Cheapest jet that isn't a sonex

Jim K

Jim K

Final Approach
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Richard Digits
http://courtesyaircraft.com/aircraft/n33hw-canadair-t-33-mk-3-ct-133/
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Get to park with the Warbirds... maybe the cheapest path to a type rating? I've always loved the looks of the shooting star; possibly because there was one in the vfw memorial park in the little town we went to to get pizza when I was a kid. @kaiser forget the t-bone; this is much better. Hop over to RFD and tell Mark I sent ya...

Is there a cheaper "real" jet?
 
Seriously…. Just about any of the 1980s jets have examples available for Saratoga money.

The difficulty in upgrading panels, high engine costs and orphaned components risks contribute to this.

That said, I have often thought that you could do worse than spend (and soon scrap) a plane such as that. The stories you’ll have would be epic!

(no, I have no idea how you’d get insurance)
 
MIG-15, Iskra TS-11, L29, Fouga Magister, Paris Jet (non remodel).
 
Well ... as long as we're spending OPM ...

https://www.controller.com/listings/for-sale/aero/l-39/aircraft

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I didn't think about a 70's biz jet. An old Lear or Sabreliber would be almost as cool. T-33 would definitely hold its value better. If you consider the money you get back when you sell I still think this would be hard to beat.

Do Warbirds face the same noise restrictions as bizjets? How common are airports that restrict jets based on noise?
 
EdFred said:
Dammit Jim, you got me thinking....at least until I did fuel burn calculations.
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Think how much time that would cut off your trips to Florida. Might not work as good for 6y9 though.
 
Sadly the purchase price of those old jets is the cheapest part of ownership.

We had an older corporate based here years ago, very active and well maintained. I came up on a required maintenance interval (D check I think), plus both engines were coming due for replacement. The owner looked at the cost of the impending maintenance vs the book value of the aircraft, and made the decision to part out the aircraft. It just didn't make financial sense.
 
Jim K said:
http://courtesyaircraft.com/aircraft/n33hw-canadair-t-33-mk-3-ct-133/
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Get to park with the Warbirds... maybe the cheapest path to a type rating? I've always loved the looks of the shooting star; possibly because there was one in the vfw memorial park in the little town we went to to get pizza when I was a kid. @kaiser forget the t-bone; this is much better. Hop over to RFD and tell Mark I sent ya...

Is there a cheaper "real" jet?
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Sadly, I think this exact T-33 is sitting a few stalls from mine at DVT rotting away in the sun.
 
Jim K said:
Do Warbirds face the same noise restrictions as bizjets? How common are airports that restrict jets based on noise?
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I don't know where the "warbird" jets fit into the equation but every other jet under 75,000lbs has to meet Stage 3 noise levels to fly anywhere in the US. There are FAA Special Flight Authorizations to fly these pre-stage 3 aircraft so maybe thats how the old military jets are allowed to fly.
 
Jim K said:
Think how much time that would cut off your trips to Florida. Might not work as good for 6y9 though.
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He could probably get it in. Then they could clean it up, pound out a few dents and put it up on a pedestal
 
EdFred said:
Last flight, and ad shows it in Santa Fe, NM.
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I know. I had a buddy tell me the same thing. Maybe there’s a different Thunderbird T-33 out there, but there is definitely one sitting at DVT.

Edit: just saw the ad. Yeah, that’s a different one. First time I saw the N-number. The one at DVT has a different number.
 
Sluggo63 said:
Maybe there’s a different Thunderbird T-33 out there
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From the brief bit of research I did, that seems to be the most popular paint scheme by about two to one. Not that I blame them... it looks really cool.
 
My dream plane. Would obviously be a huge money pit but if I had millions to spend each year it’d be well worth it for me.
 
Sluggo63 said:
I know. I had a buddy tell me the same thing. Maybe there’s a different Thunderbird T-33 out there, but there is definitely one sitting at DVT.

Edit: just saw the ad. Yeah, that’s a different one. First time I saw the N-number. The one at DVT has a different number.
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That one at Deer Valley is sad, indeed.
 
Sluggo63 said:
Sadly, I think this exact T-33 is sitting a few stalls from mine at DVT rotting away in the sun.
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Don’t think it’s the same one. There are a few T-33s around painted in T-bird colors. The one listed is from the Jet Warbird Training Center in Santa Fe.

The T-33 is not an entry level jet like a L29 or L39. And while cheap to acquire, I suspect it would eat you out of house and home in operating costs.
 
benyflyguy said:
Clapped out Lear no hush kits. Make a racket.
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I daydream about this every so often. I wonder how long you can get away with lying about "I thought it had the hush kits installed??" before they shut it down. I think you can get a lear 23 for free in a cracker jack box now.
 
schmookeeg said:
I daydream about this every so often. I wonder how long you can get away with lying about "I thought it had the hush kits installed??" before they shut it down. I think you can get a lear 23 for free in a cracker jack box now.
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A few years ago I was offered a run out HS-125 for free. All I had to do was move it from the airport were it was.

