floats
10-09-2003, 06:16 PM
I just went through several miserable months of owning a Super Cub and I hope this will help other people avoid the same thing.
I've had a J3 on floats for several years and decided to go for a Super Cub. A broker here in Central Florida had imported two from Turkey, one was a basket case and the other was supposedly a ground up restoration. The broker had gotten a new CofA and registration, and an FAA inspector had signed it off as a "0" hour airplane. I also had a pre-buy inpection done and the IA said it was good to go.
I took delivery with 6 hours on the tac, after about 4 hours I was having low oil pressure. By 15 hours I was really worried and decided to have a mechanic look at it. At 17 hours the engine was dismantled and it was very obvious that it had well over 1,000 hours on it and had been assembled from used parts, nothing was new. And it had the wrong oil pump installed. Needless to say, I was sick! The case and sump was covered in very old sludge. This airplane was signed off in Turkey as a fresh rebuild, "0" hours with a whole list of SB's and AD's that supposedly been complied with, all BS! With new logs for engine, airframe and prop all signed off in Turkey. It was all a complete misrepresentation, a lie.
I started looking over the airframe more carefully and had a fabric man take a look. The whole airplane had a very thin coat of dope, some parts had no silver, and the paint was very thin. Then, also at 17 hours, paint peeled up on the rudder and the fabric fibers were seperated enough that I could push a piece of paper through the fibers, scary!
After dickering back and forth with the broker and still being dissatisfied with the way he had agreed to fix the situation, I convinced him that it was in his best interest to buy the airplane back from me, otherwise there was going to be everyone one from the FAA to the BBB hearing about this. So fortunately I got my money back 6 months after buying it.
So, beware! Be careful! Know what you're doing! I've learned alot from the experience and I will buy another Super Cub, but it will be built by a reputable builder and have a good history. And now I have a brand new set of floats sitting in my barn with nothing to put them on. For now, I'm sticking with the J3.
I've had a J3 on floats for several years and decided to go for a Super Cub. A broker here in Central Florida had imported two from Turkey, one was a basket case and the other was supposedly a ground up restoration. The broker had gotten a new CofA and registration, and an FAA inspector had signed it off as a "0" hour airplane. I also had a pre-buy inpection done and the IA said it was good to go.
I took delivery with 6 hours on the tac, after about 4 hours I was having low oil pressure. By 15 hours I was really worried and decided to have a mechanic look at it. At 17 hours the engine was dismantled and it was very obvious that it had well over 1,000 hours on it and had been assembled from used parts, nothing was new. And it had the wrong oil pump installed. Needless to say, I was sick! The case and sump was covered in very old sludge. This airplane was signed off in Turkey as a fresh rebuild, "0" hours with a whole list of SB's and AD's that supposedly been complied with, all BS! With new logs for engine, airframe and prop all signed off in Turkey. It was all a complete misrepresentation, a lie.
I started looking over the airframe more carefully and had a fabric man take a look. The whole airplane had a very thin coat of dope, some parts had no silver, and the paint was very thin. Then, also at 17 hours, paint peeled up on the rudder and the fabric fibers were seperated enough that I could push a piece of paper through the fibers, scary!
After dickering back and forth with the broker and still being dissatisfied with the way he had agreed to fix the situation, I convinced him that it was in his best interest to buy the airplane back from me, otherwise there was going to be everyone one from the FAA to the BBB hearing about this. So fortunately I got my money back 6 months after buying it.
So, beware! Be careful! Know what you're doing! I've learned alot from the experience and I will buy another Super Cub, but it will be built by a reputable builder and have a good history. And now I have a brand new set of floats sitting in my barn with nothing to put them on. For now, I'm sticking with the J3.