The First Prop-blem

Nope, not an unintentional mispelling in the title. 

After getting back to Raleigh, there were two things I wanted my mechanic to check out for me.  On the first stop of my trip back I had noticed a noise coming from the mains that would go away when I depressed the brakes.  Sounded like friction coming from the brakes, which seemed odd to me since they had just replaced the tires and the brake linings/pads.  When I landed at KTTA and was pushing the plane back to its spot, it could be heard then too, so I figured worth having the A&P check out.  I also asked him while he was there to check out the dent in the prop that I had noticed during my pre-flight in Indiana.  

Got a call later that week when the mechanic had the opportunity to check out the plane.  The brakes were a function of gunk built up in them that just required cleaning, which I authorized him to do.  He was, however, concerned with the dent in the prop.  Anytime an A&P says "I mean you're PIC can can decide ..." it's a clue that you should dial in and listen.

The dent was significant in his opinion, and he indicated that he wouldn't have flown it like that.  Lesson learned for me, as clearly my knowledge of props is lacking.  As it is, having a dent at the end of the propeller is worse since that portion travels the fastests and is subject to the most flexing movement in general.  His opinion was that leaving it on there unfixed would eventually cause the engine to dismount due to imbalance/vibration.  Yikes.  Again, he gave me an out, but I explained to him that I wasn't at a stage in my life where I was looking to take uncessary and foolish risks, so definitely pop it off and have it properly addressed.

I believe the pre-buy mechanic when he says his inspection didn't find this, as it was pretty obvious during my pre-flight - but now I have to figure out what the damage will be in terms of $$$

My A&P sent photos to his "prop shop" and the mechanic said he thought he might be able to fix it, but would need to measure it in his shop.  So the prop was removed during the brake work and shipped off.  If it can be repaired, I was told I was probably looking at $600-$700.  If a replacement was needed, that would probably jump to $7K for a newly overhauled propeller.  

While he had the plane, my A&P did a look around to see if there was anything else noteworthy to mention.  He did find a couple of things, but I was at least somewhat relieved by his comment that he didn't see anything "major" that would be an issue, aside from the propeller.  

The one thing he sent me a photo of was my RH flap digging into the aircraft skin.  From the photo, it apepars that there is a bend in the trailing edge that's causing this.  Not something I noticed at all during my pre-flight.  He indicated that they could fix that pretty easily.

Mechanic sent me this photo of the RH flap digging into the skin

The more significt problem, at least for a later time, was a crack he noted in the metal where the seat frame connected to the aircraft.  Not an urgent matter, but something he said would keep it from passing annual.  As such, he told me to prepare for a "rough" first annual, as the crack repait would require doublers to be installed and would probably take his guys about two days to do.  At his hourly shop rate of $130, that made me think probably $2K+ to fix, but we'll burn that bridge when we get there, but clearly something the pre-buy inspector missed.

If there's a glass half full moment here, it's that my mind is telling me that if my mechanic found that, and said he didn't see any other major issues (aside from the prop), then maybe the overall aircraft is in pretty sound condition.  I was terrified last week after a poster on the Facebook C150/152 page mentioned getting a quote for a $25K annual on his first one, so I'm looking for anything at all to reassure me here.  That being said, I am realistic in that I bought a "cheap" Cessna 150 that had sat for a couple of years, and that I would likely need to make some repairs that the previous owner didn't.

So for now, I continue to wait to hear back on the propeller, and the plane I bought because I was tired of never being able to find an airplane to fly, now sits as a temporary ramp queen.  In the meantime, I've now paid two MX bills, so it's a good point to tally MX costs to this point:

Repairs made in response to items found in the pre-buy inspection: $4,549.09

Brake guide pin cleaning and retorque of axel nut on both main wheels, plus prop removal: $434.75

Total MX expenses: $4,983.84

D

Homeward Bound

Two shots of the primer and turned the key ... good crank and fired right up.  After flying the A36 for awhile, I had forgotten how simple and stress free starting an aircraft engine could be.  4TV was running, and after setting her to a thosand RPMs, I scanned the engine instruments.  Temp was bottomed out as expected, but oil pressure was in the green, as was suction.  Engine felt good.