I politely declined.
 
I think that it depends what you mean by a cheap jet. If you are just looking at acquisition cost, there are lots of options with older airplanes. However, the cost of operating those older airframes more than makes up for any of those savings!

The Eclipse is still probably the least expensive jet to own and operate. Nothing else comes close to offering the same performance at the hourly operating cost. The Phenom 100 is pretty close, but definitely more expensive to operate than the Eclipse.

Abram Finkelstein
N685AS
 
Remember that there is no "type rating" for non-certified aircraft, such as warbirds. You'll need to get a Letter of Authorization" to fly them; basically, you demonstrated that you can handle it. (Same from that little SubSonex, actually.)
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Remember that there is no "type rating" for non-certified aircraft, such as warbirds. You'll need to get a Letter of Authorization" to fly them; basically, you demonstrated that you can handle it. (Same from that little SubSonex, actually.)
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How does that work on a SubSonex in practice? Fly it and not die = LOA? Fly it and bend metal, and the ASI gets back in his fedmobile and sneaks off of the airport grounds?
 
A friend of a friend bought an L-29 with a spare engine off of either Craigslist or Ebay, can't remember which. He trailered it home, cleaned it all up, got it airworthy, and approved by the FSDO, for what he says is 'less than the cost of a basic Cessna 150'. He's flown it and I think he still has it. Gotta be about the cheapest acquisition cost anyway, but operating costs are obviously pretty high. He did a presentation about the whole process at Oshkosh maybe 3-4 years ago?
 
FormerHangie said:
While you’re waiting, consider installing a siren in your living room, so you can get used to the noise.

Me, I’m holding out for one of these:

https://mentourpilot.com/wp-content...s-181005-F-PO640-0021-Later-T-7A-Red-Hawk.jpg
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Meh. I’ve got over 1,500 hours in a T-37. Which basically means I’m so deaf, it wouldn’t bother me anymore. People on the ramp though…

One of my favorite games to play when I took a Tweet cross country to a civil field was to taxi into parking at the FBO and invariably there would be people out there preflighting their airplanes or loading up or unloading. They would stop what they were doing to look at us in this vintage AF jet trainer, and give us what we called the “Tweet salute.” The Tweet Salute was them standing on the ramp, watching us, with both index fingers jammed two knuckles deep into their ears in a futile effort to block the 10,000 decibels of God awful screeching that was coming from our J-69s.

Here’s where my game came into play. All I would do is give them a friendly wave. I could almost see the gears turning in their mind… “do I wave back to the friendly Air Force Captain and subject myself to the full force of the wall of pain I’ll have to endure or do I keep my fingers planted deeply in my ears and have them think I’m an ungrateful ass?” I’d say it was about 50/50 whether or not I got the wave back.
 
schmookeeg said:
How does that work on a SubSonex in practice? Fly it and not die = LOA? Fly it and bend metal, and the ASI gets back in his fedmobile and sneaks off of the airport grounds?
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they have a training program that uses the jet powered glider for dual and an observed checkride that uses go pros to record cockpit and outside for the examiner to review after the ride. its a really straight forward ride, basically an aborted TO, zero flap approach to touch down,low altitude go around, and a stall series.
 
unsafervguy said:
they have a training program that uses the jet powered glider for dual and an observed checkride that uses go pros to record cockpit and outside for the examiner to review after the ride. its a really straight forward ride, basically an aborted TO, zero flap approach to touch down,low altitude go around, and a stall series.
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That's wild -- thanks -- and surprisingly high tech and unexpected.
 
Saw a civilian A37 at KTYS (although I think it's been since lost in an accident). Have the T37s ever been offered for sale?
 
MauleSkinner said:
So what makes it not an entry level jet compared to the L’s?
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Not having flown one, I can't say for sure.

But I spoke with Larry (the seller of the jet in the OP) about 10 years ago when I was looking at possibly paying for an hour of training in a jet and he said he'd put a new pilot up front in the L29/L39 or Fuga but he said while he'd take someone up for a ride in the back of the T-33, you needed to have several hours before moving up to the front seat.

I suspect it has to with the more complex systems and hydraulic boosted controls combined with the older style engine that can get you into serious trouble if you get too low and slow on approach.
 
PastZTL said:
Saw a civilian A37 at KTYS (although I think it's been since lost in an accident). Have the T37s ever been offered for sale?
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Yes, there are a few civilian A-37s and T-37s out there. They show up at Courtesy Aircraft from time to time. I think there is a school down in Florida where you can train in a T-37
 
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