Author Topic: HT - Where'd ya get your plane? (Read 397 times)

eagl · « **on:** October 29, 2005, 07:25:00 PM »

HiTech,

Where did you buy your plane? I may be in the market for something similiar in a year or two.

Maverick · « **Reply #1 on:** October 30, 2005, 12:47:59 AM »

Eagle,

Get a copy of Trade a Plane. It's worth the money to get the cheap subscription (about $17.00 I think) then you get access to their web site for all the up to date adds.

Chairboy · « **Reply #2 on:** October 30, 2005, 12:56:51 AM »

Also, check out barnstormers.com. I spend lots of time there sighing, clicking, and sighing again.

As soon as I sell a restaurant... zim zam zame, right to the plane, Alice!

If not a Warrior, then perhaps a nice Lancair experimental set up for IFR...

eagl · « **Reply #3 on:** October 30, 2005, 03:40:31 AM »

Thx Maverick and Chairboy.

FWIW, I won't be buying for at least 1.5 years but I'm building a list of contacts so I don't waste time after getting back from my year in Korea.

I've heard through my Dad who was building an RV-6 (and gave up halfway through) that when buying an RV, it pays to be very careful who you buy from. He has a couple of documented horror stories that Van tells both new and used buyers about RVs put together without one of the wing spars, RVs that have been overstressed, how to tell if the plane's been abused, and the upshot of it all is that it's not always a good idea to just check the for-sale ads when buying a used RV.

There is supposedly a group out in Bakersfield CA (?) that are considered an elite group of builders. Some don't agree with their approach but a plane built by them or under their supervision is generally accepted as being a good build. I dunno what that does to resale value and I sure wouldn't want a gold plated plane that cost twice as much just because it was built in Bakersfield, but I think the point is valid. The RVs have enough performance that it's important to know the plane's history including the builder and temperment of previous owners.

Otherwise you get what has happened to a couple of guys...

One dude took his brand new RV on a high speed pass right after it's checkout flights, and pulled to hard, ripping the tail right off. That's very possible in the RV above maneuvering speed and other overly aggressive owners may try to sell an RV that's been merely bent all to hell.

Another guy bought an RV and folded a wing. Later investigation found that the wing wasn't built right.

Another dude bought a used RV with a few hundred hours on it. He flew it for a while doing very mild acro (no more than about 3 G) and finally it was time for an annual inspection or something. The inspector knew enough to realize that the rear spar of the wing had never been installed, so the wing would have folded or ripped off at about 3.5 Gs.

Anyhow, I don't want to be another one of the horror stories and I was hoping HT might know some of the RV experten around TX or could offer some more RV specific buying tips

Trade-a-plane is a good place to look though, and I'll probably start there and by going to local airports and seeing what mags are sitting on the tables at the FBO. Hopefully any clowns will be recognized by the locals so I can avoid them.

Furball · « **Reply #4 on:** October 30, 2005, 03:52:08 AM »

leaving the AF eagl?

texace · « **Reply #5 on:** October 30, 2005, 03:58:17 AM »

If you're able to see the plane you're shopping for, it's always a plus. Try and get the plane checked out by professionals before you plunk down yer money for it. That way, you'll avoid hotror stories like this and we won't read about in the paper.

My grandfather has 6 aircraft, all bought through Trade A Plane. As far as he's concerned, it's a damn good investment for that magazine.

eagl · « **Reply #6 on:** October 30, 2005, 05:31:13 AM »

Furball,

I'm stayin in. Just moving around a bit. 1 yr in korea followed by 3.5 back at Sheppard.

Furball · « **Reply #7 on:** October 30, 2005, 06:25:04 AM »

oh, well, hope you enjoyed your stay in merry ol' england

heck, if i spent that long in norfolk i couldnt wait to get out, whole place smells of cow crap.

Chairboy · « **Reply #8 on:** October 30, 2005, 08:43:42 AM »

Considering the flexibility you have with an experimental like RVs and such, you realize you can install anything you want. I'm sure there are instructions out there somewhere for putting hardpoints on your wings to mount ordnance.

A couple of surplus stingers or SA-7 Grails under the wings rigged with cockpit controls could do wonders for your home defense...

eagl · « **Reply #9 on:** October 30, 2005, 04:45:19 PM »

I'm even considering building, if I can stay in one place long enough.

I think I could probably put together one of those quickbuild kits, or maybe see if I could find a partially built kit where the builder gave up before finishing.

Gunslinger · « **Reply #10 on:** October 30, 2005, 05:09:59 PM »

isn't a kit plane what killed John Denver?

Holden McGroin · « **Reply #11 on:** October 30, 2005, 05:21:11 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by Gunslinger
isn't a kit plane what killed John Denver?

VariEze's were not kits IIRC. Rutan just sold plans. Denver dumped into Montery Bay due to fuel starvation.

A VariEze didn't kill Denver; Denver killed Denver.

eagl · « **Reply #12 on:** October 30, 2005, 05:26:25 PM »

Lack of system knowledge and misprioritization of critical cockpit tasks is "what killed John Denver", not a kit plane.

He took off without enough fuel, didn't practice switching fuel tanks before takeoff, and because the fuel tank selector valve was located over the pilot's left shoulder, when the engine quit he lost control of the plane while trying to reach the valve instead of maintaining a stable glide. He went into the water nearly vertically, a very unusual event, because that particular aircraft design is almost impossible to stall or spin. A power off water landing could very well have been survivable as the plane itself was one huge floatation device, being constructed of fiberglass over foam.

It's a classic human factors accident, just as "interesting" as the more recent Kennedy incident from a human factors point of view, because the Kennedy crash was a combination of insufficient training for conditions combined with unrecognized spatial disorientation, followed by recognized but unrecoverable spatial disorientation. In both crashes, the pilots failed to maintain aircraft control in aircraft that apparently had no structural or control failures.

Although the location of the fuel selector valve probably contributed to the John Denver mishap, I don't think it, or the fact that the plane was a homebuilt, was or could be considered causal.

Chairboy · « **Reply #13 on:** October 30, 2005, 07:53:50 PM »

The builder of the plane had a religious fixation on the dangers of having a fuel line in the cockpit. He was apparently convinced that having the fuel switch up front like usual was a recipe for disaster, so he built it so that you needed to reach back over your left shoulder and use a wrench or stick of some sort to hit the fuel lever.

I've wondered, ever since the report came out about the cause of the crash, how he feels about fuel switchers in the cockpit now...

Massive human factors failure.