Seeking advice, buying a plane.

[Shiny Side Up]

another fine example of outstanding "commercial" maintenance ...
http://www.csplane.com/7173.htm

"Hey Billy-Bob! C'mere! It dun got one of them FANCY King radios in et. Yeehaw flip-flop!"

I dont think I've ever seen a 180 in commercial service that wasn't completely thrashed.

It's not trashed, it is just cosmetically challenged

Maybe its just me, but the two airplanes posted as examples of poor commercial maintenance don't look in that bad of shape especially given their age and having served working lives. Any plane is going to look bad if you take a picture of it in a snowbank. Personally, previous to their new production in '98, Cessnas had terrible interior finish, they even look ratty when they're in good shape. Pipers were marginally better, the Grummans weren't too bad with the exception of the lovely Seventies colors sometimes (though I'm partial to the Jade green interior colors from having grown up in the seventies) Only the Beeches which were generally finished in battleship grey inside stood up reasonably well.

[Hornblower]

Maybe its just me, but the two airplanes posted as examples of poor commercial maintenance don't look in that bad of shape especially given their age and having served working lives

Shiney ... you're kidding right ??? You wouldn't pay money to fly in that would you??

I've flown worse ... but not much worse ... but they had to pay me to do it

[Hornblower]

Sorry I'm retaliating but she wasn't a "Moron", at the time commercial planes in Canada needed to undergo 50 hour, 100 hour and 150 hour inspections while private ones only needed the 100 hour ones. If the plane was getting flown it would need twice as many inspections. Then you come along with your, "Dey aint gotta git more fixin." ok.

Beef, never take advice on maintenance from a girl flight instructor ... I mean seriously ...

By the way, the rules for maintenance have been the same since '96, so unless she is your grandma, I can't imagine where she got that from. Of course she probably thought the maintenance schedule for her flying school was the same as all the other flying schools in the world. She probably didn't know any more about the regs that she knew about maintenance.

Let me know if you need any more help or advice ok

[iflyforpie]

'30 feet' airplanes are fine and typical, but when you can tell how bad it is by a thumbnail?

[Shiny Side Up]

Shiney ... you're kidding right ??? You wouldn't pay money to fly in that would you??

Of course I wouldn't pay to rent one of them. The only point is that most of the issues look more from general neglect than from any sort of commercial maintenance. Both airplanes, by the photos look like they've sat for quite a while at the very least since the last summer. Notably, neither of them list as being in commercial service, the one notably has very low airframe time for possibly having served as one. For their age, they're definitely not the worst shape I've seen airplanes.

FWIW, I've also flown airplanes that looked fairer, but proved to be fouler when it came to nasty tricks shiny new paint and a re-upholstered interior hid.

'30 feet' airplanes are fine and typical, but when you can tell how bad it is by a thumbnail?

Your resolution must be better than mine. Its always too bad to see airplanes in that kind of shape though. Once upon a time they came shiny and new from the factory and you have to wonder what on earth happened to them in between...

[Hornblower]

One is Keeper River Air Service out of Red, and the other is an outfitter in northern Ontario ... can't remember the name. Keeper has another one too that I couldn't find a pic of, but it's even worse ... ugly

And as far as I'm concerned, if you cant afford a plastic panel for the instrument panel cover, or a little paint, what about the other stuff like engine, structures, and controls? How about spending a few bucks on maintenance, which is the whole purpose of maintenance after all ... to maintain; not deteriorate ... sorta like most flying school aircraft I've seen.

[ArcticKat]

Sigh, I'm not even gonna bother coming back to this thread any more.

[Hornblower]

Here at Avcanada we love to hijack

[Beefitarian]

By the way, the rules for maintenance have been the same since '96, so unless she is your grandma, I can't imagine where she got that from.

It was probably around 1993, no relation.
That's partially why I was asking. Many things are different now.

[Hornblower]

Oh, I thought you said about 10 years ago. ... but seriously ... maintenance advice from a girl flight instructor ... ???