New projects.

No idea, probably about $15,000 :)
 
Does he have a detailed list of what's supposedly in hand vs what's missing?


Tom-D said:
IAW two e-mails this AM, about $25-30K.

Missing parts of the engine worries me.
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wabower said:
Does he have a detailed list of what's supposedly in hand vs what's missing?
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Probably not.

That is why I have a rule, "you must fly it home"

Because when you truck it home, and find some thing missing, you get answers like " it was on the truck when you left here".

Or "we told you it was missing"
 
I think you should find a non-Franklin powered Stinson to do.
 
In today's environment I'd be surprised if any restoration could be accomplished profitably, and that the true bottom-line will most likely be measured by how little you lose vs how much you make.

I'd be more inclined to just buy a nice specimen of whatever I wanted to fly and adjust the ownership percentage to a reasonable ratio of usage. Doing so will eliminate the unrealistic expectations associated with a project and allow you to bill your time as you work rather than hope to recover it at the end.
 
wabower said:
In today's environment I'd be surprised if any restoration could be accomplished profitably, and that the true bottom-line will most likely be measured by how little you lose vs how much you make.

I'd be more inclined to just buy a nice specimen of whatever I wanted to fly and adjust the ownership percentage to a reasonable ratio of usage. Doing so will eliminate the unrealistic expectations associated with a project and allow you to bill your time as you work rather than hope to recover it at the end.
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That's why I would like you to buy the project, and hire me to restore it.
 
I'd be happy to oblige. Terms are turn-key fixed-price deal, guaranteed finish date.

Tom-D said:
That's why I would like you to buy the project, and hire me to restore it.
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wabower said:
I'd be happy to oblige. Terms are turn-key fixed-price deal, guaranteed finish date.
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Get real,, this is my 401k, time and material contract, every thing is on your CC, pay day is every Friday end of week.

My work day will vary from 0 to 12 hours per day, as my other obligations require and the materials on hand.

My hobby projects have never interfered with my obligations to my regular customers. and your's wouldn't either.
 
If I'm the customer the hobby element just went out the window. If it's a business for me, it is for you too.

Tom-D said:
Get real,, this is my 401k, time and material contract, every thing is on your CC, pay day is every Friday end of week.

My work day will vary from 0 to 12 hours per day, as my other obligations require and the materials on hand.

My hobby projects have never interfered with my obligations to my regular customers. and your's wouldn't either.
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wabower said:
If I'm the customer the hobby element just went out the window. If it's a business for me, it is for you too.
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Hobby?? I am supposed to be retired, isn't hobby's all we do?

I don't believe I will see a check this week.
 
I'm either semi-retired or partly-employed, and it's usually difficult to distinguish which is in play at any particular time. But when I suit up to play, it's just like any other job for the time required to do it. Clients think that if they're paying me I should be working, no matter how much I try to change the subject.

Tom-D said:
Hobby?? I am supposed to be retired, isn't hobby's all we do?

I don't believe I will see a check this week.
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I don't know if a Rearwin Sportster actually has a "market value" at least not a figure you could put a finger on. There were only a handful of them ever built to begin with and to sell one today you'd first have to dig up a buyer who wants one - that would probably be an enthusiast who already owns one of the few remaining examples and the negotiated price would hinge solely on what that individual was willing to pay for it.

You already know, having done the Fairchild, that the pre-war airplanes are incredibly complicated with individually built up ribs and such - a lot of tedious work is involved in restoring something like that. The Stinson would be the same, actually worse in that regard. I've never flown a Sportster but sat in one once. It can cruise at about 100 mph on 70 hp because it has a really, really narrow cabin. If you had to have a Rearwin I would look at the Cloudster but then you'd be talking about a project as large and complicated as the Fairchild was which is not what you are looking for.

I think it would be a fun project, not one you could expect to make a killing on though. If I were you I'd probably look for a nice 170 or something else that you figure you could afford to fly and get as much flying in as you can up to the day when you figure it's time to quit. You know it's coming.
 
I rented my hangar to a Rearwin Sportster rebuilder.

Too bad he connected the elevator cables backwards.

Dead!
 
kgruber said:
I rented my hangar to a Rearwin Sportster rebuilder.

Too bad he connected the elevator cables backwards.

Dead!
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Sorry to hear that. Part of my pre-flight is to move the control surfaces and make sure the yoke (stick) moves in the right direction. Then repeat from the pilot's seat during the runup. Paranoia can be a healthy thing.
 
Ghery said:
Sorry to hear that. Part of my pre-flight is to move the control surfaces and make sure the yoke (stick) moves in the right direction. Then repeat from the pilot's seat during the runup. Paranoia can be a healthy thing.
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reversed controls are a pit fall we restorers talk our self into. It killed Bruce Hiner, one of the best restorers I've known.
 
Do you do this only during pre-Haloween season or all year?

Ghery said:
Sorry to hear that. Part of my pre-flight is to move the control surfaces and make sure the yoke (stick) moves in the right direction. Then repeat from the pilot's seat during the runup. Paranoia can be a healthy thing.
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wabower said:
Do you do this only during pre-Haloween season or all year?
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Not sure why the question. Part of my routine during pre-flight, each and every time I pull one of the club planes out of the hangar (actually, before I pull it out). If I owned a plane and was the only one who ever flew it, not sure what I'd do. But, it only takes a moment while checking the hinges and cable attachments, so why not?
 
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