Nervous nelly - I am putting a deposit on an airplane today!

tdager

tdager

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LittleIronPilot
Wow...talk about butterflies.

I am doing a pre-buy next Wednesday and a title search is in progress.
I have been talking about doing this for awhile, but for some reason
now that I AM doing it, I am nervous as hell.

Anyways...it is a 1965 C182, 300 hours on the engine (factory reman in
'03), decent paint, decent avionics, decent interior...all for what I
keep being told is a good price.

So, if all goes well, by next week I may be a new aircraft owner. If
not, just out a few bucks and will continue the search.
 
awesome Tom. Its pretty exciting, isnt it?

After signed the check for the glider, I could hardly sit still or keep the smile off my face!
 
Exciting...yeah if you call having your stomach do backflips exciting! hahahaha
 
tdager said:
Wow...talk about butterflies.

I am doing a pre-buy next Wednesday and a title search is in progress.
I have been talking about doing this for awhile, but for some reason
now that I AM doing it, I am nervous as hell.

Anyways...it is a 1965 C182, 300 hours on the engine (factory reman in
'03), decent paint, decent avionics, decent interior...all for what I
keep being told is a good price.

So, if all goes well, by next week I may be a new aircraft owner. If
not, just out a few bucks and will continue the search.
Click to expand...

Cool deal Tom, hope it all works out for you.
 
tdager said:
Wow...talk about butterflies.

I am doing a pre-buy next Wednesday and a title search is in progress.
I have been talking about doing this for awhile, but for some reason
now that I AM doing it, I am nervous as hell.

Anyways...it is a 1965 C182, 300 hours on the engine (factory reman in
'03), decent paint, decent avionics, decent interior...all for what I
keep being told is a good price.

So, if all goes well, by next week I may be a new aircraft owner. If
not, just out a few bucks and will continue the search.
Click to expand...

Gonna have to fly it over to GRD and show it off ;)
 
Enjoy!

My first aircraft was a big deal to me, nerves wise. The R22 was no big deal since I only had to put up 20% of it. We've had some maintenance issues (most expensive, replacing the old-style aluminum skin rotor blades with the SS skin blades -- even with a deep discount, still a good chunk of change). 1/4 of the new R44 is, well, fantastic. It still has kind of a new car smell even!
 
tdager said:
Wow...talk about butterflies.


Anyways...it is a 1965 C182, 300 hours on the engine (factory reman in
'03), decent paint, decent avionics, decent interior...all for what I
keep being told is a good price.
Click to expand...

Now THAT's a model you can do some great flying in. Best of luck.
 
Congratulations...hope it goes well. Buying my plane was one of the scariest, and most exciting days of my life. I climbed in with no experience in type, and flew it across the country. Scary, but in the top three of my favorite experiences, ever.
 
Congrats, Tom, but be ready to walk if you have to. Keep telling yourself that there are other planes to buy.
 
SteveR said:
Congratulations...hope it goes well. Buying my plane was one of the scariest, and most exciting days of my life. I climbed in with no experience in type, and flew it across the country. Scary, but in the top three of my favorite experiences, ever.
Click to expand...

I've heard it said that the two happiest days in a pilot's life are the day he buys an aircraft and the day he sells it :D
 
mikea said:
Congrats, Tom, but be ready to walk if you have to. Keep telling yourself that there are other planes to buy.
Click to expand...

I plan on trying...that is why I love my A&P, he has NO problem calling a turkey bird when he sees one.
 
etsisk said:
SteveR - what sort of plane is that in your avatar? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Since you asked... :)

It is a "GN-1" version of the Pietenpol Air Camper, arguably the first really popular plans-built experimental airplane. The original was designed by a guy named Bernard Pietenpol way back in the late 1920s. The original design was powered by a Ford Model A engine, making 40 horsepower, and a lot of purists still build them that way today (mine has a Continental A-75). The GN-1 is a slightly revised version designed by John Grega in the '60s. Mine has a few J3 Cub parts on it (firewall forward & landing gear), but a good 'ol wood fuselage & wings. When I bought it I flew it 840 miles across the country, from South Bend, Indiana to Sherman, TX. The first leg of that trip was my first flight in a Pietenpol ever.

Tons of fun, and dirt cheap to operate. I want to get something more practical so I can take bigger people for rides (200lb passenger is about my limit) and something more comfortable that my wife would enjoy more, but I just couldn't stand to sell this. Its just too much fun.

If you are really interested, you should get Chet Peek's book on the Pietenpol, it gives the history of the plane and is very interesting. Chet even put a few pages about me and my trip in his book.

