A tale of two airplane owners

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asicer

Touchdown! Greaser!
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asicer
I happened to run into the owner of a derelict 182 that has been sitting for the past 10 or so years. We chatted about how long he's had it (since factory new), why he wasn't flying (medical) and various options for the plane going forward. I even went so far as suggesting that I might want to buy it. Despite the multitude of ways for getting this plane back in the air, I distinctly get the feeling that it is probably going to sit forever.

Contrast this with another plane on the same field. One day around 2019-2020 or so, I noticed a factory new 182 show up on the ramp. It even has BRS. I recognize the pilot as someone who went through instrument training around the same time as me. From then on our paths would occasionally cross, usually with him taxiing in as I am pre-flighting or vice versa, but I'm pretty sure the plane was flying weekly. After 4 years, I notice a different pilot taxi in along with an instructor that I happen to know. According to the grapevine, the mission had changed for the original owner. He decided that he's had enough of flying so he sold the 182 as well as a 172 that he had on lease-back and got out of aviation entirely.
 
I think there's a strong emotional component of owning an airplane for some people, with the aircraft standing in for something more than just being a machine to get into the air. For the former owner, selling the 182 might equate to giving up on a medical issue, giving up on a long-held goal, or perhaps giving up on a connection to someone or something. Rationally, it makes sense for a derelict aircraft to either be restored or parted out. Emotionally, perhaps not so simple. I wonder if he would be more open to a partnership that returns the aircraft to the air but doesn't sever his connection.
 
asicer said:
Despite the multitude of ways for getting this plane back in the air, I distinctly get the feeling that it is probably going to sit forever.
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Where is the plane located? If in a relatively dry part of the country, it may not take all that much. Sure, you may need a new engine, but the airframe itself may be remarkably in good shape.

But then there are the radios... even if they do work. :D
 
Pilots get attached to there airplanes and unfortunately they don’t want to sell as their airplanes deteriorate.
 
I can’t imagine letting a 6-figure asset not only go unused, but deteriorate. Screw the emotion. I have great memories in mine, especially flights with family or friends, or to go visit family & friends, but still!
 
I think it's not emotion on the plane, but identity wrapped up in being a "plane owner"

I'm grappling with this as I seem to both like being a plane owner myself, and like wrenching on the thing more than I like flying it -- which makes approximately zero fiscal sense.

My wife refuses to allow me to NOT own an airplane, so.. I can rationalize it that way. For now, I think divorces are still slightly more expensive than general aviation :D
 
Well, I’ve got a dozen owners in one (about to be two) planes. It’s like having one owner with multiple personalities.

It’s a wonder I’m both sane and not a drunk.
 
asicer said:
I happened to run into the owner of a derelict 182 that has been sitting for the past 10 or so years. We chatted about how long he's had it (since factory new), why he wasn't flying (medical) and various options for the plane going forward. I even went so far as suggesting that I might want to buy it. Despite the multitude of ways for getting this plane back in the air, I distinctly get the feeling that it is probably going to sit forever.
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I can sort of identify with the first Gentleman as I’m someone who had to recently sell his airplane for other reasons.It needed some work and wasn’t currently flying but it was like a piece of me leaving.I know I’m probably a hopeless romantic but I absolutely love airplanes and really get attached to them
 
I suspect it’s not always just not wanting to let go. Something could be in limbo, like the poster noted about the medical or a missing part or a dispute with the FAA that drags on far longer than expected and always seems to be just about to be resolved (been there, done that, don’t get me started needless to say). It could be an estate issue or a financial one that precludes flying seemingly temporarily, or a loss of interest that will surely return someday. Then one day you look up and 2 or 3 years has passed and by then what’s the point of selling and maybe the medical will come back anyway so… and so on and so forth until it’s nearly completely forgotten.
 
Have an older 182 in a hanger next to me. The fellow who owns it hasn’t had it out of hanger in ten years. Don’t think other then the airports annual fire extinguishers check that any one has been in hanger. I know the fellow , he had a lumber yard and hardware store. Also a mobile over the road truck service rig.
He must be in his 90s now. On the opposite side of my T hangar is a Blanca low wing with cracked wing spar. It was being anualed when a cracked spar found.
Been in there since the 90’s
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
I can’t imagine letting a 6-figure asset not only go unused, but deteriorate. Screw the emotion. I have great memories in mine, especially flights with family or friends, or to go visit family & friends, but still!
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I don't think anyone goes into it thinking "I'm going to let my pride and joy rot on the ramp."

First it's the medical issue that seems like it'll be temporary. Or maybe a maintenance thing that doesn't get fixed right away combined with the medical issue... And then by the time the medical issue is dealt with, maybe the maintenance is really expensive, so they decide to save up a bit before getting the plane flying, because nobody's going to give them what "it's worth" until it's airworthy even if they do want to sell it, and then... and then... and then... and then it's 10 years later and here we are. :(
 
If these non functioning planes were sitting for years on the owners’ private property that would be one thing. But they are essentially renting / taking up a scarce resource from a public utility that’s not being used as intended.

A public airport is not going to thrive and provide any benefit to the city if it’s essentially a set of subsidized storage units.
 
WDD said:
If these non functioning planes were sitting for years on the owners’ private property that would be one thing. But they are essentially renting / taking up a scarce resource from a public utility that’s not being used as intended.

A public airport is not going to thrive and provide any benefit to the city if it’s essentially a set of subsidized storage units.
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I get the sense that some airports are coming to the same conclusion. My local airport has, in the last year or so, apparently received fairly clear direction from the county that they expect the airport to host aircraft that are flying regularly and buying fuel, and that every hangar must contain an airworthy aircraft (in-progress builds being the exception as long as there's evidence of reasonable ongoing work).

They are planning a wall-to-wall inventory of the hangars in the next couple of months, apparently with the intent of evicting hangar tenants who are using it as non-aircraft storage or with aircraft that are clearly not in airworthy condition. Same for derelict aircraft on the ramp (there are only a couple, but one is an Albatross) They also have plans to build a bunch more hangars and they're going to update the fuel farm (self-serve and full service), eventually including unleaded. Should be interesting, as it's already a hornet's nest of aircraft most weekends.
 
It really is mind blowing how many pay insurance, hangar/tie down, registration, just for a plane to and rot away. They will not sell, so they would tanner say they own a plane, just not an airworthy plane.
 
The other "friction" source is transaction costs. Listing a plane on Barnstormers may be cheap, but it still involves legwork (detail, photos, organize & scan logs) -- to say nothing of hiring a broker. IF the owner anticipates a return to flying, that seems like a waste.

Maybe taking on a partner is the right answer.
 
DJTorrente said:
Maybe taking on a partner is the right answer.
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This is the way... That way, the owner can remain the owner, and the plane can be maintained and flown.

It still has some emotional difficulty, though... Kinda like letting your wife run off with some other guy, I'd imagine. "Nobody will take care of her as well as me!"
 
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