JMBreitinger
Registered User
Minneapolis, MN
I am in the process of buying my first rag & tube airplane, a 1947 PA-12.
My partner and I currently operate a turbo Mooney that we use both in our business and for fun. In the last few years, we have each had multiple opportunities to fly a variety of rag & tube airplanes, including Citabrias, two Super Cubs, a Pitts S2C and a Decathlon. We got started flying these planes when we sought advanced training on spin recovery and emergency maneuver training. That led to ski flying. It has been a slippery slope. Both of us have decided that, if we had one hour left to fly, it would be in one of these birds. With that said, neither of us has unlimited resources or the time to fly as much as any healthy person would like to.
A few weeks ago, our neighbor at the airport told us that he was selling his hangar and his three airplanes. We went over to look at the hangar and ended up agreeing to buy one of the planes. The plane is a 1947 Super Cruiser. It appears to be in perfect condition and has a zero-time 115 hp engine. Everything is pretty much stock except that it has Cleveland wheels and brakes, PA-18 main gear and air intake. He had the airplane restored from the ground up three years ago, then got prostate cancer and lost his medical. The covering, paint and interior are perfect. The seller is a guy we know, who is a very good guy with substantial resources and who generally does things in a first-class manner.
The logs are complete. The airframe has 2,500 hours on it and no damage history.
We are having a pre-purchase and annual inspection done next week by our mechanic. We will discuss the restoration job with the shop that did it. My biggest concern is that the airplane has not flown since three years ago when the restoration was completed. I am confident that we will get a good assessment of the condition and airworthiness of the plane.
I would appreciate the opportunity to hear from those with experience with these planes. We will have a third partner, a newly licensed 100-hour private pilot.
We hope to use this airplane to get our feet wet with this type of flying. There will be three of us flying the plane. Two of us have cabins 140 miles away with good grass strips nearby. We would like to put the airplane on wheel skis in the winter.
In addition to wanting to learn about these planes generally, I have a couple of specific questions:
1. We are paying $40,000. Does this seem fair? I can't find any current comps.
2. The plane only has one lap belt in the back. Should it have two? There are no shoulder harnesses. Is there an STC that would allow us to add these?
3. There are a few things that I would like to have; flaps, a sky light, 8.50 tires... Is there a good list of the available STCs and does it make sense to modify an airplane like this? Are there any must-read resources on these planes?
4. Is there a wheel ski option for this airplane? We have a heated hangar at a towered airport and want to keep it inside at night.
5. Is the 115 hp engine going to be sufficient for our use, which is basically boring holes in the sky?
6. How do you carry anything in this plane? I saw several at Oshkosh this week with the extended baggage mod but hear consistently that it makes no sense to do this unless the covering is already off of the airplane.
Thanks in advance for any insights. Sorry my first post is so long.
My partner and I currently operate a turbo Mooney that we use both in our business and for fun. In the last few years, we have each had multiple opportunities to fly a variety of rag & tube airplanes, including Citabrias, two Super Cubs, a Pitts S2C and a Decathlon. We got started flying these planes when we sought advanced training on spin recovery and emergency maneuver training. That led to ski flying. It has been a slippery slope. Both of us have decided that, if we had one hour left to fly, it would be in one of these birds. With that said, neither of us has unlimited resources or the time to fly as much as any healthy person would like to.
A few weeks ago, our neighbor at the airport told us that he was selling his hangar and his three airplanes. We went over to look at the hangar and ended up agreeing to buy one of the planes. The plane is a 1947 Super Cruiser. It appears to be in perfect condition and has a zero-time 115 hp engine. Everything is pretty much stock except that it has Cleveland wheels and brakes, PA-18 main gear and air intake. He had the airplane restored from the ground up three years ago, then got prostate cancer and lost his medical. The covering, paint and interior are perfect. The seller is a guy we know, who is a very good guy with substantial resources and who generally does things in a first-class manner.
The logs are complete. The airframe has 2,500 hours on it and no damage history.
We are having a pre-purchase and annual inspection done next week by our mechanic. We will discuss the restoration job with the shop that did it. My biggest concern is that the airplane has not flown since three years ago when the restoration was completed. I am confident that we will get a good assessment of the condition and airworthiness of the plane.
I would appreciate the opportunity to hear from those with experience with these planes. We will have a third partner, a newly licensed 100-hour private pilot.
We hope to use this airplane to get our feet wet with this type of flying. There will be three of us flying the plane. Two of us have cabins 140 miles away with good grass strips nearby. We would like to put the airplane on wheel skis in the winter.
In addition to wanting to learn about these planes generally, I have a couple of specific questions:
1. We are paying $40,000. Does this seem fair? I can't find any current comps.
2. The plane only has one lap belt in the back. Should it have two? There are no shoulder harnesses. Is there an STC that would allow us to add these?
3. There are a few things that I would like to have; flaps, a sky light, 8.50 tires... Is there a good list of the available STCs and does it make sense to modify an airplane like this? Are there any must-read resources on these planes?
4. Is there a wheel ski option for this airplane? We have a heated hangar at a towered airport and want to keep it inside at night.
5. Is the 115 hp engine going to be sufficient for our use, which is basically boring holes in the sky?
6. How do you carry anything in this plane? I saw several at Oshkosh this week with the extended baggage mod but hear consistently that it makes no sense to do this unless the covering is already off of the airplane.
Thanks in advance for any insights. Sorry my first post is so long.
