A & P for Pre-Purchase Iinspection of Vintage Airplane

[JDD]

Hello,

I am looking for someone who is in deep North-Western Michigan or Northern Wisconsin to do a pre-purchase inspection.


The airplane I am looking to purchase is a 1930's biplane with a Kinner engine.


The airplane is located near Escanaba, Michigan.

If anyone is or knows of someone in the area that can do a pre-buy on a Vintage Airplane in that area, please send me an email via this forum or better directly to JDD@8bells.com.

Thank you, James

James Douglas
San Francisco

[martymayes]

How detailed of an inspection are you looking for?

[gbrasch]

I forwarded your request to an A&P/IA friend who is up in Michigan now.

[JDD]

Hello everyone and thanks for responding...


I am in San Francisco and although I know a lot about Antique & Classic cars I am a total green horn on airplanes. I do weld, have a lathe, and am a college boy, so I am not totally ignorant on things mechanical.

But, I know enough to know what I do not know...

This biplane basic design was made by six companies between 1928 and 1935. The one in question is the end of that line. It was restored by an EAA member in 1995 and passed through two hands since.

I would like an inspection that would be equal to or better than an annual. Basically, I don't want any nasty surprises. My plan if I but this airplane is to keep it in MI until middle-end of next summer. I am making a larger space in my shop/garage for an airplane. I would then trailer it out to California and spend the winter of 2017-2018 really going over it and then in the spring of 2018 taking it to the field and putting the wings and go flying.

My wife and I are not San Francisco fat cats, this is going to be out one and only airplane purchase. I need to make sure that we don't end up with a money pit beyond the usual money pit that an airplane is...

I would not mind hearing from folks reading this what exactly they would recommend for a pre-purchase inspection.

Thank you all, James

[gbrasch]

I heard back from my friend and I am sorry, he is on his way back to Arizona from MI.

[JDD]

I heard back from my friend and I am sorry, he is on his way back to Arizona from MI.

Thanks for trying...

[martymayes]

I would like an inspection that would be equal to or better than an annual. Basically, I don't want any nasty surprises. My plan if I but this airplane is to keep it in MI until middle-end of next summer. I am making a larger space in my shop/garage for an airplane. I would then trailer it out to California and spend the winter of 2017-2018 really going over it and then in the spring of 2018 taking it to the field and putting the wings and go flying.

If you were a customer of mine my professional recommend would be that you not waste time and money on a pre-purchase inspection. On that type plane there is little in the way of dealbreakers that can be uncovered in a pre-purchase evaluation. Whatever is wrong will be repaired as necessary and you'll have time to do that when you have the plane at home. I'd run some document checks, etc. and give a thumbs up or thumbs down on purchase in ~1 hr. Hauling the airplane 3000 miles on a trailer is going to be the challenge here as you don't want to damage something beyond repair, which can be highly probable during these events.

[JDD]

If you were a customer of mine my professional recommend would be that you not waste time and money on a pre-purchase inspection. On that type plane there is little in the way of dealbreakers that can be uncovered in a pre-purchase evaluation. Whatever is wrong will be repaired as necessary and you'll have time to do that when you have the plane at home. I'd run some document checks, etc. and give a thumbs up or thumbs down on purchase in ~1 hr. Hauling the airplane 3000 miles on a trailer is going to be the challenge here as you don't want to damage something beyond repair, which can be highly probable during these events.


Marty,

You do have a point. Given the trouble I am having finding someone...I am thinking of enlisting several people that are within an hour or so of the Golden Gate Bridge that have small collections of the same period biplanes and asking them to give me a couple of hours of instructions on the things and places to look over.

I am also thinking of going south for a day and paying Al Ball for a couple hours of his time on what to look for and inspect on a kinner engine.

That way I can, within reason, do the inspection myself to make sure I am not purchasing a bad core.

James.

[martymayes]

A good pre-buy would be inspecting the drip pan under the engine to see how clean the oil leaking out is. Some original Kinner engine parts are scarce, as in non-existent. So eventually, alternatives will have to be found. Just one of those things, I think the odds of a bad core are pretty low. Consider it's probably already plowed a furrow or two in a cornfield over it's life.

If you fly the plane 2 hrs a month (which is ambitious flying for an 80+ y/o airplane) it will take more than 30 yrs to accumulate 800 hrs time in service and it probably hasn't seen that much tis since it was built.