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I've been ruminating on this one for awhile....

A raffle contest wouldn't really work here. As far as I know a private citizen can't easily run a raffle contest for personal profit. Even if they plan on donating some or all of the funds. There are probably a lot of legal hoops to set up before jumping through them.

Donating the plane to a non-profit to raffle off wouldn't help (unless you have some sizable taxable income to offset). So that money is 'lost'. Another idea is to have a non-profit buy the airplane and then raffle it off. But what non-profit has $100k laying around?

Then there's the problem of the winner being a guy with a short grass strip with a muddy tie-down next to his outhouse, thinking "Golly gee! What a pretty plane! Sure the grass strip is pretty rough but that plane can take it. I call it my 'diamond in the rough', get it? A pretty plane in a rough strip! Funny, right?"

And then there's the problem of the raffle winner having to cough up tens of thousands of dollars in taxes to pay for the 'income' of winning a plane. This reason is why most AOPA sweepstakes planes are sold immediately upon winning.

So we're back to a standard sale. But this is a non-standard plane. So it calls for non-standard marketing.

I think the best bet is not to try and sell it as a Cessna 152. Rather, position it as an alternative to any of the new 2-seat Light-Sport Aircraft out there.

Pretty much all non-fabric-covered 2-seater LSAs are north of $100k. While neat, flashy, and sexy looking, the biggest problem is in their name: "Light". Built to an artificially low limit, they're just not as stout as a 150 or 152. And most of them come from Europe. Which means parts are expensive and slow to come by when needed due to shipping across the pond. Worse, if/when damaged, repair costs quickly skyrocket due to lack of stateside parts, service, and expertise.

So along comes "Sierra". All the benefits of a modern LSA - better-than-new avionics, paint, interior and restoration. Real-world performance in a plane that can carry two people and still have room for baggage beyond a fanny pack. Yet, stateside service and support by a wide network of experienced A&Ps and thousands of similar aircraft.

Find a couple of popular LSAs, Show how Sierra compares against them, providing most (all?) the benefits (using BasicMed) without the drawbacks of light-weight construction and minimal factory support.

I think that is your target customer.

Thanks Kirk.....I was hoping you'd chime in with your ever present wisdom and forethought.


After absorbing the comments here, I'm considering placing an ad in Trade-A-Plane and putting 141,500.00 on the table to see how that works (or doesn't).

If I proceed with that, I'll list my email address instead of using my phone number so I can better sort through the responses (assuming there are replies, of course).

I'll make a decision one day this week if that's the way I want to go.


Thanks to everyone who added comments and helped me sort through this new beginning.

I also might add that if/when I decide to place the ad, I could very well receive a life sentence condemned to ridicule from the masses but at 70, a life sentence doesn't have the same meaning that it used to.

I'm still wide open for input from the peanut gallery so add anything else that you'd like.

Jim,

You have a good plan. It doesn't hurt anything or anybody to list it at that price. Like you said, if you don't get any serious offers on that price you can always go down.

Jim,
You have a beautiful aircraft and I admire your courage and decission you have made in thinking about your lovely wife. I am faced with the same but I have 10 years on you. If you recall you are the one that got me into my current project. I have not keep the group updated to my work in progress but I am getting close to completion and like you I am heavely upside down. So, I am watching your sucess in this sales effort with a hopeful eye.
I certainly don't have a match to your aircraft but here is a brief summary.

1969 C 150 J Model TT 2700

150 HP conversion using a " O" SMOH O-320 E2D engine
New exhaust system, New engine mount, All engine accessories ovehauled, Mag have new style rotors installed with dual impluse couplings. Prop "O" since shop visit, Partoller wings installed with Horton STOL kit including aileron gap seals. Overhauled fuel sending units installed. Orion wingtip strobes and LED taxi and landing lights. Hooker Shoulder Harness installed, All new interior including side panels, carpet and seats by TN wings. And yes crome door handles and tie down rings. Dual AV-30C, GMA 340 Audio panel, GNS 430W GPS, SL-30 Nav /Com and GXT 330 ES TXP (ADSB compliant) JPI 830 Engine mointor with all options including carb temp, fuel flow, oil temp / pressure. OAT, MAP CHT anf EGT. All flight instruments ovehauled. Belly drain STC installed, Cowling fastners STC Installed. Aircraft was stripped and every rivet inspected. Etched, alodined and a $14,000.00 custom Imron paint job put on it with top clear coat . Currently changing out all the fuses for Circuit Breakers. Avionics Master installed.

And I can't even fly. O well ..its been fun. Love restoring airplanes. I wish you the best for you have been a great insperation. Cheers

Jim, correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't *have* to sell, right? Will selling the Bonanza be enough for you to consolidate into one hangar?

If so, set your price as discussed and sit tight. Re-evaluate after a month or so and decide then if you want to change something.

I do recall and remember it well.

You've been a busy, busy boy!

I sure wish you'd start another thread and discuss your project and post some pictures......this little family thrives on that.

You're correct, David......no pressure financial or otherwise to downsize, it's just my decision to do it for the reasons I posted.

Mighty Mouse and Sierra have a nice, dry home for the duration so there's no pressure from that angle.

I just looked into Trade A Plane a few minutes ago and their ads run for 30 days so we'll give it a month and test the water.


This will be interesting.......I think.

My mind seems to have been on an emotional roller coaster these past few months. Then I logged in after a couple of weeks off...and saw this...

When Wayne Westerman sold his 182, it was very difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that Wayne, of all people, would hang up his flying hat. However, the grace with which he worked through the sale of his plane, and the friendship that remained as strong as ever was a testament to the depth of his soul, the strength of his character, and his life-long love affair with flying. Jim, you don't have Wayne's gray hair, but you sit at the same campfire.

I'm late to the fray, but Jim, you owe no apologies. Sierra was/is a labor of love for you. Even while thinning the herd, your care and compassion run at the forefront of your decision tree. Just as you had no problem emotionally and financially working your way, dollar by dollar, upside down into that airframe (and you can't forget Queenie), there is a select group of individuals who want to love a Sierra, and have the means to do just what you did, but not the wherewithal to spend years poring over an airframe and restoring her to better than new, better than anything else on the planet level. They/he/she will be happy to write that check. And no, they won't need financing.

List it for a price just about level with the moon and expect to be impressed.

Still saddens me a bit, and I just can't put my finger on it.

The Director of Maintenance of St. Charles Flying Service came by my hangar today. He looked at Snoopy and said, "You have got to have the best $121,000.00 Cessna 150 in the world!"


Then I told him about Sierra...



LOL....