Club Homepage Forums Thread Like Summary - Pre-buy A&P recommendations in Arkansas?

I’ve just recently become a member of this forum, so first off, “Hello!”

I’m currently considering buying a Cessna 150L thru' a private sale, and reading thru’ the information on this forum has been very helpful - thanks all! So, I'm hoping to get some direct recommendations by posting a question as well.

The plane I’m considering buying is in Arkansas. However, I live in CT... So, are there any club members in Arkansas who can recommend an A&P they trust?

Hoping to get some leads on this forum... Cheers!

That's a good decision. I bought my former 152 in 2001 when the local flight school went out of business and put it up for sale. I didn't know any better, so I asked the A&P who had been maintaining it to do the prebuy, but I asked him to do it as an annual inspection so at least the plane had to meet the Airworthiness standards. Fortunately, he's an upstanding A&P and I had rented the same plane for the previous 6 years, so everything worked out and I had a very good plane. Owned it until 2017 when I had to hang up my wings and sold it.

If you buy that plane, try to arrange to have a CFI come along and log your flight time as x-country hours. You will learn so much about navigation, ATC communication, weather, etc on that trip.

Manu,

Your intent to have a prebuy exam is wise - especially as the airplane has what is called a "fresh annual." One of the sucker traps in aviation is for an owner who is trying to get rid of a junker to have it annualled by a mechanic who will sign it off although it is lousy shape. The owner then advertises it with a "fresh annual" and pilots who don't realize that the annual may have been nonsense pay more money than the airplane is worth and then pay much more money when they have their mechanic do a real annual.

Have a prebuy exam performed by a mechanic who has never had any contact with the airplane. If it goes well and you decide to buy the airplane, it's a good idea to have the mechanic turn that exam into a real annual inspection, so that you can be very confident in what you are buying.

My comments come from the perspective of retiring after 42 years as an aviation lawyer and representing buyers of airplanes that were sold to them with a "fresh annual" and/or "fresh engine overhaul" and the buyers trusted the seller and didn't have a prebuy exam performed. They got the airplane home from several states away and discovered that they were in terrible condition. They then figured out that to sue the seller, they'd have to do so in the seller's home state, which would be too expensive.

You are looking at buying one of the best airplanes ever built - you are making the right moves in assuring that the one you buy is in good condition.

Welcome to the best type club around. Hope you get the right 150 for you and have many years of joy and adventure flying it.

Hello Ron! I did consider some M models and some 152’s as well originally. However, I know the history of this particular 150L (the seller is a friend of a friend), so my interest is higher..

The seller has just finished his annual in August, I’ll be looking closely at the logs, repairs, recommendations, etc. I'll be conducting a pre-buy to increase my confidence, and I'm definitely setting aside a hefty amount to cover my annual next year.. Will keep in mind that airplane ownership comes with its share of significant and continued asks on my bank balance!

Much appreciate your A&P recommendations in CT - I sure need those as well! I’ll contact Ashley & Keri once this deal goes thru..

Cheers!
Manu

Manu, You will decide what is right for you.
As a low time private pilot: I rented a skyhawk. I hardly ever flew as a renter. I had to choose, stop flying or become an owner. Decided to own. My first plane was a J model. I had a prebuy. I bought the plane. Had it delivered. Found a bunch of things wrong with it. Had them fixed. Flew a lot. Decided to get instrument rated. Had avionics upgrades (expensive). Got an instrument rating. Sold it. Bought a better plane (my current L) with additional stuff (autopilot). Flew it home. Found stuff wrong. Had them fixed. Flew it a lot. Got a commercial license. Working on CFI. Still flying my L.

My only points: 1. you’re on a good path. 2. Owning is better than renting if you are flying a lot. If you’re not flying much, renting is better.

Geoff

^^^^^T H I S^^^^^

All the way.

To clear up things, there are two types of corrosion: airframe corrosion and engine internal corrosion.

* Airframe corrosion: This is what Jim Hillabrand was talking about. Water/moisture got trapped in the nooks and crannies of the airframe, interacted with the untreated alumininum and developed corrosion, eating away at the airframe. Jim had a 152 that he bought and it had REALLY BAD corrosion inside the wings (see attached picture). A plane that's hangared, out of rain/snow, will likely have less of a corrosion problem than one that's tied down outside.

* Engine internal corrosion: This is when a plane that doesn't get flown long enough ON EACH FLIGHT for the engine internal to get hot enough to burn off/evaporate the water that's created as a by product of the combustion process. That water will cause corrosion on engine parts (cylinders, pistons, cams, etc). The prevention is to fly the plane at least 30 minutes on each flight for the engine/oil to get hot enoug. DON'T crank up the engine in the winter and run it for just a short time then put the plane away. Hangaring doesn't really help preventing engine internal corrosion. Also, flying the plane frequently will keep the engine internal coated with engine oil and prevent engine corrosion. If you can't fly at least once a week, add CamGuard to the oil to keep oil/lubrication on the cam surfaces longer to prevent corrosion of the cams.

"Yeah, I was wondering about corrosion.. The plane has been hangered for the past 8+ years in AR, but it has been flown sparingly this past year (~11hrs or so). Is a corrosion check part of a standard annual? If not, I was debating asking for a borescope inspection during pre-buy. Any advice would be appreciated.. Thanks in advance!"

I purchased 63U, a 1976 M model, about ten years ago. She had been tied down on the ramp and only flown 5 hours in the previous 5 years (one hour each year at annual). Fortunately, she did not have any corrosion. However, I did have to replace almost all the rubber on her; tires, fuel line, rubber tip on gascolator, etc. And a new battery. And I replaced the control cables (might want to check that all the pulleys actually turn) and re-rigged her.

And flushed out the fuel system. Fuel goes bad over time. Especially if the plane sits outside and rainwater seeps into the tanks. Check the gas cap gaskets, especially if you plan on tying her down outside.

The first annual was, shall we say, interesting. Not flying regularly is tough on a plane. A lot of little stuff, but nothing major.

But with all of that, 63U has been a great airplane! I have flown her about 700 hours and loved them all (except the spin training. I'm with Poobs. Me no like spins).

I am not a mechanic, but the 150 is a great airplane and most things can be fixed. But airframe corrosion is a tough problem to overcome.

PS: I borescope my cylinders every time I clean my spark plugs (about once a year). So far so good.

Best of luck on your search. Sounds like you are going about it in the right way.