbook inspection. An aircraft records search that shows ANY prior owner in Hastings, Florida would be another big red flag. If the aircraft has been in Hastings, the airframe and anything in it may now be in question as well.
I believe the current owner purchased the aircraft in 2003. Listening to Carl's observation is good council. It is very important that a prebuy is done by an A/P that will take all the time needed to go over the aircraft as well as all the logs. By the way the owner also said the annual is due in April.
I did ask why he was selling it and his response was to buy a 172.
Rob,, Before even doing a prebuy, I would get the details on the engine overhaul and forward that to an MOT aviation engineer here in Canada, He will advise if the engine overhaul meets our specs. If it does, then it should be good to import,, Then and only then would I spend money to do a prebuy,, If they don't accept the overhaul,, well time to say goodbye to the plane,, regardless of look or condition. That is, unless you still want it,, but more then likely to get it imported you'd have to have the engine O/H here or in the US by an approved facility.
