<<<<Another option would be to sell it without the airworthiness/registration and let another take it apart and reassemble.>>>>
Quick story about people.
There was an exp. supercub for sale in MT that I called on a little while back, was advertised at 60k. Once you get into looking at ads, it's not hard to see oddities listed. The odd part on this one was where it was listed. (an obscure facebook page for aircraft parts) A friend of mine also reminded me that it was the same plane previously for sale last April from a builder in WA, as parts only, no paperwork, for 25k. The builder wanted to absolve himself of any liability. So I had to call.
The original (builders) ad showed 350 hours or so on the engine prior to install in cub. The current ad showed airframe and engine with a total hours of 178 or something low like that. When questioned, the fellow on the phone immediately stepped back and said it wasn't his airplane, he was just listing it for a friend. All he knew was what the hour meter showed in the panel. But they had just put the wings back on and had not flown the aircraft at all. He didn't have a contact for the builder, as they (they current owner and him) had dealt with a daughter, as the builder "has dementia or something". He would have his friend call me.
So I called the number in the original ad as parts for sale for 25k and left a message asking about the airplane, hoping for a call from the builders daughter or someone.
In the meantime the actual owner called me and regaled me in some wonderful flying stories around the country in all sorts of low and slow aircraft, all while avoiding most of the reasons for the call. I enjoyed the call, but also knew he avoided the question(s). So I point blank asked him about the paperwork, and he said they submitted an application for a duplicate airworthiness cert and were denied by the FAA as the builder had sent them a letter stating it was destroyed. The new owner took photos of the airplane and a bunch of build related receipts and sent them back to the FAA, stating that no, it's in his hangar and ready to fly. So the FAA issued him a duplicate AW certificate, in the original owner/builders name.
About the time I hung up with the current owner, the builder returned my call... in person, and sounding just fine. As he was driving at the time, I think he's in good health. He immediately questioned how the airplane was available to purchase because he sold it as parts, with no paperwork, and the new owner promised he would not get a certificate and sell it. This was exactly what he was trying to avoid. His next call was going to be to Oklahoma, asking how they could issue a certificate to a new owner in his name. He turned in the AW cert to turn the aircraft back into a pile of parts, and since they accepted it he expected they would keep it that way.
And that was the end of my connection with that situation. Sorry for the thread disruption, but I thought it may be relevant, as you never know where your airplane truly is going. My friend in Middlebury sold his Fouga Magister to a Museum in Britain or somewhere over on that side of the pond. The photos show it probably flys more there than it did here. Must be a different type of museum.
His time is coming, maybe.
