hangar queens
- Thread starter tjbell
- Start date
Rob, They had lost the log books, the tach was missing so he did not remember the total hours on the plane, the spark plugs had been pulled so he could turn it over every once in a while but did not put in oil in the cylinders to keep them from rusting. The left wing had a fix in it from hitting a taxi light, later in the conversation he told me of an emergency landing on a road and hitting something with the left wing and taking half of it off, wing had been replaced but it always had a pull to one side in level flight. The wing tips had been changed out with Vikings lights and strobes but no paper work done to make it legal. They had used auto spot putty all over the plane for little imperfections, but the wing repair on the fuel tank area was the crappy part but is easily fixed. The plane had been stored inside most of it's life but the side windows where hazed up so that made me wonder if it had set out for a while? The Tail number is N7606E I had an interest in it since was told they have more room than the 14-13 and I am a taller guy. I will try to get my wife to post some pictures. Thanks Joe
Rob58
Moderator
Hi Joe... you will find plenty of maintenance issues with just about any Cruisemaster, after all they are 60+ years old. However the lack of log books, the missing tach, and the major damage to the left wing does worry me. Did the seller share any maintenance records? Do you know how old the fabric is (and how does it feel)? If you have a continuing interest in this aircraft you might start by ordering a copy of the records from the FAA (only costs $5). If the repair work was done by a reputable shop they would have submitted a 337 to the FAA. If this was not done then just another reason to be suspicious. Although you did not mention the asking price to buy this bird, I have come up with a basic rule of thumb: the lower the asking price (based on general condition) the more money you will ultimately invest to have a safe aircraft. --Rob
Rob, I do know of the FAA disc you can get, I have done that before, Thanks, He is asking 15k for it, my wife just posted some pictures on the Facebook Bellanca sight. He had told me some of the repairs did not have the 337 paper work done on them and if you would of seen them I would be afraid they blow right off if it was to get into the air. I did punch check the fabric, tail needs done fuselage is iffy, the flaps and ailerons pushed 5. The logs missing and tach gone really made wonder how many hours is on it. With pulling the plugs and rolling it over every so often and not winterizing with oil in the cylinders makes me think you would have to do a top end. I went there to look since I was told there is more room in the 14-19-3 than the 14-13 has? Thanks Joe