Thoughts on a Cherokee 180 that has been sitting in a hangar

[readytocopy995]

Found a Cherokee 180 I a am possibly interested in, but the bad news it has racked up 100 hours flight time in the past 12 years. Roughly 10 hours in the past 3. What sort of mess am I looking at, and how would you all adjust your offer based on this? The engine is only about 20% used up in terms of TBO time but it's barely been used.

 

[Bob Noel]

fwiw - I'd price it as a run-out engine. But I'd also be very concerned about hoses, gaskets, etc.

but, I'm not an A&P nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

[edit: btw - when I sold my airplane, I put my money where my mouth is. I took into account the relatively low hours on the rebuild and the almost 10 years since the rebuild - the buyer had no compliants)

 

[Salty]

I was just looking at that one also. Risk 10/10.

 

[steingar]

I wouldn't bother. Piper made lots of Cherokees, I wouldn't waste time with a hangar queen. The only "deals" I know of in aviation involve lots of elbow grease.

 

[EdFred]

I wouldn't bother. Piper made lots of Cherokees, I wouldn't waste time with a hangar queen. The only "deals" I know of in aviation involve lots of elbow grease.

Eh, the Comanche I stumbled on was the exact opposite.

Depending on price it never hurts to have a closer look.

 

[Dan Thomas]

Those hours depend on what sort of hours they were. If the engine was only started if it was going flying, and the flights were an hour or better, the engine might be fine. It's short flights or ground runs that destroy engines.

 

[Salty]

Those hours depend on what sort of hours they were. If the engine was only started if it was going flying, and the flights were an hour or better, the engine might be fine. It's short flights or ground runs that destroy engines.

It’s years of sitting and not running, and then a short flight......

 

[kgruber]

Where has it been sitting? The coast of Florida? Tuscon?

 

[Dan Thomas]

It’s years of sitting and not running, and then a short flight......

Sitting in an hangar and not running doesn't hurt it tenth as bad and ground running it or making a short flight. Combustion byproducts include a lot of water, and blowby past the rings in a cold engine is huge, filling the case with water vapor that condenses and mixes with the oil and forms acids over time. A longer flight gets all the temps up to operating ranges and closes the clearances and reduces the blowby and the heat drives the moisture out of the crankcase.

In my years of maintenance the worst corrosion in engines I encountered was in those that were ground-run and/or flown around the circuit a time or two, then put away. It was evident even in "young" engines. Much older engines that had been operated properly were clean as a whistle inside and reached TBO no problem.

 

[cowman]

The tl;dr here is nobody knows. It might be a great bargain or it might be a money pit.

 

[Racerx]

So I should probably pass on the Archer that has 722 since new....but hasn't flown since '93?

 

[Bob Noel]

So I should probably pass on the Archer that has 722 since new....but hasn't flown since '93?

How was it stored for the 27 years on inactivity?

How's the AD compliance?

 

[Skyrys62]

So I should probably pass on the Archer that has 722 since new....but hasn't flown since '93?

Well Tom will probably say yes, by all means.

But then send you a link to a plane for $30,000, that needs paint, interior, engine, and airframe restoration and tell you how good of a deal it is.

 

[Racerx]

I was kind of kidding. At the asking price and knowing the engine will most definitely need an overhaul not to mention all the little things that nearly 30 years would show up during routine annuals...well they don't appear to be "motivated sellers". Too many unknowns for me at the current ask.

 

[EdFred]

Well Tom will probably say yes, by all means.

But then send you a link to a plane for $30,000, that needs paint, interior, engine, and airframe restoration and tell you how good of a deal it is.

 

[Juliet Hotel]

It'd be awesome if you could get the owner to take an offer that values the engine as a run out, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that. It could end up needing an early overhaul or a top end in the next couple hundred hours, or it could be fine. Some the accessories (alternator, vac pump, instruments etc) could also give up the ghost in the next couple years, or they could be fine. Either way, I'd at least expect next couple annuals to be pricey.