RJBrown

Not all purchases are horror stories. I bought N1079V 2 1/2 years ago. It was a 1680 TT all original and appeared to be well taken care of. We agreed to take it to Arapahoe Aero, the local MSC for an annual. He paid for everything I knew to ask for. Since I have owned it the only unscheduled replacements were a battery and a vacuum pump. People relate worst case horror stories but in 2 plane purchases I have had no real surprises. I used this form: http://www.1st-of-pryor.com/aircraft_purchase.htm and it saved me. Before buying the MSE I had a TLS under contract, we used this form, took it to the MSC in Denton TX. The plane was not airworthy and the seller refusted to make it meet the terms on the contract. Because I was protected by a solid agreement the SELLER had to cover the cost of the pre buy. I wish the seller had gone ahead and fixed it for me but he needed to "learn" more about today's market. After it was fixed another guy on this board bought it and loves it last I heard. If you know the condition of the plane the rest is just figuring out what it is worth. Most important element is determining the condition.

2 things in this thread I want to respond to. To restrict yourself to 1000' ceiling defeats the reason we got an IFR rating. There are many times that clear blue skies are just 500' (or less) up. A marine layer, a little fog, or a temperature inversion may be all that lies between you and a beautiful flight. To wait for ceilings to raise or fog to burn off can make a flight less safe by flying into developing weather later. Night flight into total darkness is IFR conditions. Flying around a metro area with all that light is easy and I think fun. The toughest "IFR" flight I ever made was 3am over Kansas on a severe clear moonless night. The stars and the few lights on the ground blended together. Over water would be even worse. I believe that is what got JFK Jr. Night VFR is one of the reasons we all should get the IFR rating.

Per google map KGNB is 86.3 miles and 1 hour 50 min But you have to fly around the class B and over Corona pass to a much smaller airport. Then you would drive over Berthoud pass to get to I 70. A much riskier drive in bad weather. Poor choice I think. fuel $5.98 KBJC 91.2 miles and 1 hour 51 min. Again going around the class B. Weather is worse at BJC than APA because it is higher and right next to the mountains. Fuel $6.27 KAPA is 96.7 miles and 1 hour 55 min but is the closest to get into from your home. Fuel AT Tac Air $4.95/$4.75 weekends. KFTG 109 miles and 2hours 13 min. Fuel $4.95 I am based at KAPA and may be prejudiced but I think it would be your best choice. Easy to get into from the east. Hotel and rental car on site close in to all amenities. Tac Air has the best fuel prices in area. Front Range would be a close second, not much around it for food or hotels though.

Quote: fantom

I flew a Rocket for 800 hours and landing was never an issue. The plane never swerved or darted on landing . It was rock solid and straight. The issue is worn/misaligned parts. Because of the additional weight out front I made sure never to allow the nose gear to touch until I ran out of speed. It became a personal challenge to keep the nose wheel up as long as I could. It would never drop hard. I found the additional weight added stability to the landings. I find my current MSE harder to land smoothly.

I use it whenever I am not on a IFR unless it is just a local flight. Where I pick them up varies. I fly out of Centennial on the south side of Denver. West bound I usually wait until I am over Corona Pass and out of the busy airspace this side of the rocks. Northbound I also wait until clear of the class B. Eastbound I pick it up immediately or go IFR. Southbound is special. That is where they put the jerkiest controllers in the nation. Colorado Springs Class C extends up to 10,200'. Without talking to them you can go right over the top at 10,500. I talk too soon they try to send me almost to Kansas to keep their territory clear of riff raff. Once south of the Springs, no problem. Why Springs approach is so jealous of their airspace I don't know. I do tune in Springs approach and listen in but only talk if I am called out as "VFR traffic unverified" Over the mountains I prefer to be on a VFR flight plan but talking to the controllers. Gives me more flexibility in avoiding weather but allows me to pick up an IFR quickly if needed.

Not at all. At the Grand Canyon I'm the one beyond the fence sitting on the pinnacle for the great photo shot. I like the feeling of being on the edge. One of the cooler aspects of skydiving. I am the one on top of the ladder or scaffolding, cracks me up when nervous type have to "hold" the ladder to appease their own worries. My friend needed to replace the chandelier in his entry last week. He ask to "borrow" my scaffolding to do it. In reality I was the one on the scaffolding. He handed me tools over the the second floor railing as I did the work.

Quote: jetdriven PC gone TOO far. This over reaction IS what it tries to condemn. The harshness of judgement, the pure hatefullness of the statement, jetdriven should be ashamed. Once again the left is the author of hate. The Irony is no longer subtle. HATE spewed profusly, blindly and selfrightously at any thing real or imagined. Weight is by and large controllable. Weight is the LARGEST (No pun intended) Health issue today in our country. There appeared no malice in the original statement. In fact there appeared to be concern. Airplanes transport freight by weight. The weight of the cargo IS what costs. To charge by weight for freight but not for passengers discriminates against the many to the benefit of the few. Oh wait a minute that's just what some do in every situation. I agree with allsmiles closing phrase "I personally have no sympathy for people who lack personal responsibility." The failure of so many to accept personal responsibility is at the root of most of our ills as a society.

Might be worth a try to call Rocket Engineering. I bet they threw away dozens of them. They may by sheer luck still have one.

Quote: Bnicolette I used to walk around F45 everyday while I was on trips in PBI waiting around. We would base our Falcon at PBI during the winters and to kill part of the day I would walk around F45, Indiantown, and Lantana. There are a lot of great folks at F45 and lots of activity in the bigger hangars by where the "car ports" are. Many great guys there!! I remember seeing a lot of the ports open last time I was there. The guy that rebuilt this airplane is just phenomenal to speak with! I can't remember what kind of airplane it is though.

