Or when to stop putting money in the hole in the water!
The advice I got was "Get a beater PA18 and fly the sh*t out of it." So I got a 1952 PA-18-135. Flys great, and of course now I want to make it better. I've got a friend with his A&P who's willing to help with work and oversight. Yes, I've read the advice that the cheapest way to mod a SC is to buy one that already has the mods you want, but a few thousand here and there is more likely to pass the finance committee than a $75k one time event. That said, I don't want to get too upside down on this thing.
Airframe Hrs: 5400hrs, (4000hrs as a duster, then reburbed and put out to pasture as toy.) Damage history to wings, but repaired and 1000hrs since. Engine has 1200Hrs SFOH, 60hrs SMOH
What do you'all think the value of such a PA-18-135 with the following is today?
- 1700# GW upgrade mod
- 26" Goodyears
- Radio and ADS-B out
- Lightweight Generator, Starter and Battery under seat
- MicroAero VGs
Would you eventually replace the 0290 with a O320? I've read advice that upgrading a PA-18-95 to the bigger engine is sort of a waste as they are rare. Is the same true of the 135s? With this one being an old sprayer and having damage history, I imagine it's not a candidate to be an Oskosh winner.
I know variations of this question comes up repeatedly but the value of SCs seems to have changed significantly in the past few years. (Damm YouTubers!) There's quite a bit of info on the 1970ish -150s and -180s but what about a dang old -135? Thanks!
The advice I got was "Get a beater PA18 and fly the sh*t out of it." So I got a 1952 PA-18-135. Flys great, and of course now I want to make it better. I've got a friend with his A&P who's willing to help with work and oversight. Yes, I've read the advice that the cheapest way to mod a SC is to buy one that already has the mods you want, but a few thousand here and there is more likely to pass the finance committee than a $75k one time event. That said, I don't want to get too upside down on this thing.
Airframe Hrs: 5400hrs, (4000hrs as a duster, then reburbed and put out to pasture as toy.) Damage history to wings, but repaired and 1000hrs since. Engine has 1200Hrs SFOH, 60hrs SMOH
What do you'all think the value of such a PA-18-135 with the following is today?
- 1700# GW upgrade mod
- 26" Goodyears
- Radio and ADS-B out
- Lightweight Generator, Starter and Battery under seat
- MicroAero VGs
Would you eventually replace the 0290 with a O320? I've read advice that upgrading a PA-18-95 to the bigger engine is sort of a waste as they are rare. Is the same true of the 135s? With this one being an old sprayer and having damage history, I imagine it's not a candidate to be an Oskosh winner.
I know variations of this question comes up repeatedly but the value of SCs seems to have changed significantly in the past few years. (Damm YouTubers!) There's quite a bit of info on the 1970ish -150s and -180s but what about a dang old -135? Thanks!