Pb180078.jpg
http://www.wotelectronics.com/flyin/111806/Pb180078.jpg
 

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I know how you feel. I couldn't sleep at all for the two weeks before final closing on my AA1B.
 
Sounds exciting. Hope all is well and you are driving a 182 next week!
 
A friend of mine just built a Pietenpol here in NC - won some sort of award with it at airventure in 2005. It's a beauty, it is. He put the radios and electronics in the cabane, so they're protected from the weather, and are right over his head, so he just has to reach up and fiddle with the radio or xponder. It's really neat. He had an engine out because some steel wool he put in place as an airfilter for the alt engine air came loose (he learned from that, I tell ya - he did a beautiful landing on the hwy, but still tweaked it on the shoulder of the road). He has a decal on the side labeling it as a product of the "Icarus Plummet Aircraft Company". The thing is a true work of art.

Tom
 
RotaryWingBob said:
I've heard it said that the two happiest days in a pilot's life are the day he buys an aircraft and the day he sells it :D
Click to expand...
I think the two happiest are the day he buys it and the day he flew to Pueblo, Colorado in it!
Good luck, Tom! Sounds like a great ride. Let me know if you will be flying it near Chicago.
 
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tdager said:
it is a 1965 C182
Click to expand...

Tom,

Hope it works out for you! The C182 is a good bird. As folks here have noted, they're not the best at anything, but they're pretty doggone good at everything. They're not super-fast, but they're comfy and reasonably quick for short to mid-length trips. They can haul a pretty good load.

So, while it may not be sexy, N271G will always have a spot in my heart just because of all the wonderful adventures we've had together. :) I hope you have wonderful adventures with yours as well. :yes:
 
etsisk said:
A friend of mine just built a Pietenpol here in NC - won some sort of award with it at airventure in 2005. It's a beauty, it is. He put the radios and electronics in the cabane, so they're protected from the weather, and are right over his head, so he just has to reach up and fiddle with the radio or xponder. It's really neat. He had an engine out because some steel wool he put in place as an airfilter for the alt engine air came loose (he learned from that, I tell ya - he did a beautiful landing on the hwy, but still tweaked it on the shoulder of the road). He has a decal on the side labeling it as a product of the "Icarus Plummet Aircraft Company". The thing is a true work of art.

Tom
Click to expand...

Thats Jack Phillips I believe, I remember him telling his story on the Pietenpol list. I was at OshKosh 2005, but somehow never saw his plane.
 
Well...the first hurdle is passed.

I spent the money through AOPA and got a Title Search done. It came back with a lien against it, and after speaking with the Title Search company (to understand the report), I immediately set about contacting the lien holder.

Fortunately it was simple and easy...I gave them the debtors name and viola....it turns out it was paid of back in '02 and they had just not gotten the lien cleared off.

So they are sending the paperwork to the FAA (and cc'ing me) to clear off the bogus lien statement.

Whew....my heart dropped when I saw the lien, but now things are back on and even keel.
 
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RotaryWingBob said:
I've heard it said that the two happiest days in a pilot's life are the day he buys an aircraft and the day he sells it :D
Click to expand...
I thought that was only true for rotorheads. :rofl:

Actually, it will be a sad day indeed when I have to sell my plane. :( Unless I am moving up to something better.
 
I know that you are going to just love the 182. I also know the feeling of writing that check. I have never been sorry for getting my 1959 182B Skylane. It has been a true bird, that has done every thing I have asked of her. Four trips across the country ( Or. to Ark. and Or. to IL. and on to Gastons once) Short strips. High strips, fully loaded, never a problem with the 182 Cessna. Be happy you should. I hope it is every thing it is advertised as. Bob
 
Me too Bob...the biggest thing will be the fuel bladders. If appears that they may have not been replaced since new and we all know about their leak problems.
 
RotaryWingBob said:
I've heard it said that the two happiest days in a pilot's life are the day he buys an aircraft and the day he sells it :D
Click to expand...

I was happy when I bought my Mooney, and sad when I sold it.
I was happy when I bought my first Lance, and neutral when I sold it.
I was happy when I bought my Citabria, and happy when I sold it.
I was happy when I bought my Pitts, and sad when I sold it.
I am still happy about buying my second Lance.
 
its going to take severe financial distress to get me to sell the glider. ill cry when that thing leaves, even if i am updating to something way better.
 
SteveR said:
Thats Jack Phillips I believe, I remember him telling his story on the Pietenpol list. I was at OshKosh 2005, but somehow never saw his plane.
Click to expand...
That is Jack Phillips, indeed!! (Didn't want to just bandy his name about on the Internet... :))

That plane is a beauty - an absolute beauty.
 
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