Old Champ- Missing first 4 years of logs

[Cardiff Kook]

I am looking at buying my first plane. I had my eye on a 1951 Champ 7ec.

The plane is in good condition, and was fully restored in 1990's.

The owner is missing the log book prior to 1955. Logs start at about 1000 hours.

Are incomplete logs on an old plane a big deal?

Thanks for any input! Steep learning curve over here.

[Cardiff Kook]

I may have found my own answer

https://www.supercub.org/forum/showt...f-Missing-Logs

[DENNY]

It depends, but for the most part no. The number one thing is to make sure the IA that will be taking care of the plane is OK with it and does the pre-buy. I have a 1951 PA18A first 20 years of the logs are gone. Not a big deal for a plane up here.
DENNY

[Paul Persinger Jr.]

Not a big deal at all. You've got decades of maintenance records to review.

[bob turner]

Yes, but you need a statement of total time. That first log cannot say "estimated time 1000 hours."

You are legal with logs that start on Feb 7, 2020, that say "Total time from records 3254 hours." You are not legal with an estimate in 1955. Few would give you a hard time either way, so not to worry.

If you find an IA that won't license an aircraft with missing logs, lose that IA immediately.

Opinion, but I can probably find and post the FAR.