With no dedicated avionics switch, I put on my headset and started flipping the electronics on - specifically the radio, intercom and transponder.  Spoke to myself and got good feedback.  Dialed in ATIS at the field to pick up the weather on COM1, reminding myself that there was only one COM radio.  Good reception.  I raised the flaps and went through the remainder of my checks.

When it was time to move I gave the brand new brake pads a test, and they felt as they should - brand new.  I taxied to my left where there was an empty spot on the ramp where I could do a run up.  As I went through the checks, I got to the engine run up and throttled up to 1,700 RPM.  Everything seemed good so I went to test the mags.  I'll be honest - I half expected a substantial drop, even despite the A&P telling me the cylinders were clean.  Instead, I got a healthy drop on the right mag.  Went back to both on the ignition and over to the left.  Healthy there too.  I was a bit nervous about the carb heat as well given that I had just had the carb heat control readjusted and the carb heat box replaced.  The nerves were misplaced, as it responded as it should. 

By now the tower was open, so called them up for taxi instructions.  The push button com must have worked because I received a reply to taxi to Runway 12 for departure.  Along the way, I passed what appeared to be a juvenile bald ealge perched atop a taxiway sign.

Possibly a juvenile bald eagle came to see me depart

After a final set of takeoff checks, I asked for clearance to depart and was given it.  Upon lining up at the departure end of 12, I slowly advanced the throttle.  It seemed to me like it took a bit for the airspeed to come alive, btu I had forgot that I was accustomed to a digital read out that starts cloer to 20 KIAS.  Airspeed eventually came alive and I confirmed that the engine instruments were in the green.  At around 57 KIAS I began to rotate but felt that she settled a bit and needed closer to 60 KIAS to lift off, but eventually she did.  

The climb was sluggish, but I had to remind myself that I was in a 100 HP Cessna 150.  I realized I was also climbing at about 62 KIAS when V(x) is closer to 56 KIAS, which could explain why I was getting around 400 ft p/m in the climb.  The little airplane showed up on my iPad map, where I had overlayed the course, and I turned slightly to track it to the southeast as I continued my climb to 5,500'.  

It felt like the climb to altitude took FOREVER, as I was generally climbing at about 350' per minute at 65 KIAS or so.  I couldn't tell if this was a result of it being hot/decently humid, the fact that I had a 100 HP engine up front, or if it was something else.  Eventually I did get up to 5,500, and I set the aircraft up for cruise, leaning mixture to a turn or two rich of peak on the TAC.

Flight routing for the trip home

The flight routing I had picked for this trip was something I had thought about for quite some time.  Without ADS-B Out, I'd need to avoid the Mode C veil around CVG and any Class C airspace.  I chose KSJS in Kentucky as my fuel stop, with a turn south at the PRUDE intersection.  This would have me slip just to the east of the CVG Mode C veil and just to the west of the Buckeye MOA.  As I approached PRUDE, I was informed that the Buckeye MOA was cold, so isntead of slipping between the Mode C veil and the MOA, I proceded direct to KSJS.  Estimated flight time on my iPad was 2:15 without around 14 gallons and change in fuel burn.  In reality, it was closer to 2.5 hours, but the fuel burn was pretty spot on as confirmed by the fuel I added to the tanks.

I chose KSJS because it was one of the last airports before the mountains, and I wanted a lower elevation field to ensure that density altitude didn't end up biting me, which ended up being about 3,000' during my stay there.  I parked near the self-serve fuel tanks and walked to the FBO, where a sign indicated that the FBO manager was at his grandson's football game for a bit.  I gave him a call and he told me to just fill up and call him later to settle up.  One of the reasons I love general aviation.

