Bad Stories about Plane Purchases

Jon Kraus wrote:
I am looking into purchasing my own plane... I think that I am pretty
aware of the costs (as much as a non-owner can be). I would like to
hear from those of you who have unfortunately have had a bad (expensive
or otherwise)experience with a plane purchase. I will also post for good
experiences. Thanks !!

Jon Kraus
PP-ASEL-IA
(possible Mooney buyer)


Jon,

I guess my experience would fall into the "bad" category. A few items to
reinforce other comments that have been posted. I would recommend a
complete annual inspection, by an *independent authorized service
center*. Ensure you exorcise the airplane and engine throughout every
phase of flight and test every system on the airplane. Finally, ensure
you have sufficient financial resources in reserve, when it comes time
to overhaul or replace the engine.

If I was to do it over again: "Join a club!"

Details:
I searched quite a while for an airplane that was going to meet my
needs. I ended up purchasing a low-time experimental plane with 100
hours STOH (580 hours total). I had the airframe inspected by a
knowledgeable composite specialist, performed a conditional annual
inspection and had an A&P inspect the engine and review the airframe
logs for problems and AD compliance. I flew the airplane and inspected
the systems and engine operation prior to the purchase. NOTE: If I was
to do this over, I would ensure I run the engine at max-RPM for a while
to observe temps and pressures (my flight consisted of mostly cruise RPM
operations)

Two weeks and seven hours after the purchase, on a turn to cross-wind,
gulp, lost the number two cylinder, IO-360, the cylinder head seperated
from the barrel. There was nothing to suggest a problem w/ the cylinder
prior to the failure, engine logs were clean, engine temps and pressures
were all w/in normal limits, and compressions were all 75+ on the
inspection. I'm still adding up the damage, but I was certainly not
mentally or financially prepared for this sudden misfortune.

Good luck,

Gary