Buying a plane ...all of a sudden....questions.......

Hootie

Old Skool
Well last week my new boss (I've known him for two years because we did alot of our rating at the exact same time), asked me if I wanted to buy a tomahawk with him. Blah Blah Blah so we take out this tomahawk a couple nights ago, did some airwork, then took it on a 100 mile x-country for a hamburger and some touch ang go's. Cool, fun, little, plane. So we are going to haggle with the owner, but then he calls me today and feels he found a better deal, and by what I have seen it seems really good.
3000tt 200smoh good interior, good paint, transponder, king com/nav, king com, dual vors, one gs, garmin 196, recent annual. For around 19grand.
A little more than what I wanted to pay but alot nicer equipped plane. And he is willing to bring it out for inspection later this week.
So great deal or bad deal?
We want to fly it on some good trips 400-500 hours (long x-countries) over the next one-two years and then either sell it or lease it somewhere. Also since he is the manager of the airport and fbo we can tie it down for free, and the head mechanic wants to trade flight time for mechanic time. So it "SEEMS" like a good situation. Am I naive? I'm sure if I decide its a good deal I'll need to talk to a lawyer about some details of a partnership. I could really use some advice here especially about partnership agreements. Thanks!!
 
It sounds like a good deal, considering the engine only has 200 SMOH. One thing to consider on the Tomahawk is I think the wing is limited to 11,000TT. However, since the one your looking at is 3000TT I doubt you'd ever get close to that, even if you owned it for twenty years. The one thing I would recommend is that you have a signed contract with your partner. If for some reason the future you have a falling out you don't want to get screwed over. I would also have something in the contract that allows you to sell your share if needed.
 
Well I talked to my boss this morning and the guy says he will fly it out later this week, but he doesn't want a deposit. So who knows what will happen (good stuff I hope). Who wants tomahawk rides?
grin.gif
 
You might want to think about having a title company run a lien check and also a 337 check. The 337 check will tell you about repairs and mods. to the airframe.

What year is it? I have a blue book program and would be happy to run the specs through for a quick and dirty inventory and average retail price. What kind of coms, txpndr, etc.., condition of glass, who did the engine rebuild?

Also, go to myairplane.com (sorry, not trying to advertise for another website, so please don't take it that way) and run a background check on the n-number. It can tell you if there is any noteworthy history on the airplane.

Good Luck
smile.gif
 
Have a trusted mechanic (preferably one with experience on type) do a thorough pre-buy inspection, to include a thorough review of the logbook history. Definitely do a title search, and ensure that all ADs are complied with. Check for gaps in the maintenance log and any evidence of damage history ... don't trust a broker or seller's "NDH" notation at face value. Read over the mx history looking for "clues" of damage ... landing gear replacements, skin replacement, etc. Good luck.

FL270
 
Back
Top