Info on N52TF

[randomlogin]

New pilot here (and new to the forum). I'm in the market for an Ovation and saw N52TF for sale on Controller. It hasn't flown much in 24 years and I was wondering if anyone here had any details on it. I'm more than a little concerned about engine condition and anything else firewall forward that would deteriorate over time and would like to hear from anyone who has bought a similar older "modern" Mooney with so few hours on it.

Thanks!

[GeeBee]

Cannot speak with direct knowledge. It looks well cared for,  very nice panel. The nice thing about the IO-550 is it is very easy to check the cam and lifters for corrosion. That with a good borescope on the cylinders should find the most common issues with respect to wear and corrosion.  It is worth a close look IMHO, despite being a little pricey. I would ask to look at the logs before you travel. Since you are new in your aviation experience, you may want to consult with Savvy and buy their "pre-buy" service before you get deeper into your journey.

 

[StevenL757]

Good points.  To echo a few things from @GeeBee, ask to have the logbooks posted or copies sent to you.  A few points...

• The engine OH was done in 2006 - only 8 years since the airplane was new - and was done by the previous owner prior to the advertised owner, so the detail may be in the logs as to why that was done prematurely.
• Present owner indicates there's no damage history.  He isn't flying the airplane as much as he'd like, hence the sale.
• Useful load seems suspiciously high, but given no TKS, no AC, and a fair amount of stuff removed in lieu of the upgraded cockpit, the UL may be accurate.
• I can confirm it has been hangared when based in ND, and also hangared near the owner's AZ residence when he is there.
• The price is indeed a bit high for not having TKS or AC, but in this market, I don't believe he's far off, especially when there are only about four or five Ovations for sale within the US.

Overall, not a bad looking airplane.  At a minimum, I'd get ahold of a reliable and trustworthy source for a a PPI.  Everyone claims their aircraft have received the "best maintenance", but I guarantee that I can point you to a couple of people who will come up with a list of things that need correcting and/or replacing.  Good luck with the search, and if I can help lend a hand in this process, PM me and we can chat.

Steve

[ilovecornfields]

I’m hoping those are the going prices for Ovations. I might want to sell mine in the future if that keeps up…

I agree the UL looks “sus” but it could be possible. Interesting choice in avionics for the panel but I guess it would work.

I also like the use of using Savvy. They’ll even look at the logbooks for free (or at least they used to a few years ago).

Maybe see if the owner is willing to share oil analysis info?

[StevenL757]

Good point...I asked for them, along with the link/location for the logs.

[Comobowz]

Re: the UL, my 98 Ovation just got back from a full panel upgrade (10.6 Txi, GTN750xi, GFC500, etc) and was weighed as part of that work. It came in at UL of 1087, so it's definitely possible.  Mine is also single alternator, no TKS and no AC.

[ZuluZulu]

1 hour ago, ilovecornfields said:

I’m hoping those are the going prices for Ovations. I might want to sell mine in the future if that keeps up…

I agree the UL looks “sus” but it could be possible. Interesting choice in avionics for the panel but I guess it would work.

I also like the use of using Savvy. They’ll even look at the logbooks for free (or at least they used to a few years ago).

Maybe see if the owner is willing to share oil analysis info?

@gsxrpilot used to talk about sending the logbooks and $250 to Laura at SWTA for a review.  Feel like this thread isn't complete without mentioning that.

 

[randomlogin]

Thanks for the advice, all! I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the pricing was a little high, but as @StevenL757 mentioned there aren't many for sale right now...

I thought the overhaul in '06 is strange considering the seller is advertising airframe time and TT as the same (no Hobbs maybe?). If that useful load isn't accurate, I'm not interested - that's a valuable 100lbs.

I'll ask to see the logs and wouldn't consider buying a plane without a PPI (will a finance company even fund you without one?), but wouldn't a good PPI include an oil analysis?

 

Thanks again! 

[A64Pilot]

Many people, me for instance don’t think much of oil analysis. It’s outstanding for analyzing oil, not so much for determining engine condition though.

