Sad airplane thread

[Ed Haywood]

Not a logical explanation for the behavior.

Behavior is not logical, ergo there is no logical explanation.

Many times it is health. Dad gets old, gets sick, and can't fly anymore. Nobody wants to admit he is never going to get better, so nobody pushes the issue. Eventually he winds up in a long term care facility. Dad was the only pilot in the family, nobody else has a clue about planes, so it sits and deteriorates until he passes away and the estate gets settled. By then it is too far gone.

 

[weilke]

Locally, we had someone park a freshly painted 185 on brand new amphibs in a grass tie down spot until small trees started to grow underneath it.

 

[JOhnH]

I die a little every time I see a plane I'd love to own slowly rotting away.

I rescued mine from this fate... but if I had more money I'd be rescuing more...

View attachment 92572

Looks like you found Mrs. Mtns2Skies Christmas present!

 

[TheFB]

Behavior is not logical, ergo there is no logical explanation.

Many times it is health. Dad gets old, gets sick, and can't fly anymore. Nobody wants to admit he is never going to get better, so nobody pushes the issue. Eventually he winds up in a long term care facility. Dad was the only pilot in the family, nobody else has a clue about planes, so it sits and deteriorates until he passes away and the estate gets settled. By then it is too far gone.

That right there. Plus the heirs thinking the plane's value is sky high when they actually own a boat anchor.

 

[Deelee]

Jeez. Just when I thought my morning couldn't get any worse... I have to go and read this.... That Bo with the flat tires makes my eyes water up.

 

[Dan Thomas]

It's not just airplanes. Classic cars, motorhomes, boats. Lots of boats. People just stop looking after their stuff.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Do a good enough job producing videos, and you can get youtube / patrons to pay for the restoration.
Skip to 2:30 to see what a wreck this boat is if you don't have the patience to watch the whole thing.

 

[Grum.Man]

This is the way of life. Just like cars, at some point the parts are worth more than the plane and a lot of owners can’t come to grips with that. They neglect their pride and joy then expect you to take the financial risk because the engine “only has 100 SMOH” 30 years ago!

 

[Tom-D]

Do a good enough job producing videos, and you can get youtube / patrons to pay for the restoration.
Skip to 2:30 to see what a wreck this boat is if you don't have the patience to watch the whole thing.

I've watch the whole thing, and he has don't a great job.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

I've watch the whole thing, and he has don't a great job.

Well, then, there you go.
He's currently making enough money to have paid help as well as the materials (custom cast bronze floors / knees, all new planking material, live oak from the east coast for frames, etc. etc. etc.) All you need to do is do a better job.

 

[jimhorner]

Sadly, most airports seem to have anywhere from a few to a lot of these abandoned planes. When I see them, I can’t help but think about their last flights. When the pilots taxied the planes to the ramps, got out, chocked the wheels, and tied them down, I wonder what they were thinking as they walked away. Did they know it was the last time they would be flying the plane? Or did they walk away fully intending to come back and fly again?

What could have happened to cause them to not come back? Was there a mechanical issue? Did something happen on the flight to so scare the pilot that they decided to give up flying? Did it just become too expensive? Did the pilot just develop other interests? Was there illness or an accident? Divorce? Financial difficulties? Lost medical? Legal issues? Who knows, but I would really love to know the stories behind why these old, neglected, faded flying machines got to be that way.

 

[Ed Haywood]

Did they know it was the last time they would be flying the plane?

No

Or did they walk away fully intending to come back and fly again?

Yes

What could have happened to cause them to not come back?

Doctors

 

[Cervieres]

No

Yes

Doctors

Most of the doctors I know keep their Cirrus in a hangar.

 

[Tom-D]

Well, then, there you go.
He's currently making enough money to have paid help as well as the materials (custom cast bronze floors / knees, all new planking material, live oak from the east coast for frames, etc. etc. etc.) All you need to do is do a better job.

He has spent a lot of money.. not sure if it has been his or?

I'm a fan of the parrot

 

[denverpilot]

It's not just airplanes. Classic cars, motorhomes, boats. Lots of boats. People just stop looking after their stuff.

Themselves too. Ultimately the reason my grandfather passed away was that he decided eating was a bother in his early 90s.

Granted he had broken two ribs and knew his cancer was back, too... but he decided not eating was the way to finish up.

 

[Pilawt]

I can think of some Cessna 150s I flew in the '60s and '70s ...

N22589 was a beautiful brand-new 150H operated by Fullerton Pilots Association in 1968. My dad and I were both members of FPA, and my dad took his private pilot checkride in this one.



I happened to see it in the early 1990s at Perris CA:




My dad was on hand to photograph my landing at Berrmuda Dunes CA on my solo cross-country in another FPA airplane, 150G N3753J in early 1968.



Here it is at Fla-Bob, near Riverside CA, in recent years:




This one breaks my heart. I instructed in N3162J at Long Beach CA in 1972. It was still in (mostly, except for the gold trim) original paint when photographed in Britain, probably in the early 1980s:



It was last seen on a pole in front of a defunct airport restaurant in Belgium:

 

[Rcmutz]

Behavior is not logical, ergo there is no logical explanation.