Grabbing gas at KSJS after a call to the airport manager who said to just call and pay him later

With tanks full, it was time to cross the mountains.  I had noticed once crossing into KY that my radio was experiencing varying levels of disturbance as evidenced by a pulsating break in communications, but it seemed to vary depending on the frequency.  A problem for another time.  My second leg would have me proceding west of Roanoke and south of Greensboro on my way to Sanford (KTTA).  I needed 5,500 to cross the mountains VFR.  I wanted 7,500, and given the time it took me to climb, I had concerns about getting that high on such a high density altitude day.  Although it took awhile, 4TV made it to 7,500 ... and then some.

The terrain portion of the trip, with a climb to 7,500

At 7,500 clouds started to appear on the horizon.  At first I was passing above them, but it was clear that they were building, and that I'd either need to climb or descend to avoid them.  I first tried climbing, and much to my amazement, got up to 8,500', which was in reality closer to 10,000 when factoring in density altitude.  Was great to know she could get up that high, which made me wonder if she had a cruise prop rather than a climb prop up front.  

Eventually, it became clear that 8,500 wasn't going to clear the clouds, and that I'd need to scud run a bit between the cloud layer and mountain tops.  I dropped do 6,500', and ended up as low as 6,300 across the mountains to get through, but did so with no problem.  ATC did advise me of a small cell of heavy to extreme precip on my route, which led me to deviate south.  For some reason, which was probably user error, Sentry wasn't giving me radar or weather, so I flipped over to my cell phone to see the cell in question, plus a small one further south.  I split the two and picked a heading that took me further south than planned, but beneath happier clouds.

As this second leg was slightly longer than the first, and with my deviations vertical and lateral, I decided that I would play it safe and add a fuel stop.  This was part because of the reality of landing with seven gallons of fuel remaining, despite being over an hour's worth of fuel, was unnerving for me coming from higher performance aircraft.  Looking at my options, I decided to go with Elkin, NC (ZEF).  

Approach into Elkin and FBO cat the sign on the door said not to let out.

ZEF had a self-serve pump, so I parked next to it and proceded to gas up.  The pump wasn't super intuitive, and I fumbled with it a bit while an older gentelman sitting in a car on the ramp looked on.  Eventually I got it to work and filled up.  After I was done I walked toward the FBO and the older man chatted with me about the airplane, complimenting its looks (which I appreciated).  Sign on the door said not to let the cat out, and a cat lover, I was excited to meet this FBO cat who was napping in a bed on the window.  Hit the bathroom, texted my wife, started back up, and headed off for the last leg of the trip.

There was only about 100nm remaining from ZEF to TTA.  I deviated slightly to stay clear of the GSO Class C, but otherwise it was an easy and smooth leg.  TTA's pattern was fairly busy, as I expected it to be, and I announced my presence 10 miles out, letting everyone know I didn't have ADS-B Out, but could see them.  Found a good spot to enter the downwind to Runway 3 on the 45, and did so.  Quick pattern and I was on the ground, taxiing to the ramp to bring her home.

Found a spot and tied 4TV up, walking to the FBO to meet my wife and one of my sons who had driven in to pick me up.  My son and I walked over to the plane so I could finish grabbing all of my stuff and clean it out, while my wife waited on the ramp with our dog.  And just like that, she was home.  Total time logged - 5.7 hours.

First Time Seeing 4TV

With the deal closed, I authorized the pre-buy mechanic to do all of the items I had deemed necessary to make the airplane airworthy by my standards.  That meant pretty much everything on the list excluding solving the pitot heat issue, replacing the windows and replacing the right seat safety belt.  The windows for the side and back were the most expensive of these, and I wanted to see just how cloudy they were before investing in a replacement.

One reason the price for 4TV was lower than many other 150s on the market was that it lacked ADS-B Out.  This isn't a no-go item, as I could fly it all the way home and back to KTTA without it so long as I avoided all Class B and C airspace along the way.  4TV also has no navigational GPS, so I was looking at potentially having to navigate by pilotage and VORs.  A fun challenge, but not my preferred method.  To increase situational awareness related to traffic and to createa a GPS source for VFR navigation, I purchased a Sentry unit used from someone at my home airport.  It so happened that when I was in the Flying Club space for their monthly lunch, I saw an advertisement for one for $450 so I snatched it up.

