hazek wrote:
I did qualify that I meant in the summer. And I’d really love to see you Peter with a fully loaded C150 go over 7000ft when it’s +15 ISA.
Why not? See here Of course, as I stated earlier, you need to know what that weird red knob does and how to manage it. Perhaps a bit challenging in a 150, pretty easy in a 172.
Actually, having had another look at that Reims C172, it also has a variable pitch prop, which makes it even more compelling and certainly does more than 100kts, I’d say probably more like 125kts. I have flown a C172 (180hp) with a variable pitch prop and that one did about 120kts, so 30 extra horses up front…Quite a compelling airplane for it’s class and if you can negotiate the price down a bit, prob90 a good buy (of course, subject to thorough pre-buy).
And I’d really love to see you Peter with a fully loaded C150 go over 7000ft when it’s +15 ISA.
Before you start to get personal, get clued up on this stuff and keep the goalposts sensible. The operating ceiling is specced at ISA. ISA plus 15, while not that unusual, hammers performance. The TB20 would lose maybe 3000ft in that.
Most C150s are over MTOW with two “European size” people, anyway.
And it is fairly hard to reach the ceiling without proper engine instrumentation which one won’t find in a C150 and only rarely in a C172.
Good luck with your search.
172driver wrote:
Actually, having had another look at that Reims C172, it also has a variable pitch prop, which makes it even more compelling and certainly does more than 100kts, I’d say probably more like 125kts. I have flown a C172 (180hp) with a variable pitch prop and that one did about 120kts, so 30 extra horses up front…
A 180 hp C172 can do over 120 KTAS at cruise power with a fixed-pitch prop. (Ask me how I know.)
Agreed, we had one in the club, a very good aircraft. I am amazed that Reims Rockets can’t do much more with 210hp.
Peter wrote:
pre-1980 planes are likely to contain a lot of corrosion
No they don’t, it depends a lot on what airplane you look at and where it was based (inside vs outside, salty air vs. dry desert and so on). My Comanche has no internal rust at all. I took several hours inspecting all the interour, opened up everything (there’s a corrosion inspection every couple of years) but nope. Sorry to disappoint here.
Yes; I said that, further down – hangarage is a big factor.
hazek wrote:
I want a plane, desperately. I have the money to buy it. But I would never buy this plane for more than 75k and I’m rather without it for the listed price. I can see this plane selling to a school for 90k only because schools can make money with it. But 172 is not what I’m looking for anyway.
What kind of aircraft are you looking for?
One possibility would be to buy something older, say at around 40-50k, in “good technical but low cosmetic condition”. Then have a complete overhaul + new avionics done. So you have your dream aircraft, in almost new condition, per your specs, and within your budget. This is what I did with my DR253 and could not be happier.
Well two things, what you suggest is not the point of this thread, that is me getting my plane. I wanted to start a discussion about why it seems like nearly every ad is priced way too high for what it advertises and they clearly aren’t selling.
But to answer your question, I don’t know enough people in this industry to feel comfortable finding shops that would be capable and competent to give something old a complete overhaul. So I fear I’d get either shafted on the bill or worse they would do a poor job. Plus I would like something I can fly this year, now. So I don’t think this is a viable option.
I would just like something that is reasonably princed for what it is and am looking for 135kt+, 4 seater cert, with fuel injection(preferably turbo), GPS (430+), AP and EDM that can handle overflying the Alps in summer and doesn’t burn crazy amount of fuel like a 182 for example. I’m perfectly fine with a six pack and a basic AP and something old if it’s well maintained and serviced. And my grip is that people are letting perfectly good aircraft rot away by stubbornly waiting for a buyer at an unreasonably high price.
Thanks for clarifying. While I agree that my post was not directly the point of your thread, it was about “you getting your plane” – perhaps in an indirect way but which proved to work for me as well as many others. It clearly requires some research.
I agree with you that many good aircraft are advertised way too high and will never sell at that price.
Another possibility would be to look for aircraft not advertised, and contact the owners to ask whether they are willing to sell. This also requires quite extensive research and networking, once you have determined the airplane type you want. A friend of mine found his airplane with this method, and he paid a very reasonable price. It certainly works best in countries like France where the aircraft registry is open for all to see. Good luck with your search :)
hazek wrote:
And my grip is that people are letting perfectly good aircraft rot away by stubbornly waiting for a buyer at an unreasonably high price.
Yes, I’ve seen this too.
We had an elderly gentleman on the field owning a super nice Mooney 231. He had lost his licence and asked me if I would come along as a “safety” pilot. I was still flying professionally, so refused. It then took about 2 years before he decided to sell his pride and joy. Yes, he had tears running down when the new owner came to pick it up.
All I wanna say here is that some owner (yes, me too 
) are emotionally attached to their aircraft.
Same example, different story. I bought my Falco #2 from another aged (whatever that means) gentleman. He had spent years and heaps of funds bringing the 1964 lady back to her as new status. A beauty. He too was profoundly attached to her… took me no less than 6 months of soft convincing before he sold the Falco to me.
Considering the above, one tactic is, as @etn mentions, to go and visit airfields, maybe in your area too.
Touring hangars on a nice weather Saturday can return some good info.
Our field has a private ads board, and quite a few of the airplanes listed are to be found nowhere else.
Then, once you find your prey object of desire, becoming friends with the owner is always a good idea. Don’t express any rush, but rather gather arguments for a price reduction.
I’ve done it a few times, but I’m certainly no expert in buying/selling airplanes… still, my schedule would be:
Final story (hope nobody’s bored yet):
Once upon a time, I was desperate, dreaming day and night, longing for a Falco. I noticed one for sale at EDFE Egelsbach (@Boscomantico probably knows the case). Flew there, and met the elderly owner and his wife, both very friendly. The Falco was in a private hangar, and had not flown for a couple of years since the owner had lost his medical. I spent the best part of a morning checking the paperwork and the aircraft. Born in the 60’s, it still wore the original paint. And panel. And upholstery. In short, I was looking at a renovation project. I had lunch with this very friendly couple and flew home. Gave it a few days thought, then wrote to the owner and made an offer, only slightly lower than the asking price. No answer, so a couple of weeks later I reached for the phone… “oh no, I don’t know, there’s another potential buyer coming in next week, call me back later”. Which I did. The answer was the same, he had yet another eventual customer to come and have look.
I stopped the game once I was informed thru an informal source that the owner used the selling of his aircraft as a pastime, and was not willing to sell at all…
PS
This Falco finally got sold, but that was quite a few years later… not sure if the owner was still alive.