Many times it is health. Dad gets old, gets sick, and can't fly anymore. Nobody wants to admit he is never going to get better, so nobody pushes the issue. Eventually he winds up in a long term care facility. Dad was the only pilot in the family, nobody else has a clue about planes, so it sits and deteriorates until he passes away and the estate gets settled. By then it is too far gone.

Hence why I have provided my wife with several names of folks much younger than me that I trust to sell the plane if something happens to me, with instructions to the wife to take what they believe would be a fair price when it is time to sell. She knows it only goes down in price the longer it sits, and what I put into it was for my pleasure. Better to take $50K on a plane you thought was worth $60k, than to get nothing, or worse, having to pay to have it disposed of!

 

[RyanB]

Here’s a doozy that’s been out at FGU for as long as I can remember. I’d bet the prop hasn’t turned over for at least a decade, if not longer.

 

[Racerx]

Here’s a doozy that’s been out at FGU for as long as I can remember. I’d bet the prop hasn’t turned over for at least a decade, if not longer.

View attachment 92598

And yet it's not out of registration. Some guys like the apparent status symbol of owning a plane more than the work it takes to fly the plane. Damn shame

 

[jimhorner]

And yet it's not out of registration. Some guys like the apparent status symbol of owning a plane more than the work it takes to fly the plane. Damn shame

Yeah, It's a shame. And the registered owner's address us in Florida, while the plane is rotting away in Tennessee. Sad.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[danhagan]

Opposite story here in El Paso: We have an A&P and local here that have helped several widows get planes airworthy or better on multiple aircraft in the past 5 years. They don't take a penny. Most were not in super sad shape, but did need work. They have done it to assist a pilot that has flown west ...

 

[steingar]

I get the whole car in the barn thing. I brother has a motorcycle in pieces in his garage. I will continue to be in pieces in his garage until the garage is no longer his. But the folks with rotting airplanes are paying for them, even airplanes tied down outdoors aren't free, those spots cost money. I've seen aircraft undergo this fate in hangars, which cost hundreds of dollars every month. I just don't get that. No matter how much money you have, no one likes wasting money on that scale.

 

[AGLyme]

I am a lover of old designs. Rebuilt 3 antiques homes, my present house was built in 1720... a ground up. Not cost effective, a complete labor of love. I splurged on my first plane with all the latest technologies. Primarily for a great glass cockpit and lower operating costs. A few years ago when I was in the market for a plane, naturally I wanted to upgrade (avionics) my favorite plane -- the C-172. I was astonished by the costs to purchase + paint + new avionics + a fairly low time engine. Buying new, given my criteria, was almost as cheap or cheaper.

I cringe when I see the old planes parked and forgotten. If a true survey came out of total GA aircraft, less the GA aircraft that are lost to physical depreciation, i.e. the cost to repair/fly is greater than the $ value... I'll bet the total GA fleet is probably 65% of what the reported numbers are. Watched an old guy chop up a beautiful old wooden/fiberglass sailboat once. I asked him why he was chopping it up. He said he was too old to sail it, and no one in the family was interested in it so better that "I control what happens to it..." dumb. I think the key word with some older people letting their things rot is "control".

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

Is there any sort of checklist for maintaining an airplane that isn’t flying?

Such as go check on a list of stuff every week, fire it up every so often, etc.

Engine manufacturers explain how to prepare an engine for storage.
"fire it up every so often" for a ground run falls under the heading of bad ideas.
Other than that, keeping small animals from nesting inside would be very high on the list of things to do.
Leaving the "for sale" sign duct taped to the inside of a window is another bad idea.

 

[denverpilot]

Is there any sort of checklist for maintaining an airplane that isn’t flying?

Such as go check on a list of stuff every week, fire it up every so often, etc.

Yeah the engine folk usually have detailed instructions. Not usually a thing from the airframe makers.

Howdy from “Denver”.

 

[Racerx]

Is there any sort of checklist for maintaining an airplane that isn’t flying?

Such as go check on a list of stuff every week, fire it up every so often, etc.

Running it without fogging it is probably the worst thing you can do.

The first thing would be to admit that it's going to be stored for a while. If you don't sell it the least you could do would be to pickle the engine and spray some corrosion x in the wings.

But I'd strongly recommend selling. No need to take another out of the shrinking fleet. You wonder if the AOPA could somehow reach and convince these owners. Or back a tv show that might plant the seed, inform the hoarders of cost and effort. We see car shows where owners get their car projects finished or put on consignment. Let's get some airplane reclamation shows on tv!

 

[Daleandee]

I'm watching this happen now. We have a gentleman that was part of the team when I was learning to fly ultralights and later sport planes. He has a C-150 that was fairly low time and in really nice condition when he bought it about 15 years ago. But his health is declining and the plane has sat mostly unused for the last few years. He did have the condition done a couple of years ago but I haven't seen it fly since then.

Several people have asked me if it's for sale and I have directed them to his contact information (his business info as I wouldn't share his personal info without his permission) but he hasn't replied to anyone.

