Spitfire needs work

[Tom O]

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[Elektrishun]

"It's not a toy. Lowballers and idiots will be blocked."

I guess I'm out.

Nonetheless, that would be quite the project.

 

[StevSmar]

I wonder what scale it is.

$110,000 for a replica that needs restoration from a landing accident seems optimistic.

I’d always dreamed of building a 80%+ scale replica of a Hawker Hurricane.

 

[phaxtris]

From some quick searching seems to be some odd smissmorshon scale, wings are 75% scale, fuse is 90% scale, has 2 seats with dual controls, second seat must not have much of a view

Kitplanes magazine lists that as 214,000$ kit with engine, estimated at 250 completed, in 2012 dollars

So, for the right guy that's probably not to bad

 

[trevj]

Meh. I have not got the price of admission, nor would I deal with the seller if I had. Just based on his advert copy.

Seems like a headache that will hemorrhage money.

 

[jorogi]

Seems like a headache that will hemorrhage money.

And there we have aviation defined.
I always got a chuckle out of guys wingeing how their boat was a hole in the water to pour money into. Obviously they don't own an airplane.

 

[phaxtris]

Seems like a headache that will hemorrhage money.

welcome to airplanes

 

[trevj]

welcome to airplanes

Not news to me, spent almost 30 years burning other people's money, fixing and fueling various military aircraft. Started out on Grumman CS2f Trackers and Lockheed T-33 Silver Stars, went on from that gig, to Moose Jaw, on the Tutor aircraft, then Bell 412's, then F-18's.

From my perspective, if the owner wants half a decent chance to sell, he would be best to repair or have repaired, and signed off, the Damages, and factor in the costs with hopes of recovering at least most of the expenses.

Holding out the 'no lowballers' phrase when the shopper is liable to be uncovering even more expensive damages as soon as the repairs starts, leads me to think he is hoping to unload a problem on someone else. I figure anyone with a modicum of experience in the field of aviation maintenance is going to want to pay FAR less than what this seller will likely think is a low-ball offer, as insurance against it turning in to an even greater money suck.

 

[phaxtris]

The real question is, why isnt insurance fixing it, or selling it, could he not get coverage or did he not have coverage?

Of course it would be smarter for him to repair it and either continue flying it, or sell it. But im guessing he either doesn't have the skills or like your leading to, he found much more damage than was first apparent. Given its a homebuilt it could be repaired with sweat equity and the cost of aluminum. But in any case i bet he gets 80 for it, heck there is a guy at spring bank who put a turbine on an an2, then put that same an2 on custom carbon fiber floats...to make it into a flying camper, just because he wanted to, lots of guys in this part of the country with that kind of cash.

 

[trevj]

The real question is, why isnt insurance fixing it, or selling it, could he not get coverage or did he not have coverage?

Of course it would be smarter for him to repair it and either continue flying it, or sell it. But im guessing he either doesn't have the skills or like your leading to, he found much more damage than was first apparent. Given its a homebuilt it could be repaired with sweat equity and the cost of aluminum. But in any case i bet he gets 80 for it, heck there is a guy at spring bank who put a turbine on an an2, then put that same an2 on custom carbon fiber floats...to make it into a flying camper, just because he wanted to, lots of guys in this part of the country with that kind of cash.

Springbank, outside Calgary? I was trapped there for almost two weeks when they held the G-8 summit, in Kananaskis Country(2002?), long ago! LOL. We were bored enough to start snaring gophers from their holes, and dying them different colors with Kool-Aid crystals before releasing them... Red ones, purple ones, green ones... LOL!


The CF provided the Taxi Service from Calgary to the Summit. Fun times <spit!>. We were about a week out from the road move down to the camp that had been built for us at Springbank, and we all got called in to a briefing. They swore petty or better revenge upon us if we leaked any of the info that they were passing along, (secret, you know!), and proceeded to tell us that we were being a Taxi Service. One of our Comms Techs stood up when the Commanding Officer asked if anyone had any questions. "Sir, are we flying with live armed CF-18's on overwatch?" "Yes!"

"Will they attack aircraft that do not have IFF's (Identification, Friend or Foe)? "Yes!"

"Where are we getting IFF's to put in the rest of our Helicopters?" "We HAVE IFF's in our Helicopters!"

No sir, I am the tech that has been moving our four serviceable IFF's systems from aircraft to aircraft (we had, IIRC. 12 or 14 Bell 412's <spit> (pieces of crap!), ensuring that you had a working IFF on your flight!"
Was actually hilarious to see the CO glaring at the Squadron Engineering Officer and a bunch of other senior ranks that were parked in the front row, trying to be absorbed by their seats! LOL! Would have paid to be a fly on the wall, when THAT talk took place!

'Miraculously', someone found the money to buy the replacement IFF boxes that were previously considered 'too expensive'.

I consider that I worked WITH, a great bunch of Great People. I worked FOR, F**king Morons, who I would not willingly follow out a fire escape, if I had seen the flames with my own eyes! <spit>



One outfit in one of the Hangars there, was building a Turboprop 'homebuilt' with a Russian copy of a PT-6 on it, I was chatting with them, told of some of our capabilities, and ended up making some custom leather stick boots for the build, while killing time waiting for real work.

I'd bet that after paying what he did for the kit, likely paying to have it built (because really, what ratio of the guys spending that kind of money, really wants to put hundreds/thousands of hours in to hand work?), he probably skipped on the cost of insurance. Not that I can say I don't feel that way, I killed my $2K per year replacement contents insurance on my house, when I noted that the stuff they would replace, I didn't give a pinch of poo for, and could replace at will out of my own budget, while the stuff I valued, was worth nothing to the Insurer (photo albums, personal history mementos, family inherited antiques, art stuff, books, etc. Even my shop tools, if I was being incredibly generous, would not drag the total value of what was in my house, anywhere near what I was paying for. So I stopped it, cold.

 

[phaxtris]

That g8 summit is coming up again, it's quite the costly event, 100 police officers doing mock convoys during the middle of rush hour, cf posted in little makeshift fobs all over k country, f18's, helicopters (I assume for the taxi service like you said), turning all of Calgary and a 30nm ring around kanaskas town into a cyr for how ever long, shutting down major highways in k country

It's not a popular event here, I think we all feel your frustration with that one.

That guy with the antonov is there quite often, I'm not sure how often he is actually physically doing the work however, but the thing does fly on floats now. Well the one does at least, the other one is sitting at that outfit who did the turbine swap without the wings. I couldn't imagine not having some kind of coverage on there with the cost of the turbine alone