thinking about buying a trainer

[Mark]

I've been thinking about purchasing a
beech skipper that is at my local airport.

The seller says in his ad that it's in good
shape mechanically, however, the guys
at the FBO say it hasn't been flown in a
long time, but they think it's ok.

And, the paint is terrible. I've been told
a proper strip and spray will run me about
8K, so... I'm concerned about getting
upside down on my investment.

I do know these birds are superior to the
tomahawk, so I'm thinking a total investment
of around 25K to put it in great shape would
be a good target figure.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

---
Mark

[Bob Noel]

Post by Mark
I've been thinking about purchasing a
beech skipper that is at my local airport.
The seller says in his ad that it's in good
shape mechanically, however, the guys
at the FBO say it hasn't been flown in a
long time, but they think it's ok.
And, the paint is terrible. I've been told
a proper strip and spray will run me about
8K, so... I'm concerned about getting
upside down on my investment.
I do know these birds are superior to the
tomahawk, so I'm thinking a total investment
of around 25K to put it in great shape would
be a good target figure.
Any thoughts?

You might get lucky and $25,000 would be enough.
But, you don't know what corrosion is hiding underneath
the paint. An engine that hasn't been used much (or
at all) for a long time should be considered ready
for overhaul. I don't know what a skipper engine
costs for overhaul. My cherokee 140 overhaul by
Penn Yan was $13,400 (with new cylinders), not including
R&R.

I suspect that you'd be better off finding an airplane
in better shape. otoh - if you can find a friendly
A&P and IA and do a lot of the work yourself, it could
be a lot of fun for you.

Good luck

[Peter Dohm]

Post by Mark
I've been thinking about purchasing a
beech skipper that is at my local airport.
The seller says in his ad that it's in good
shape mechanically, however, the guys
at the FBO say it hasn't been flown in a
long time, but they think it's ok.
And, the paint is terrible. I've been told
a proper strip and spray will run me about
8K, so... I'm concerned about getting
upside down on my investment.
I do know these birds are superior to the
tomahawk, so I'm thinking a total investment
of around 25K to put it in great shape would
be a good target figure.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
---
Mark

OK, I am curious. How do you know that the Skipper is superior to the
Tomahawk or vice versa?

Back when they were produced, I heard both versions--usually just claiming
better climb performance for one of them--but have no strong opinion as I
never flew the Skipper. The Tomahawk has an outstanding glide, if handled
well, and the Skipper has a shorter span which gives it about the same
planform as a C150/C152--so the Skipper should fit easily in the smallest
available T-hangar--but that is about all that I know with any certainty.
However, I am always glad to be enlightened.

BTW, in those days there was a commonly made argument that you should buy a
trainer that was just comming out of flight school service and that you
would be able to complete your training and sell it for at least as much as
you paid for it. The way depreciation normally works, that would clearly
have been an anomaly if it was true for that brief period; but there is no
way that you could have even painted one, or completed any major
maintenance, and recoveded the cost from a subsequent sale. The
justifications must alwasy be: availability on your own demand, control
over maintenance, and control over the equipment list--all of which are
frequently summarized as pride of ownership.

I do not know about the accuracy of your target figure, but I would find it
very difficult to justify more than that for either type.

Peter
(BTW, being slightly taller than average, I do consider both types superior
to the C150/C152 ease of "see and avoid" visibility.

[BeechSundowner]

Post by Mark
, however, the guys
at the FBO say it hasn't been flown in a
long time, but they think it's ok.

NO. Been there done it with an underused plane. Run, don't walk from
it.

All sorts of nasties build up underneath from underusage from
corrosion to parts that need lubrication from usage (I.E from
instrumentation to the exhaust valves in the engine).

I bought my Sundowner and it had only been flown 10 hours in two years
so I have walked that walk where it took me three years to get
everything operational.

[Jeffrey Bloss]

Post by Mark
.. I'm concerned about getting
upside down on my investment.

Figure that the plane will be worth zero and anything you get on resale
above that is gravy.