But almost everyone will I believe agree that one doesn’t tell much at all, a series of analysis covering a few hundred hours, may as it can highlight trends

[StevenL757]

@randomlogin, give the contact a ring if you haven’t already.  Very nice guy, forthright individual, and more than willing to talk about the airplane.  I’m out on a limb a bit, but there’s certainly room on the price.  He just doesn’t want to give it away.

[201Steve]

On 2/1/2022 at 3:52 PM, ilovecornfields said:

I agree the UL looks “sus”

10 points for dropping a sus on the people. 

[carusoam]

Extra credit for MS word of the day… ‘sus’  
 

We learn so much just for being on MS…

Purchase agreement

PPI

insurance

transition training

You have questions… MS has answers…

 

Seeing if @Subternal is around… 

 

Go O!

-a-

[Subternal]

Oh I'm here @carusoam and feeling his pain as well.

 

there are allot of sus listings out there right now. I've seen at least 2 of them..

[Mufflerbearing]

The 1085 is certainly possible and is probable.  My plane with FIKI is 1024.

[kortopates]

oil analysis really doesn’t mean anything during a pre-buy. the plane should be sold or passed on when the pre-buy is complete, meanwhile the oil analysis is in the mail - it takes a few weeks. Secondly, a single data point of oil analysis is pretty worthless. Oil analysis value comes in showing a trend - that’s at least 3 samples.
so i’d only give weight to the owners past history of oil analysis.
Despite what the different companies publish as “averages” every engine is a bit different.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[carusoam]

Let’s see what the tail number tells us….

https://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/1451503/n52tf-1998-mooney-m20r-ovation

Has it really been out of annual since 2017?

Not flying much, or not flying..?

 

-a-

[Jetman]

On 2/1/2022 at 11:24 AM, randomlogin said:

New pilot here (and new to the forum). I'm in the market for an Ovation and saw N52TF for sale on Controller. It hasn't flown much in 24 years and I was wondering if anyone here had any details on it. I'm more than a little concerned about engine condition and anything else firewall forward that would deteriorate over time and would like to hear from anyone who has bought a similar older "modern" Mooney with so few hours on it.

Thanks!

We purchased a 1999 Ovation this summer 1440 total time.  I felt it would need a new engine because TBO is 2000 or 20 years.  I had a borescope done and

he did not like what he saw, also three cylinders were low.  My partner wanted to do a top but after going in for the Annual the Mechanic found corrosion on the

Cam Lodes and that requires an overhaul.  The Factory reman is $41,000 at Gann Aviation in Lafayette Ga.  He is renown for his engine builds.  

  Our aircraft with the new reman should have a value of $250,000.  we have Aspen 1000, Garmin 430.  King Auotpilot, O2.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.  Continentals are know to corrode if they sit around.

[Fly Boomer]

aircraft.com is a web scraping "service".  Info is often way out of date.

[LANCECASPER]

1 hour ago, Jetman said:

We purchased a 1999 Ovation this summer 1440 total time.  I felt it would need a new engine because TBO is 2000 or 20 years.  I had a borescope done and

he did not like what he saw, also three cylinders were low.  My partner wanted to do a top but after going in for the Annual the Mechanic found corrosion on the

Cam Lodes and that requires an overhaul.  The Factory reman is $41,000 at Gann Aviation in Lafayette Ga.  He is renown for his engine builds.  

  Our aircraft with the new reman should have a value of $250,000.  we have Aspen 1000, Garmin 430.  King Auotpilot, O2.

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions.  Continentals are know to corrode if they sit around.

TBO is only a recommendation when not flown for hire, but it’s actually 2000 or 12 years, not 20.

Gann Aviation can overhaul your engine, but it won’t be a factory reman and it won’t have a new logbook so it won’t add the same value that the book says for a factory reman. Only Continental can give you a factory reman or a zero time engine.

[Jetman]

Thank you for the correction.  it's just an overhaul.