almostthere wrote:
: I'm considering a 1977 Cessna 150 M for sale. Owner's asking $29,975 with
: the following description:

: "EXCELLENT Condition. 3600TT, 1370 SMOH Mattituck Chrome. Paint: 7 Interior:
: 8. Michel MX300 Nav/Comm. PS Engineering PM 501 Intercom. Skyroof. New glass
: all-around. Wheel pants. Like new tires. Immaculately maintained, only used
: 50 hours in flight training. All logs, all ADs complied with. September
: annual. "

: I'm just starting my training, I have the cash to buy and I want my own
: plane. Any advice as to whether this plane is priced right??

Seems awfully high for a mid-time 150. Sounds like it's "worth more" because
it's a relatively low time and not as old as most 150 flight-line dogs. I think that
paying a premium for a 30 year old airplane over a 40 year old airplane (e.g. a '67
-150) is false economy... they're *ALL* old and require the same maintenance.

My suggestion would be to find a mid-high time -150 for $20k or less for
training. Even better would be to find a mid-time Cherokee 140 for your target of
$30k. It's a fine trainer, and when you've got your ticket you can actually *use* it
to go places. A -150 is a marginal 2-place plane with limited range for trips. A
Cherokee-140 is a marginal 3-place plane with long legs (for a trainer-class plane)
for trips. They'll both run autogas very happily if you live where you can do it.

-Cory

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* Cory Papenfuss *
* Electrical Engineering candidate Ph.D. graduate student *
* Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University *
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