We keep floating between buying, building, or restoring...
Our mission is low and slow, high useful load, not terrible on gas, open cockpit, round engine....for a year of traveling the USA once when we retire in Feb. 2022
An airplane that looks like it would fit the bill has just come up. A Fairchild KR-34. A smaller radial with a useful load in the 800 to 1000 pound range.
My questions to this august group are:
1. Does anyone know of anyone with one of these that I can call and talk to? On seven in the FAA registry.
2. Is there any airplane that they made that is a close cousin build wise that I can talk to about it. A Fairchild 22C7 perhaps.
3. Does anyone have any idea what a fair value would be for one of these that was crated away about 1950 in original and unmolested condition? The engine is a Wright J6-5 and is zero time SMOH as is the prop.
The guy has all the logs and the airplane is supposed to be complete down to all the original instruments. Asking price is $46.5K
4. What would be the cost, with me doing the work assuming I can find an A&P to sign off on it, to pull the cloth off, check and repair any bad wood or cracked tubes, and recover it so it is good to go?
I suspect that for $40K+ that I would have more into it than buying a restored Stearman or the like if I had to go through and take the entire airplane apart and rebuild-repaint everything sans the engine.
Thoughts ?
Thanks all, JD.