Club Homepage Forums Classified Ads Buy & Sell - Airplanes Only 22595 1968 150H $21,000

I'm getting ready to sell my 150. It has been a delight to own and never gave me any nasty surprises at annual or any other time.

This 150 has had very few owners and as far as I know has been hangared continuously since at least 1978 or earlier. Always a midwest plane it's pretty free of corrosion issues. Now and then there is a spot, but never a problem area, so far. It's got about 2800TT and around 925 SMOH with a new cam at that time. I knew the overhauler as he use to own it, it was his wife's engine for her 150 and he was very proud of both her and that engine. He told me he put special care into that rebuild and I have no reason to doubt him. He died about 5 years ago so questions for him are no longer possible.
That plane was later wrecked (wings only) and her engine installed in my plane.

It has a Lowrance 2000 color GPS that works great and is a clean panel mount with no external wires. The intercom is the same. I hate loose wires in the cabin. I've had it for just about 10 years and have loved this little bird. It has a nice blue interior and a nice paint job on the exterior.

in the past 9-10 years it has had some upgrades
Icom 200 new about 9 years ago
New DG
brand new carpeting (blue) still waiting for it to come.
skytek starter
new battery ordered today
new mag on one side
new wiring for mags
new window seals are on order
window latch's
nose gear linkage rebushed
prop balanced
2 cylinders redone

It's been a very reliable bird and I hope to have as good a luck on my next one. This has been my third plane and was by far the best of the three in every way.

The interior looks nice and the exterior does too. But not as nice as some of the more famous airplanes in our group. It rates a solid pretty good in my book.

Ref has it at $18500 without the paint and interior upgrades (not new), and without several of the other extras I have put in it. Two brokers and two local 150 owners that know it all told me I should ask around $21,000

It does have old accident history. The last I remember reading about was 1978 or so. Wing tip damage during taxi. The first 10 years of logs are long gone, but the overhaul is in there. I put a small dent in the horizontal stab on the right side. It should get a new windshield and will if I keep it.

Let me know if you have any interest. If I sound a bit sentimental and attached to this bird, I am. Cathie would rather I keep it.

Jim Curns jimcurns@gmail.com

920-982-6882

Good luck, Jim.

Are you planning to buy another or quit flying or just rent?

Buy another. Something a bit faster on trips without getting too crazy. A 172 or Piper Cherokee makes sense, but Arrows also catch my eye now and then.

Jim

Good luck Jim.

I'd recommend checking out Grummans, you can get a nice Cheetah for the same or less than a 172, they're 10-15kts faster on the same fuel burn, and a LOT more fun to fly!

I agree that Grummans are fun and fast. I am a member of the on-line group called Grumman-Gang Digest. I receive a few emails every day on a variety of Grumman subject. It is a diverse and knowledgeable group of enthusiasts (mostly owners) of 2 and 4 seat Grummans (Sounds familiar!). My take away from this group is to have someone with extensive Grumman experience do a detailed pre-buy. They have very few Airworthiness Directives but can be very costly to repair. The group can suggest gurus around the country.

I have heard second hand that Grummans are fun, but they need a little more runway than a 172 or similar. Also, there are probably not as many mechanics familiar with them. But hey, anything that gets you off the ground is great!

Also, understand that if you need any parts for the Grummans, you're going to go through Fletcher Aviation.

Stacey, yeah they need more runway but I've had no problems with 4000ft strips. Grummans are great cruisers, not so much great climbers. If you're operating out of a short strip at high altitude... yikes! I flew the Cheetah to New Mexico and back last week and at 5200ft ground elevation at the airport, leaned for altitude, I was seeing 300fpm... Now in cruise though, 123kts TAS!

Parts and maintenance on them are not bad, the club I'm a part of has 3 of them (2 Cheetahs and a Tiger) and hasn't had issues with either. They have a Lycoming O-320 in them, same as a 172, and not a lot of unusual maintenance. The biggest thing to know is that the cylinders run hot due to cowling/baffling issues. If you look at the air intakes on the cowling you can see how small they are compared to a 150 or 172. Top overhauls prior to major are common. Only other maintenance gotcha is the bonded wing structure, early 1975 models need to be inspected due to the "purple glue" incident. Models past that are fine. I think there is a hard-hour time on the bonded wings where once it hits that, they need major maintenance, but I believe it's like 17,000hrs AFTT, so usually not something you ever need to worry about.

With Jim having his own grass strip, I'm curious if the nose gear on a Grumman would pass the test of time or be a problem?


I don't know the answer to this, just curious.



Jim

I had considered a Grumman, but they are not noted for jumping out of shortish grass runways. That's what I have. The length isn't bad at 2500, but I have power lines at one end and neighbors 60 foot trees at the other. I want something with book numbers that will get over the 50 foot obstacle in under 1700. 1200 would be better but that costs a LOT extra. Skyhawks do it, Bigger engined Cherokee's do it, especially after some mods like vg's, metco tips and a few other things. I also considered a Mouse/Sundowner. Heck I started with a really big list, there was even a split tail, but it's now down to just a few. May the best airplane deal win. I don't much care if it says Cessna or Piper on the side.

I have had three close calls on a purchase, but the ones that are priced right are selling remarkably fast. Hours in two of those three cases. I'm not one to buy sight unseen, as others apparently have been doing.

I've got a looker coming tonight or tommorrow for mine.

Jim