Are You Flying a "Beater?"

On 11 Jun 2004 08:04:53 -0700, (Gene Seibel) wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:nN_xc.23080$HG.
18275@attbi_s53...

How about it? Are *you* flying a "beater?" Or do you know anyone who
does? What's going on here?

Ours needs paint and looks pretty rough on the outside, but everything
works. I trust it completely. It flys and flys and never lets us down.
Next week the windshield and glazed pilot side window are being
replaced as well a several items under the cowling. We may have it
painted someday when we can comfortabley afford it, however, we're not
in a hurry to sink a lot of money into making it look like a show
plane so we can whine about what it costs to fly. Those who see us fly
will simply have to remain unimpressed.

The CheckerBird has pretty rough paint and interior too, Most folks first visual
impression is probably that she is a "beater" but mechanically she's in very
good shape. She's so dependable that I have no apprehension to fly her cross
country at night as long as the weather is good! :-)

Every piece of equipment on the plane works too. Nothing is INOP.
I too, will not be pouring any money into new paint and interior, unless I win
the lotto or something.

In fact, I must sadly report that I must put her up for sale soon, so if anyone
out there needs a good dependable older Cherokee 140 that, although has a bit
high hours on the airframe (6045), but only has 650 on the engine and prop, let
me know.

She'll make a great timebuilder for another new pilot's first airplane on a
working man's budget as she's been for me. Or a new paint and interior would
make her into a fine looking ship. She's already dependable, structurally &
mechanically sound, and a pleasure to fly.

Neal Howard
(CheckerBird's

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Michael wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote
and flying around on upholstery that has metal sticking through the mesh.

Since when is upholstery safety critical? Personally, I consider it
the last thing to worry about.

Obviously you've never spent any length of time flying in seats with no
padding under or behind you, and didn't mind the bruise in the shape
of the metal frame remaining on your lower anatomy for 3 days.

When I'm unhappy after 3 hours of flying in what is less comfortable
than a stadium bench, it is definitely a safety issue!

Obviously you've never spent any length of time flying in seats with no
padding under or behind you, and didn't mind the bruise in the shape
of the metal frame remaining on your lower anatomy for 3 days.

When I'm unhappy after 3 hours of flying in what is less comfortable
than a stadium bench, it is definitely a safety issue!

I had not considered seats in that way, but -- now that you mention it --
one of the best safety-related upgrades we have made to our plane has been
to have the seats re-padded and upholstered.

We used to be uncomfortable in an hour, and in agony after three. Now, we
can fly all day without noticing, and arrive in the pattern fresh.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

How do you know anything about their mechanical condition? Outside of my
own aircraft
and two planes that have not had air in the tires for years, I know
absolutely zilch
about what's been done to any aircraft at Old Bridge. I'd bet you don't
know much
more about any at Iowa City. So far, it sounds like you're assuming that
lousy paint
means lousy mechanicals as well. That's not a good assumption.

Well, I'm fairly well plugged into the pilot community here, and I can tell
you which hangar doors open weekly, monthly, or not at all.

Of course, the latter type can *look* pristine, but are probably junk after
months (years?) of inactivity. Thus, they are "pretty beaters"...

You're right -- you can't always judge a book by its cover.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

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On 11 Jun 2004 08:04:53 -0700, (Gene Seibel) wrote:

"Jay Honeck" wrote in message news:nN_xc.23080$HG.18275@attbi_s53...

How about it? Are *you* flying a "beater?" Or do you know anyone who
does? What's going on here?

Ours needs paint and looks pretty rough on the outside, but everything
works. I trust it completely. It flys and flys and never lets us down.
Next week the windshield and glazed pilot side window are being
replaced as well a several items under the cowling. We may have it
painted someday when we can comfortabley afford it, however, we're not
in a hurry to sink a lot of money into making it look like a show
plane so we can whine about what it costs to fly. Those who see us fly
will simply have to remain unimpressed.

The CheckerBird has pretty rough paint and interior too, Most folks'
first visual impression is probably that she is a "beater" but
mechanically she's in very good shape. She's so dependable that I have
no apprehension to fly her cross country at night as long as the
weather is good! :-)

Every piece of equipment on the plane works too. Nothing is INOP.
I too, will not be pouring any money into new paint and interior,
unless I win the lotto or something.

In fact, I must sadly report that I must put her up for sale soon, so
if anyone out there needs a good dependable older Cherokee 140 that,
although has a bit high hours on the airframe (6045), but only has 650
on the engine and prop, let me know.

She'll make a great timebuilder for another new pilot's first airplane
on a working man's budget as she's been for me. Or a new paint and
interior would make her into a fine looking ship. She's already
dependable, structurally & mechanically sound, and a pleasure to fly.

Neal Howard
(CheckerBird's

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In fact, I must sadly report that I must put her up for sale soon, so
if anyone out there needs a good dependable older Cherokee 140 that,
although has a bit high hours on the airframe (6045), but only has 650
on the engine and prop, let me know.

Say it ain't so! You can't let the Checkerbird go!

In fact, I was hoping you were going to fly it into Osage Beach next
weekend, for the National Cherokee Fly-In. I'll bet you'd win some sort of
an award!
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

you could certainly operate it at full throttle continuously and in
fact would need to do so in takeoff, climb, and cruise to achieve book
parameters,

I was taught to keep my hand on the throttle, to keep it against the
stop, until I reached 1,000 feet, at which point I could release (but
not retard) the throttle.

However, it is far from full throttle at cruise, and the tach never
reaches redline in a climb.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! www.vivabush.org

In article , Blanche
wrote:

Michael wrote:
"Jay Honeck" wrote
and flying around on upholstery that has metal sticking through the mesh.

Since when is upholstery safety critical? Personally, I consider it
the last thing to worry about.

Obviously you've never spent any length of time flying in seats with no
padding under or behind you, and didn't mind the bruise in the shape
of the metal frame remaining on your lower anatomy for 3 days.
When I'm unhappy after 3 hours of flying in what is less comfortable
than a stadium bench, it is definitely a safety issue!

In a Champ, the cushions are removable, setting atop a piece of plywood.
The "standard" foam cushion provides padding for less than two hours of
comfort before ones legs go numb.

On Sat, 12 Jun 2004 02:32:41 +0000, Jay Honeck wrote:

You're right -- you can't always judge a book by its cover.

That's true, my plane is in good shape except for the paint on it which
looks poor. But it's in a hangar and doesn't sit outside and isn't
getting worse.

I wanted a plane in good shape that had not been repainted so that if and
when I wanted to paint it I would know it was done right and not just a
scuff and shoot job so many get.

Jay Honeck wrote:
Masino likes to primp his gee-whiz engineering degree around once in a
while, as if it has anything to do with aircraft piloting or ownership.
He'll blow himself out in a few more posts, and then move on to the next
thing that bothers.

My degree is significant because we're trained to analyze technical issues
far better than some dumb ass english major. In these types of posts I
generally refer to my years of experience working on actual airplanes,
too.


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