Worthwhile deal?

Does it fly? How much would it cost to get it airworthy? Maybe it's just another $20k...

-Felix
 
Struts are a potential weak point due to corrosion at the fuse end. The prop looks to be a Warp Drive.
 
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Never seen a prop like that on an O-235, but that doesn't mean much. It looks similar to what I've seen on some Rotax engines, especially in KitFox planes.

Might be a good deal, and the price is certainly right. Plus it looks cool, always a bonus. :)
 
I've always wanted a Piet. Almost bought one for $9,500 in FL, but couldn't find a place to hanger it. I wouldn't want to leave a fabric plane outside even if it is for that cheap of a price.

The thing that would worry me on this one is the condition of the covering.

Monk
 
CJones said:
http://desmoines.craigslist.org/cto/933845729.html

It is now listed for $7500. Any big things (other than the standard "It's been sitting for 8 years" type of things) that you would be worried about and/or investigate about this plane?
Click to expand...

I assume it's been sitting due to the health of the owner (since this is an estate sale) but I would find out for sure.

How many hours on it? If it only has a handfull it could be sitting because it has problems. Is there anyone around who has flown it? Has it ever had an "annual" by anyone other than the builder?

What kind of storage? If it was just parked and forgotten, I would worry about corrosion in the engine internals.

Are the photo's recent?
 
All good questions to ask. Basically, my father-in-law has been hinting at wanting to learn to fly for the past few years. He keeps finding 'deals' like this online. This one is such a low price point, I have to actually investigate it a bit to get some more info on it before deciding it's not worth the effort.

It would be a fun hangar/garage project, but I have neither of those at this point. I might be tempted to go look at it just to get a rough estimate on its condition.

Any model-specific gotcha's to look for?

We'll see...
 
Chris,

This looks very interesting. If I wasn't leaving town Fri I'd be there checking it out. I can't afford it now but I'd look it over. Hey, maybe Jesse should be checking this out...

The big questions from my perspective would be paperwork, that is, registration and airworthiness, Logs are almost meaningless. Also, the engine could be pure garbage but could be totally usable. Fabric test is easy to do. If it's junk offer 4K for it which would cover the core value of the engine. But then you have a project instead of a flying machine.

Very interesting
 
you'd want to know the condition of the glue joints - and it's hard to tell that with 'em covered in fabric. It's almost thirty years old, so the fabric that's on it will be needing replacement before too long, if it doesn't already need it. As I understand it, 20 to 30 years is the normal life span of fabric. You can re-cover it yourself, which would give you the chance to confirm the glue joints, at least.

With current fabrics and processes, I would not have the least bit of concern leaving a fabric plane outside. I've never heard anything about the new fabrics and processes that would lead me to believe they wouldn't do fine.
 
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