Considering buying a share

I belong to a really good flying club
(http://www.rochesterflyingclub.com/) - we've got 5 aircraft ranging from
a Piper Warrior (PA28-161) to a Piper Lance (P32R-300). I fly about 25-35
hours a year, and wish I could fly more. The majority of my flying is
weekend trips up to Canada to see my kids. Sometimes I have a trip
planned but don't fly because I can't get an airplane, other times it's
because I don't know much about instrument flying in the winter yet and
I'm scared of ice, or I don't know how to handle pre-heating at an "away"
field. My wife isn't real enthusiastic about flying, so sometimes we
drive places were I'd rather fly because she doesn't want to take the
chance of getting stranded somewhere. (For instance, we're going to
Chicago this weekend, but we've booked plane tickets even though the
weather looks like it's going to be perfect VFR). I'm trying to convince
myself that if you took away the lack of availability problem, I'd
probably fly 50 hours or more a year.

Anyway, I've suddenly got some spare money kicking around. I was looking
at a plane partnership - a friend has a quarter share in a Cherokee 140
with a 160hp upgraded engine. The plane looks like it's basically a
two-person plane - I can't see putting anybody in the back seat,
especially behind me. Since most of my flying is just me or me and my
wife, that would probably work out.

The plane looks reasonably equipped - the interior is a bit ratty, and the
panel is a mish-mash of things squeezed in wherever they'll fit, but it's
got two panel mount GPSes (only one is legal for approaches). The lead
guy in the partnership says that the four members of the partnership get
together and do all the "owner assist" parts of the annual, so the annual
only takes a day or two and only costs about $600 plus any squawks. They
kick in $35 a month to the general fund, and $35 per hour flown, and that
covers maintenance and upgrades and everything else. That makes it quite
a bit cheaper than the club, but I have to wonder if the maintenance is as
high quality as I'm used to in the club.

The lead guy in the partnership instructs in the plane as well, but he
says that the other partners have priority over the students. He also
says that the plane only flies about 20 hours a month, and I know every
time I'm at the field it seems to be sitting there. However, I know that
as well as this open slot in the partnership agreement, one of the other
partners pays his fees but hasn't flown in 17 years (his wife won't let
him fly until his kids are no longer financially dependant on him!), so
there's really only two active members in the partnership.

If I go into this partnership, I'd probably maintain my membership in the
flying club just so that I have access to the higher load carrying
capacity of the Dakota and Lance when I need it.

I'm curious as to the opinions of the other people here as to
- whether getting into a partnership would be a good idea?
- whether I should hold out for something a little more capable than a
Cherokee 140?
- how I can make sure I'm not getting ripped off?
- would participating in an annual be a good way to size up their
maintenance attitude and quality?
- do you think it might be a problem if the lead guy is used to having
partners who don't fly much and suddenly I join and fly the plane away
every weekend when there isn't another partner flying?
- if I pass on this partnership, where does one find other people looking
for partners? I found this one through a guy in my church (the guy
whose wife won't let him fly).

--
Paul Tomblin http://xcski.com/blogs/pt/
Hardware, n.:
The parts of a computer system that can be kicked.