Point of warning about 231s. Induction ice CAN form and cause a loss of power under those conditions. Happened to me at 22,000' just south of Co Springs. Even with alt air there is quite a loss of power. Basically was on the ILS into Centennial all the way in. Got power back at about 10,000'. Read a story about a delivery pilot over the North Atlantic being forced down to 2 or 300 feet before he got power back. He was stuck right on the deck until the clouds cleared. http://www.mooneyevents.com/engine2.html

Quote: KSMooniac Even if it started out as a 252?

A Rocket with TKS is not FIKI. BUT in reality neither is a FIKI plane. A forecast that includes the possibility of ice is not Known ice. Reports of ice constitute Known ice. I would not fly a FIKI into Known Ice. For me any condition that would make dispatching illegal with just TKS are too bad for FIKI. Both serve the same purpose in protecting from inadvertent ice. The Rockets ability to climb out of ice makes it the safest one. A 252 with FIKI may not have the option to climb. At 20K they are under 500 fpm. A Ovation has no climb that high. A Rocket is still doing 1000 fpm or more at 26k at gross. Solo with half tanks (50gal) I have seen 1500 fpm at 26k. I also live in the West and never visit the North East. I flew a Rocket for about 800 hours without TKS. I would NOT choose it as an option because of cost (high) benefit (low) for my type of flying. Is there a real need to dispatch into known ice? Is it reasonable to take off in freezing fog/drizzle knowing the sun is shining 2000 feet up? I am of the opinion, one not based in experience, that the difference between plain TKS and FIKI is that with FIKI you can legally do something stupid. Is my opinion wrong or just too cautious?

Quote: DaV8or Yeah, you're right. If these low life blue collar guys would just wise up and do 10-12 hour days with no benefits, six days a week for about a $1 an hour, we could compete. Would take care of our immigration problems too. Mexicans would stay at home because they could make more money there. Yep, there are American entitlements to cheap energy, cheap consumer goods, cheap food and cheap resources and we don't care who we have to step on to get it.

I will be flying up to Cabelas main store in Sydney Nebraska (KSNY) for the "Ultimate Outfitters Sale" early Saturday morning. I have $400 in points I "need" to spend. The airport was closed to re do the runway this summer and it is now open again. Call in 10 minutes out and ask for the shuttle to Cabelas and it will usually be there when you land. Great place to go for the $100 Buffalo burger. Great little airport that could use our support. They need it after being shut down for 3 months. Then at 2pm I have my annual IPC. My Insurance company used to require a Instrument check once a year. They dropped it as a requirement but I think it is a good idea. Once a year I grab my CFII and do the IPC as my yearly refresher.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&sugexp=kjrmc&cp=13&gs_id=e&xhr=t&q=timesert+8+32&qe=dGltZXNlcnQgOCAzMg&qesig=VA5lCBG0wLETRPE-R_Vxng&pkc=AFgZ2tmwPtxiaEGCAn28QISRNxTIadEmhz2NI6qzadD3tQ8cpUgxVVvn_9bAR7fiQi3F2DNoupFqE33HgvZ9FwoN9F8xvr6gfA&safe=off&qscrl=1&nord=1&rlz=1T4GGLL_enUS378US378&gs_upl=&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&ion=1&biw=1280&bih=789&wrapid=tljp1319031566708026&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=4409156448402579131&sa=X&ei=I9OeTpuIHYOksQKNtrjzCQ&sqi=2&ved=0CFcQ8wIwAw# For smaller sizes especially a timesert is a better repair than a helicoil.

Quote: jetdriven take the panel to an auto body shop supply. They have a scanner that will match it exactly. Trying to look at paint codes is a waste of time, as the paint fades and doesnt match the color card anyways.

Bump to top again Still for sale.

I shall now rant. As if that's not what I always do. Someone metioned ethanol. ETHANOL SUBSIDIES suck Bad for cars, bad for environment, bad for economy but good for the ag lobby. There are no redeeming graces for ethanol in motor fuel, none what so ever. The way our government works we are stuck with a crappy motor fuel that we can't use in airplanes. Ruins our cars, makes our food cost more and has a net negative impact on the ecology. All because some lobby bought off someone in government.

Quote: N4352H

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Quote: rbridges

Quote: WardHolbrook

Quote: N4352H

On this subject I agree with Byron. His last post pretty much says it all. I am not and I don't think Byron is recommending running a tank dry as part of any normal procedure. There are many variables in flying. The variable we don't control is the wind and weather. Weather predictions often are no more than guesses. The range of our planes can easily exceed 1000 nautical miles. I once rented a vintage 180HP Mooney that had long range tank that held 100 gal of fuel. That bird could stay airborne for over 10 hours and travel close to 1500 miles. Traveling those distances requires in flight decision making. I usually plan an hour minimum fuel reserve. In the Rocket that was 20 gal. in the MSE 10. The flexibility surrounding speed range payload and gross weights are variables we all deal with. If you fly enough at some point you will find you self with less fuel than you had planned for and you will need to manage the situation. If you say "No it can never happen to me" you are either lying to yourself or limiting the capabilities of your plane and tankering fuel. You can carry a 2 hour reserve but I think that can be wasteful. As you approach a minimum fuel situation there are numerous tools at your disposal. Slowing down to extend range or landing short of your destination are options. Safely getting the most from the fuel onboard can be the objective. Running one tank empty is a safe option. It is not something I would ever plan for at take off but it is a tool I would use if the vagrancies of flying combine to infringe on my fuel reserve. Emptying one tank in straight and level cruise flight so there is more in the other while maneuvering to land may actually present a safer choice. Our fuel reserve is more than just a planning exercise. It is there to be used and used safely when needed. Some day running one tank dry may be the safest option you have. Don't let fear and inexperience rob you of that tool.