Salvage aircraft

[Racerx]

Was perusing the interwebs for insurance salvages out of morbid curiosity. Came across a Cherokee six that's not THAT bad. At minimum it'll need a new fuel tank, flap and stabilator. Potentially a spar with that sort of hit. No prop strike.

Got to wondering, any idea what Beegles, Wentworth, Texas air salvage, etc pay for these things? Obviously very dependent on condition. I'm half tempted to throw in a bid and see what happens.

 

[Doc Holliday]

It use to be bid the engine (core), prop and avionics plus transportation.

 

[Bell206]

Got to wondering, any idea what Beegles, Wentworth, Texas air salvage, etc pay for these things?

Less than what you would pay. But you need to be on your A game with salvage aircraft, so I would first ask the mechanic you'll use before submitting a bid.

 

[Racerx]

Less than what you would pay. But you need to be on your A game with salvage aircraft, so I would first ask the mechanic you'll use before submitting a bid.

Dad's Cherokee six is going in for annual before the bid period closes. So I plan on talking to him. He's bought a salvage straight tail 172 for himself a few years back.

What do you mean by "A game"? I'm fairly certain any number I throw out would probably be too low to win. I'm mainly interested in the engine as a core. The interior and avionics suck. But I wouldn't be opposed to returning it to service either.

 

[Magman]

At one time bids weren’t really competitive.

 

[Bell206]

What do you mean by "A game"?

Being its sold as salvage vs an airworthy aircraft there are a numbers things that need to verified from specific aircraft condition to the bill of sale status to whats included in the sale to mx records to even if the data plate and AWC are still there and so on. Personnely, I mainly chased weather damaged salvage aircraft and parts vs incident/accident aircraft due the stigma potential buyers might put on the aircraft. Regardless, if the aircraft fits into a plan and you're up for the journey, it can be quite the adventure.

 

[3393RP]

Regardless, if the aircraft fits into a plan and you're up for the journey, it can be quite the adventure.

And possibly not in a good way.

 

[Racerx]

At one time bids weren’t really competitive.

I'm fairly confident this is going to be the case. But figured I'll throw something out at it.

 

[frfly172]

I lost a plane to a hurricane and it was underinsured,the salvage company took it apart very carefully,they sold it within a month and the airplane is flying now. Don’t know what they got for it. All logs were present and in their ad they posted the wrong SMOH numbers. There are some bargains if you due the research.

 

[Bell206]

I lost a plane to a hurricane and it was underinsured,the salvage company took it apart very carefully,they sold it within a month and the airplane is flying now. Don’t know what they got for it.

Sometimes you have to love those mother nature sponsored clearance sales for some great deals. However, I found tornado sales tend to offer the best bang for your buck especially if you're only interested in wings and tail feathers.

 

[flyingron]

I lost a plane to a hurricane and it was underinsured,the salvage company took it apart very carefully,they sold it within a month and the airplane is flying now. Don’t know what they got for it. All logs were present and in their ad they posted the wrong SMOH numbers. There are some bargains if you due the research.

On the otherhand, they took a "totalled" (but not overly bad looking) 337 out of our field by using recip saws through the tail booms.

 

[3393RP]

@Gary Ward has the best salvage story, his 172 was flipped on its back during a tornado when previously owned by a friend. It was repaired, Gary purchased it and flies the stink outta it.

 

[WDD]

Is "Salvage" tagged to the registration, or is it just part of the log books?

 

[Bell206]

Is "Salvage" tagged to the registration, or is it just part of the log books?

It depends on who is releasing or selling the damaged aircraft. Typically there would be nothing in the books, or a simple "damaged" entry, and you'd get a blank but signed 8050-2 along with all the avionics removed. However, after the release of the 8900.19 guidance on scrapped/destroyed aircraft certain entities took that guidance to heart.

So while you may still run across a salvage done the old way, there seems to be more instances where, there will be a "destroyed or scrapped" entry in the books, the registration is cancelled due to that entry, and in some extreme cases they will pull the AWC and data plates and turn them over to the FSDO. So its important for one to perform their research up front if the intent is to end up with a flyable aircraft in the end vs parting it out, etc.

 

[Racerx]

The insurance claim number says "the aircraft MAY have been deregistered".

The FAA site still lists registration as valid. So that's either standard bolier plate. Or hasn't gone through the site yet. Its probably safe to assume its likely to be deregistered.

Then I came on a thread where all hope isn't lost and you are able to bring it back to service.


https://www.supercub.org/forum/threads/faa-rebuilt-super-cubs.64375/post-878991

 

[Bell206]

The insurance claim number says "the aircraft MAY have been deregistered".

Being deregistered is not a major issue in itself provided the AWC (and data plate) remains with the aircraft. Its getting it registered where the issues might be. So unless it comes with a signed 8050-2 or other acceptable conveyance to establish the chain of ownership, it just another level of compliance and cost that must be dealt with. And as mentioned in your link just about anything is possible to get an aircraft back to flyable and legal condition based on my experience as well.

But its the ease and cost to get it there that becomes the main issue as you're relying on a number of other people to make both an objective and subject determination on that aircraft which doesn't always go as planned. Its these basic requirements that I would recommend you hash out 100% before you bid, in addition to, lining up who is going to move that aircraft for you as typically if you win the bid you have X-days to get it out or you assume any storage fees, etc.