Airplane buying rant. May contain abbreviated profanity

[chrisk]

 

The PLB's are great to have in addition, I am shopping them now,  but in the heat of the battle you could forget to turn it on before you become unconscious,,,plus some pilots may not do the regular mx on them and when they go to turn them on the 12 year old battery designed for just a few years may not work.  That is if they can find it in their flight bag that is in the back seat or in the trunk of their car.

 

I have a 406 ELT with GPS position reporting.  I see the value in it. I also have a PLB, which as you mentioned, is somewhere in my flight bag.    And I strongly suspect most pilots will have their hands full with an emergency and not bother rummaging around for a PLB before they have an off airport event.   --Yes, you can Velcro it to the glare shield, but  even that may not be enough.

 

BTW, mine goes with me for over water flights.   When the plane sinks, I want search and rescue to be able to find me.

[DS1980]

Oops, ran outta popcorn.

[MyNameIsNobody]

I do not fly at night. I do not fly over large bodies of water. I do not fly over mountains...

[Shadrach]

  That is the only way you should be allowed to be an owner.  

 

Jawohl mein Führer...Sie ernannt werden sollte Minister für Flugzeug Eigentum!  Deine Überlegenheit kennt keine Grenzen. Sie sollten eine Beechcraft fliegen!

[Hank]

I do not fly at night. I do not fly over large bodies of water. I do not fly over mountains...

With those limits, my Mooney would have been virtually useless to me the first six years of ownership, when I lived in WV. Mountains in all directions, no daylight after work for three or four months every year . . . Couldn't have even gotten my license, as there was a nice ridgeline in the pattern--couldn't see the runway for the ridge for about half of the Downwind leg for 8, and had a windshield full of the ridge on Base for 26 (the calm wind direction).

That's why they are called "Personal Limits," they are different for all of us. Flying over eastern Kentucky at night, it's really, really dark, too. Ain't no civilization down there, just a few scattered coal mines. Same for southern WV. I had my choice between them every time I flew to see either of our families (WV to central/eastern NC or the Atlanta area, half the flight was over mountains). My folks are in western NC, lots of Tall mountains around Asheville (the tallest point east of the Mississippi is there, too).

[Jim Peace]

Jawohl mein Führer...Sie ernannt werden sollte Minister für Flugzeug Eigentum! Deine Überlegenheit kennt keine Grenzen. Sie sollten eine Beechcraft fliegen!

My beautiful German girlfriend says that translates to " aircraft spruce has many 406 ELTs to choose from."

[gsxrpilot]

Why don't we just say friends and family aren't allowed to fly with anyone other than 10,000 hour ATP's? Would you jump in the 172 with a newly minted Private Pilot as the DPE was just climbing out?

 

It's one thing to chastise someone for breaking the regs or the law, but I'm personally tired of those trying to impose their personal limits on the rest of us.

[HRM]

Keep your friends close and your PLB closer.

 

 

[Alan Fox]

Wow , you must be hatin it , I know you had a nice plane before the incident , You should consider a broker with a good track record , well worth the 6% .... If you find something near Philly , I will lay eyes on it for you.... Good luck.... 

[Shadrach]

Why don't we just say friends and family aren't allowed to fly with anyone other than 10,000 hour ATP's? Would you jump in the 172 with a newly minted Private Pilot as the DPE was just climbing out?

It's one thing to chastise someone for breaking the regs or the law, but I'm personally tired of those trying to impose their personal limits on the rest of us.

A newly minted private pilot post check ride, is probably more on his A-game then a lot of 30hr a year weekend warriors!

[Alan Fox]

I know I was on my A Game   when I got my license..

[HRM]

I think problems come when owners cannot accept change. They can no longer afford the aircraft. Their health is probably not going to let them regain their medical. Their health or busy lifestyle is such they cannot maintain proficiency. Just don't really need to fly much anymore. No more mission for the plane. Hard to accept. Wait another month. Another year. The plane mostly sits. I know the day will come for me soon enough and it won't be easy to swallow!

 

Frankly, I think the problem lies with owners who have unrealistic expectations.

 

I am not an airplane fanatic. I am pretty much a Mooniac, but that is different.

 

My plane is my toy, I have a great deal of fun with it and when the fun is over, well it will be over.

 

I realized that the day I bought it that it would never return the amount of money that I was going to expend on it.

 

It has, however, returned orders of magnitude to me in joy, just plain old indescribable joy. That is, as the MC commercials say, priceless.

 

I do not have a death wish, so I maintain my toy. I put it away carefully for my next play session, I take care of it and when I play, I play safe.

 

I hope to leave it to my heirs to sell and let them put up with people like....well, you know.

[Cruiser]

owners may be isolated because they are not the ones looking at/for dozens of planes trying to buy one.

Remember all these planes are current with an annual inspection...... Right? 

Unrealistic expectations? What makes your opinion better than his?

The thing that gets me is an unrealistic buyer getting aggravated because some seller doesn't see how unrealistic they are. Just move on.....

 

It's a sellers job to present his plane is the most desirable manner he can.

It's a buyers job to point out all the things that make the plane look bad.

[Cruiser]

I like to keep things simple.

 

Tell the seller you want to buy his plane.

Tell the seller to come up with the lowest price he was willing to sell at

Tell the seller you would accept or reject his price but WOULD NOT make a counter offer.

IF his price was the least he would accept then a counter offer would be unnecessary anyway.

or 

he didn't give you the lowest price he was willing to accept .

Either way, your not buying.

 

There are plenty of planes out there, finding the one for you may be hard.

[HRM]

Unrealistic expectations? What makes your opinion better than his?

 

It's not opinion, it's value.

 

The value of an AC is what someone, somewhere is willing to pay for it.

 

If there is no one there, then your expectations are too high.

 

As you said, move on, but don't bemoan the fact that where you see a dog another sees a princess.

[MyNameIsNobody]

With those limits, my Mooney would have been virtually useless to me the first six years of ownership, when I lived in WV. Mountains in all directions, no daylight after work for three or four months every year . . . Couldn't have even gotten my license, as there was a nice ridgeline in the pattern--couldn't see the runway for the ridge for about half of the Downwind leg for 8, and had a windshield full of the ridge on Base for 26 (the calm wind direction).

That's why they are called "Personal Limits," they are different for all of us. Flying over eastern Kentucky at night, it's really, really dark, too. Ain't no civilization down there, just a few scattered coal mines. Same for southern WV. I had my choice between them every time I flew to see either of our families (WV to central/eastern NC or the Atlanta area, half the flight was over mountains). My folks are in western NC, lots of Tall mountains around Asheville (the tallest point east of the Mississippi is there, too).

Not the context that was given Hank. There was a blanket statement given and I gave context on why I don't agree. You do whatever you wish to do under the law. To each his own...but I am not throwing out blanket statements about others that choose to go a different route and stating that they are putting their friends and family at risk by not doing what they have done...and feel "should" be done.