Favorite inspection habits!

[rturbett]

For any of you who have gone through this multiple times, I would love to learn from your experience-

When doing a first visit to a plane you are considering, (assuming log books are good)  Do you have a systematic approach to inspecting the aircraft? Curious if there is a "preflight on steroids" approach that anyone has a checklist they would be willing to share.

Thanks,

Rob

[Fly Boomer]

23 hours ago, rturbett said:

For any of you who have gone through this multiple times, I would love to learn from your experience-

When doing a first visit to a plane you are considering, (assuming log books are good)  Do you have a systematic approach to inspecting the aircraft? Curious if there is a "preflight on steroids" approach that anyone has a checklist they would be willing to share.

Thanks,

Rob

The usual approach is to look at the most expensive show stoppers first.  You are looking for a "no".  That said, things like a bogus engine or prop might be a show stopper for one person, but another may see it as a bargaining chip.  Corrosion is frequently a show stopper if you are hoping to fly it any time soon.

[Jeff_S]

I once heard some advice that seems to be fairly useful.  Break the inspection into two parts. Aft of the firewall is mostly just cosmetic perspective except for one thing: open all inspection panels and make sure the aluminum is "beer can shiny."  In other words, check carefully for corrosion throughout the body and frame.  Everything else is pretty easy to repair/replace as your budget allows. (On a Mooney, I would add that a good check of the gear pucks should also be done.)

Firewall forward is where the fun begins, and that's too much to put into a single post. Ask for recent flying history, oil inspection reports, review the logs, etc. Compression checks will only tell you so much.  If possible, get results from an engine monitor.  Seeing the 10 most recent logs, and even paying to have them analyzed by Savvy, will give you a LOT of detail that wasn't available to buyers in a previous area.  Lot's more to consider beyond just these things so this is where you should spend the money on a pre-buy with a mechanic you know and trust.

Good luck!

[LANCECASPER]

5 hours ago, Jeff_S said:

(On a Mooney, I would add that a good check of the gear pucks should also be done.)

And the fuel tanks

[Utah20Gflyer]

The best way to evaluate an aircraft is to  fly it for 2+ hours with another pilot who can help fly while you are distracted.  Test everything to see what works and what doesn’t.   There are many many things that can only be evaluated while the plane is in motion.  Also check for corrosion and all the other static stuff but I think I would want to fly it first because that may point to things that need attention.  ie you are taxiing and the right brake is mushy, when doing the  static inspection you can look for leaks, etc.  nose wheel shimmy? Put the plane on jacks and look at the nose gear and steering.  

[wombat]

@Utah20Gflyer   The absolute best planes you'll never be able to buy, because they are maintained by Mooneyspace members and if you want to apply for ownership, if you front 100% of the purchase price as a non-refundable deposit the owners will allow you to peek through a peephole in their hangar to glance at the aircraft (but only for a second or two) before they decide if you are worthy of marrying their dau...  I mean buying their aircraft.

They are most definitely not letting you fly their plane to an unknown location for a mooney-illiterate guy to butcher their baby, let alone wearing it out by flying it for 2+ hours with another pilot!

More seriously, it's kind of a pre-pre-buy negotiation on what/where/where you can do to inspect the plane.   When I bought my most recent Mooney I wanted to take it up to altitude to make sure everything worked well, but the sellers were not willing to do that.    The most I could get out of them was a ~30 minute ride to a roughly nearby airport for the prebuy.  Maximum altitude was about 5,000

Read through this for some extensive opinions!

[Utah20Gflyer]

I don’t disagree that sellers can be quite stingy with letting people evaluate their aircraft.  Given that you deal with a lot of tire kickers and generally unserious people as a seller I get the sentiment.   However, if a buyer is willing to put down a deposit and has shown ability to pay in full I don’t see it as an unreasonable request to thoroughly flight test the aircraft.  In fact an unwillingness to flight test it would make me suspicious.  Does that mean I wouldnt buy?   No, under the right conditions I might still buy. 
 

I get maybe a buyer would be light on Mooney time and maybe wouldn’t even qualify for insurance coverage as an open pilot.   This was the case with myself as a 130 hours pilot but I found a CFI with a couple thousand hours in Mooneys to make up for my experience.  Ultimately I didn’t get to test fly it before I bought it (long story) but I did end up paying the CFI to test fly it and give me a squawk list- best 250 dollars I’ve ever spent.   I offered the seller to make part of the deposit non refundable in the case I didn’t end up buying the plane to compensate for the use of the aircraft.  
 

At minimum I can’t see why the seller wouldn’t be willing to take a buyer on a test flight themselves.  I’m proud of my Mooney and would view the flight as a good way to sell someone on what makes my plane better than all the others.   After having been an owner for a couple years I wouldn’t want to buy a Mooney the owner wasn’t proud of.  It’s expensive to get airplanes caught up on maintenance.  

[rturbett]

I've been using a combination of these approaches-

For me, corrosion is the first disqualifier.  

I do prefer to meet the previous owner. Its fun to learn about their experiences with the airplane, and definitely get a feel for how they have maintained the airplane.

At the same time, I completely get that this is a very "sterile" purchase- airframe, engine, propeller, radios, interior all add or subtract value. The reality is that after the purchase, every aspect of care and maintenance  will be my responsibility.

Rob

 

[Mcstealth]

22 hours ago, rturbett said:

I've been using a combination of these approaches-

For me, corrosion is the first disqualifier.  

I do prefer to meet the previous owner. Its fun to learn about their experiences with the airplane, and definitely get a feel for how they have maintained the airplane.

At the same time, I completely get that this is a very "sterile" purchase- airframe, engine, propeller, radios, interior all add or subtract value. The reality is that after the purchase, every aspect of care and maintenance  will be my responsibility.

Rob

 

I include hail damage.