davewilson

For those that have dreamed of owning one of these classics, now is the time to scoop up on a good deal. I helped resurrect this plane 10 years ago. Check out the specs on this Ebay add. Karl's contact info and lots of good pics of this classic are on his website at www.beech18.com This plane has 9 seats, pilot and co pilot are new leather, 315 gallons of fuel, 3 blade heavy harztells, NEW Cleveland upgraded brake kit cost over 12K! There is a memorial airport Bar-B-Que tomorrow KWHP, this saturday noon at whiteman airport. Our friend mike boolen was killed yesterday at Lake Piru, lite sport trajedy. Come on over and take a look, kick the tires on this tri gear beech18! Here is the Ebay add, airplane will be available for inspection this week end at whiteman airport, los angeles. come to the bar b que. in los angeles! The reserve price of 79K has been met, only 3 days left before auction closes! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1954-Beech-18-Tri-Gear-/150847436713?pt=Motors_Aircraft&hash=item231f3537a9

I realize there are no mooneys that can use auto fuel. There are numerous other types of aircraft with wet wings, that can use car gas. I have heard thru several reliable sources that the ethanol additive in todays auto fuel, will DESTROY these approved sealants. Any one heard otherwise. What really surprises me is that ALL automobiles, ancient and contemporary run just fine with this ethanol additive. No problems with leaking seals, O Rings, fuel injectors, hoses or gaskets? There should be a sealant that will stand up to ethanol!

I called several different shops regarding sealing mooney tanks. Monroy has the long range kit and highly recommended JOSE in Fort Lauderdale. He has done hundreds of repair jobs tanks, all brands of aircraft, as well as mooneys for MANY years. He is not the new kid on the block. I just want to say thank you to jose for taking the time, about a 15 minute phone conversation, regarding the sealing, pros and cons of bladders etc. Long range tanks cannot be added to bladders! Jose will also travel to your airport, for expenses only, to temporarily patch to get the plane to his facility. He is negotiable on his price and will compete with any legitimate shop! DO THE JOB RIGHT, and get those tanks resealed with the best epoxy on the market! Thanks jose, dave wilson Prospective mooney owner.

Any piston powered twin will NOT climb on one engine with the gear down. A beech18 moderately loaded with the gear down, both engines at full power at sea level, CLIMBS LIKE A DOG!

Ehscott and john. Please be assured that my post on beechtalk, re: risktaker, was NOT intended to be malicious or arrogant. Yes, It could have been better stated.

Some here think that a faulty charging system is not cause for an accident. But, after reviewing one of the videos, The plane landed up inverted. A tarp partially covers the belly, Not sure, but I thought I saw the nose wheel extended. If the battery pooped out, and Patrick could not retract the gear on take off, a short runway, this could be a key factor on poor climb performance! Just my thoughts.

I have not seen the plane for 6 years. Not sure about hydrator plugs. It may be missing a few items, only a detailed inventory check would reveal that. Windscreen is new. I recall a beautiful job he did on the custom panel, all radios, trays and other goodies installed. Like a car, if it does not run, missing parts, paperwork, log entries, needing AD's complied with, out of annual, project/basketcase, that hurts the value alot. If a pro nit picked, they might charge to haul it away! Factory Beech18's used aluminum tanks, and bladders. Any wet wing was a non factory mod. Some smuggler 18's had 750 gallon wet wings, 16 hr range, US to Columbia non stoop. Bladders, aluminum tanks and wet wings. The job we did back at lantana airport florida, immediately following 9-11, was on a tricycle gear, nose dragger, 200 gallon aluminum tanks had been removed, and wet wings, increasing capacity to 330 gallons. The PRC sealant was over 20 yrs old, it had turned mushy like icing on a chocolate cake. It would have been easier to remove the wings, install them in a rotating jig, like a bar b que rotissieri. Add about 40 gallons of a special flesh eating chemical paint remover. We used a mechanical means of scraping with a plastic tool and TOLUENE! I got stoned every day smelling those fumes. I even tried using a snorkel type tube set up to breath fresh air. To this day I am somewhat punch drunk from that job. The mooney has new paint on the wings, using any kind of chemical remover from the inside of the wing may leak thru affecting the paint? The beech reseal was big but easier as you could climb into the wing thru large inspection covers. The mooney means using mirrors and long arms to reach blind spots etc. Getting into a project like this can go on and on. Even an airplane that is completely together and flown recently can have a squawk list a mile long of necessary repairs. Flippers would part it out to make a quick profit and split. That is not my intention.

