99 replacement aircraft?
- Thread starter Douglas
- Start date
z987k
Well-Known Member
Knowing the FAA, they'll probably retract the wing spar AD(or allow some really easy way around it) once most of the airplanes start hitting it, and then cry foul when a separation even happens.
scooter2525
Very well Member
I'm curious to what AMF will do with all the PA-31 WHEN the bank work goes away.
z987k
Well-Known Member
What's that book.... haulin checks or something?Probably one last flight as a drug runner.
Cal Goat
Prestige Worldwide™
Might as well. Always cheaper to run the airplane you own outright. Although the airworthiness becomes such a gray area when your squawks keep coming back "Could not duplicate." :-/
SA227driver
Well-Known Member
We are in the process of selling them. Navajos are almost all gone and still holding onto the Chieftains. Mgmt estimates in 2-3 years we'll be an all turbine company.
As for those 99's. Most only have 35,000-45,000 hours on them. They're still good for another couple ten thousand hours. ;-)
scooter2525: it's B. 34Ak is over 55,000 hours now and still going strong. :-D
Maurus
The Great Gazoo
The Navajo graveyard was quite large last time I was in BUR. I don't think the chieftains will last 2 more years.
scooter2525
Very well Member
who buys a well used freight plane?
SA227driver
Well-Known Member
Some operator down in Venezuela got the Lears. Not sure where the Navajos are going.
Cal Goat
Prestige Worldwide™
Wealthy South Americans who only need them to make one or two low altitude runs in order to turn a profit.
scooter2525
Very well Member
And you know this how?
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
Take it from me, I'd rather fly a "well used freight plane" than many a "always stored in a hangar" planes I've seen and or ferried.
Cal Goat
Prestige Worldwide™
And you know this how?
When I was in aircraft sales a few years ago, we had a mid-70 T-210 that a Bolivian buyer came to look at. The airplane was decent. Panel probably hadn't been upgraded since it left the factory and I think it may have had a gear up landing at one point in its life. Bottom line being that given the damage history and yawn-worthy panel, no American in the market for a Turbo Centurion was interested in this bird.
So this Bolivian dude comes to check it out. Doesn't speak much English. He doesn't even want to test fly it, he just runs it up real good on the ground and says he'll take it. He didn't go so far as to pay cash for it, but he kindly asked that we list the price on the sales receipt as something ridiculously lower than what he actually paid for it (for export tax reasons as I recall). We didn't help him there.
The day comes when he's going to fly off with this thing. I pick him and his translator up from the hotel and drive them to the airport. They stop in the local pilot shop and purchase a brand new Garmin 496 and a couple of headsets right there on the spot. Then jump in to fly off. So the pilot can't speak English and the translator has no aviation experience. I cringed as I listened to their departure from a rather busy KSJC on a handheld radio.
I can't prove that airplane became a drug mule, but based on the circumstances of the sale, I'm perfectly willing to speculate.
That's actually a fair assessment. I've gone to pick up my fair share of hangar queens which seem so lovely, only to discover during a pre-buy inspection that 3 of 6 cylinders have no compression because they've just been rotting away, unused for years.
Pilotforhire587
Lycra Man
Same way we got up front in the old cargo MU2's, TPE331's for the win!
CaptDave22
New Member
SpiraMirabilis
Possible Subversive
About 30% less cube space than a caravan or a 99, but it does look pretty.
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