Wanted: Comanche 180 to be well taken care of at a good home

[Bill Decker]

I'm actively looking for a Comanche 180. I'm ready to take up flying again after a long pause. After trying to decide for a long time on what plane fits my wants, I've come to believe the PA-24-180 is it.

I joined ICS recently which was a good move as I have learned a lot.

Like others that have been down this road, I'm having trouble finding one that has had good maintenance, all the ADs complied with, and has either has quality upgrades or is more original without low quality or questionable upgrades.

So if someone is ready to part with their prized baby Comanche, please send me an email at wgdecker@gmail.com

My location is a challenge being far away from everywhere without an airplane to get me somewhere. I'm in north east NY near Lake Placid in Saranac Lake (SLK).

It will also be a challenge for me to fit back into the changed scene at the local airport as so much has changed. We had a large and active flying community and the personalities and character we had in our group is a story all in itself. Then many things changed and it all fell apart. That is a long story in itself also.

Anyway, any help anyone can give me to steer me to my hopefully soon to be new to me Comanche 180, I will certainly appreciate.

[Mike Myers]

Bill, I got your email earlier today, and planned to reply, but maybe I will just comment on here in case there are other people thinking about a 180. Posting this on ICS is probably the best advice I can give. I would also call ICS and have a wanted ad posted in the magazine. When I posted a wanted ad on this forum, I got lucky and had an ICS member contact me within a week and I eventually purchased his plane. Up until then, I had about the same amount of luck with Trade A Plane, Controller, and Barnstormer. A lot of good looking 180s, but once you research or even go and look at the plane, they are far from what is advertised. Not that this means anything, but none of the above mentioned airplanes I looked at were owned by ICS members.

I'm only 6mo into Comanche ownership and by far am not an expert. Be sure to get a good trustworthy mechanic who knows Comanche ADs inside and out. Make sure the gear inspection has been completed legally, most of the problems I ran into was them saying the gear AD was done last annual, which after reviewing the logbooks they just did the bungees which is part B of the AD. Make sure parts A and C have been complied with. That is a very expensive AD to do and not one you may want to tackle after purchase.

When I was shopping, I wanted a good solid airframe, up to date on ADs and something that was IFR capable. Mine fulfilled all of these and I was able to go in and spend money on "fun" things right away, not money making it airworthy.

Good luck in your search! This forum has a wealth of information and many people willing to give advice. For what it's worth, I got lucky with someone contacting me as a result of my wanted ad on this forum, but I probably received more calls from my wanted ad I placed in the magazine as there a quite a few ICS members who don't read the forums much.

Mike

[Keith Koenig]

Good luck Bill,

I too spent about a year looking for my 180 which I bought last July. Most of the ones I called about are still being advertised. I wonder why ?? Pre purchase pre purchase pre purchase, repeat after me. Gear Gear Gear. Mine was owned by the same guy for 32 years. Decent shape but not flown much in last 10 years as he was about 80 yrs old and was done using it for business. I knew the gear was sloppy and my excellent prebuy by Danny Stark gave me an idea of what it would cost. Overall I think I got a good deal for the condition even with an $8K annual I was expecting. There was one I almost purchased except for the price. It was from FL. Engine almost runout but had a 430w and A/P new paint and tip tanks. It is now for sale in Las Vegas for a ridiculous amount. I believe the old lady in FL sold it for about $28k and he is now asking $47K.

Keith

[Mark Anderson]

Bill,

There is one for sale on the bulletin board at KMDQ, Madison County Executive Airport in Huntsville, Al. It is on the field, in a hanger, red and white. N-5661R. Not sure the asking price. I think it has a new prop on it. If you call the FBO they could give you the owners #. (256) 828-3883.

Good Luck

Mark Anderson