Scott from iowa, scott from wichita, lood from s. Africa, mike, brian, and others who may reply, thanks for taking the time to respond. This is a great source for info. I have spent hundreds of hours on the www.beechtalk site, great entertainment and info. Tough economic times are forcing many seasoned pilots to quit, sell out, or find something cheaper to fly. Sadley prices have plummeted on the twin market. There are outstanding deals on beechcraft barons, even bonanzas are steeply discounted. There are some hi rollers that wouldnt flinch at 10 dollar a gallon av gas! If I lived in venezuela, I could easily afford a DC3..., 35 cents a gallon. Fuel prices elsewhere around the world, europe and australia are 8 to 10 a gallon. Sri Lanka is 13! Lood, what is 100LL going for in africa? I need an economical, tough, reliable, cross country bird. With speed mods, this E model is faster, and uses less fuel than any cessna, beech or piper! I just saw the pic of 30 people sitting/standing on top of those wings, amazing. I am a do it yourselfer, so I save bundles. I spent a month resealing 330 gallon wet wings on an 18, what a dirty hallucinatory job!!! How else could I have afforded a beech18. Always flew barefoot, no insurance, no bank loans. The mooney that I am considering is stored in the los angeles area, 50 miles away from the coast, clean dry air. Cars last forever here if maintained. Not sure the extent of the pickleization of the engine, but common sense would say that all internal parts would be coated in oil. I know it is a crap shoot. I am negotiating around 25K. How could a zero time prop, done 12 yrs ago, still in it's wrapper, deteriorate. Out of date on paper, unairworthy. It has no sign offs on speed mods, not a deal breaker for me. So, a new stack of king radios are now boat anchors/ obsolete? It has new paint, all white, no stripes.

I am interested in purchasing a friends project mooney. I have owned a beech18 for many years and cannot afford to fly it anymore! With 400 gallon tanks, it will burn mogas, but at 45 gallons an hour, hauling up to 8 passengers or 12 skydivers, it is just not a very efficient airplane. Many years ago, I introduced a fellow mechanic friend to aviation. I owned a 182, he was into fast cars, a nova and corvette. I took him for a ride and he was hooked. He bought a 69 mooney ranger, my 182 would slowly pass him up. About a year later, he had purchased a 201 firewall forward that had been damaged by a tornado. He got a 1 time field approval, and swapped the 201 goodies onto his ranger. He added ALL the speed mods to that ranger. He took great pride in passing me up, I'm guessing he was doing close to 200 mph, as I was at 150! He has owned another mooney, an E model, but has been into car racing and other projects. He never completed the airplane, and is giving up flying for other interests. His E model has the 200 hp injected engine, 0 smoh by a local guy with a good rep., about 12 yrs ago. Engine has never run. Prop done 12 yrs ago, never run and needs 5 yr inspection. He purchased a full stack of king brand new dual kx155 stack, never used, about 12 years ago, that was 13K, already mounted in a custom panel. He has installed all the speed mods, but the fuel tanks need resealing. I am interested in long range fuel, found out the total price would be about 13K to have the long range tanks installed and mains resealed, ouch! Plane is currently disassembled. Any ideas what this plane might be worth now and after I have put it back together? I would rather have a garmin 430, as I had a garmin 250 GPS com in the beech18, loved it. What could I expect for real world speeds and fuel burn. Was told by owner about 195 mph at 10 gallons an hour?