The good news is that a friend, who assist the AP at another local airport, came by this weekend and it seems the owner has asked him to repair/prepare the aircraft to sell. But he did say that, "he wouldn't give it away" so I don't know what his expectations are for letting it go. But it would be great to see it rescued before it gets too far into the state of abandonment.

 

[gdwindowpane]

These threads are disappointing to me as well. I'm sure there are many, like me, that would love to rent an airplane and fly it. I'm paying $120/hr wet for a C-172 now but availability sucks. To have access to a plane that wouldn't fly otherwise would be awesome. I'd even be interested in a partnership. I know there are probably a bunch of planes sitting in hangars at my local airport that are in similar states of disrepair.

 

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

I was thinking more like keeping a plane basically turn-key while temporary things keep getting in the way of flying.

At least fog the engine and close up the holes.
https://www.lycoming.com/sites/default/files/Engine Preservation for Active and Stored Aircraft.pdf

 

[Bell206]

Is there any sort of checklist for maintaining an airplane that isn’t flying?

Just about every aircraft I've worked on have some sort of storage/preservation instructions from the OEM. They are generally broken down into 3 categories along the lines of "flyable storage" usually covering less than 30 days of inactivity, "intermediate or short term storage" covering up to 3 months, and "indefinite or long term storage" usually up to 6 months and above. On top of the aircraft OEM (Cessna, Piper, Beech, etc.) instructions each component OEM (Lycoming, Hartzell, etc)) have additional instructions for those components not installed in an aircraft. Regardless the guidance is there.

Unfortunately, in my experience what usually starts out as a perceived short term aircraft parking can easily turn into a ramp queen. One of the main problems on the private GA side is owners think of their aircraft the same way as their other powered equipment. Park it and forget about until the next time they need it. On the other extreme are aircraft that are part of an ownership dispute, legal issue, etc where the conservator/agent of the aircraft is clueless on all things aviation. Have spent many hours trying to save/repair/restore parked aircraft. Eventually gave up on ramp queens as project aircraft and made a higher return on storm damaged aircraft. If there ever was a text book example to the saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" it would be parking an aircraft outside on the ramp for an extended time.

 

[Deelee]

Sad airplane thread makes me sad.

I think I'm gonna write up the equivalent of a DNR for our plane... If, for some reason, I am unable to fly or stop flying for a given amount of time, sell my share in the plane and don't let it just rot into the ground.

 

[RyanB]

Sad airplane thread makes me sad.

I think I'm gonna write up the equivalent of a DNR for our plane... If, for some reason, I am unable to fly or stop flying for a given amount of time, sell my share in the plane and don't let it just rot into the ground.

I’ll come fly it for you, don’t worry!

 

[Racerx]

I was thinking more like keeping a plane basically turn-key while temporary things keep getting in the way of flying. IMO once it stops being immediately useable it’s way more susceptible to turning into a project that “I’ll get around to it later.”

Depends on how long it sits. A good read on sitting engines and how to go about starting them.

https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/march/pilot/savvy-aviator-powerplant-resurrection

 

[Racerx]

Sad airplane thread makes me sad.

I think I'm gonna write up the equivalent of a DNR for our plane... If, for some reason, I am unable to fly or stop flying for a given amount of time, sell my share in the plane and don't let it just rot into the ground.

SMS- Sell my share. I like it

 

[Deelee]

I’ll come fly it for you, don’t worry!

Haha deal!

SMS- Sell my share. I like it

I'm gonna start a service writing those up for people...

 

[Plano Pilot]

But the folks with rotting airplanes are paying for them, even airplanes tied down outdoors aren't free, those spots cost money. I've seen aircraft undergo this fate in hangars, which cost hundreds of dollars every month. I just don't get that. No matter how much money you have, no one likes wasting money on that scale.

Boats are the same way. I have a CPA friend that bought a bigger boat over 12 years ago. He still has the smaller one and has been paying over $3,000 a year for the slip. He started asking 10,500 for the smaller one. Turned down $9,500 the first year. He would be way ahead if he had given the boat to the first buyer.

 

[Racerx]

But storing the engine makes it not “turn-key”

I have a 172 that hasn’t been flown this month. I’ve been busy and the weather and lack of daylight has been uncooperative on the times I’ve been open to fly. But I’ve still had time to go spend 30 minutes with the plane every week making sure it’s not deteriorating too much. I hope to fly Thursday but probably wouldn’t be able to if the nose tire had sat low for a month and flat spotted. I certainly wouldn’t be flying on Thursday if I had to defog the engine and possibly even fog it again after flying.

Wouldn't worry about a few weeks.

 

[Dan Thomas]

"fire it up every so often" for a ground run falls under the heading of bad ideas.

That there. It ruins an awful lot of aircraft engines. It will ruin antique car engines too.

 

[RickH]

I looked at a sad barn-find Aeronca Chief last weekend. Less than 1100TT, but out of annual since 1998,hasn't been run since 2005, and has 40+ yr old cotton fabric. Even if they gave it to me it would take $30-35k to restore.

 

[Huckster79]

Iv addressed my plane in my will. If one of my boys will fly it take it. If not or ya need the funds sell it ASAP. If everything else is taken care of and you kids are in good shape- donate her or just give the keys to someone who will love her like I did...