My model of Sentry, that includes a carbon monoxide detector

The Sentry provides ADS-B In, which would allow me to see aircraft with ADS-B Out, even if they couldn't see me.  1/2 the situational awareness I ultimately want, but increased peace of mind.  It also interfaces directly with Foreflight, which would allow me to plot a course on a map, and track it using my iPad, plus will display weather radar data.  The added benefit of a CO detector, while not necessary right now, is huge for when winter comes.  Ideally, I'd like to have a built-in ADS-B Out and In solution, but for now this is a great tool.  

My plan to fly to Indianapolis to pick up 4TV was foiled twice.  On the first go, I had intended to stop at IND on my way back from a work trip in Lincoln, Nebraska.  I had brought my flight bag with me instead of my normal work bag, but while on the trip, the mechanic let me know that the spinner was still out for repari and the plane wouldn't be ready to get it.  No problem, though, as that week the "heat dome" had fallen over the entire eastern half of the U.S., with temps well over 100 even in the Midwest.  I had little interest in testing the climb capability over the Appalachians with that type of density altitude.  

A couple of weeks later the A&P informed me that the part was back and that he was going to have it ready to go by the end of that week.  I booked a ticket on Frontier for that following Monday night with the plan of flying it back Tuesday.  Monday morning I rebooked that flight, however, as the forecast called for low clouds and IFR starting in the mountains through NC.  It's a good thing I did, as we ended up with three days of rain, and I would have likely gotten stuck until Friday.  I instead paid a small difference to fly Friday night and fly the airplane back Saturday.

After an on-time (actually early) flight, I arrived at IND and hopped into a Lyft to drive me 53-minutes away to the town where 4TV was.  After arriving at the hotel, I hopped over to Meijer to pick up a small cooler and some food/beverage items for the trip the next day, went back to the hotel, watched a bit of The Office, and got a good night's sleep.

A very desolate FBO at 6:15am

I awoke at 5am, which is pretty normal for me, showered, dressed, packed and then headed to the Airport 10-minutes away.  My Lyft driver new exactly where to go, as he often picked up pilots ferrying aircraft out of the airfield, given the size of the broker located there.  I arrived to the FBO at 6:15am, finding nobody else there.  No problem, as the Airport Manager had given me the code to access the FBO, so I stepped inside and onto the ramp to find 4TV.

My plan had been to arrive, do a thorough inspection/preflight, familiarize myself with the airplane, and be wheels up around 7:00am or slightly thereafter.  But nothing in general aviation ever works to plan, so that didn't happen.

I walked onto the ramp and found 4TV.  It was dark, but my first impressions were that she met my expectations.  I sat my bag down, pulled out my flashlight, and took a tour.

N704TV tied up on the ramp in Indiana - first impressions

For some reason, I was most curious about the paint, as it had been rated a 4 out of 10 by both the broker and the A&P.  I disagree.  While there were spots where the paint showed that it wasn't super professionally applied, it generally looked pretty new.  I was expecting missing spots and found none.  I would have given it a 7 out of 10 myself.

I poppped open the door and did a quick look inside.  Everything looked like the photos, except I noted that the instrument gauges looked to be in better condition than I thought they would.  The looked somewhat cloudy in the photo, but absolutely fine for the most part in-person.  I didn't spend too much time inside, instead wanting to do a walk around.

The walkaround was a satisfactory experience.  Although it was dark, I searched the plane for some major problem that was going to make me regret owning it.  But I didn't find anything.  There were a few obviously uneven spaces on the leading edge of both wings, but nothing that concerned me about flying it.  Empennage looked great, although I did spot an old's wasp's test inside the horrizontal stabilizzer in that part at the end where there's a gap.  No big deal, though.  As I walked around I noted that the attach point for both mains to the landing gear strug showed some brown spots that were either grease or rust.  Again, nothing too critical - just something I noticed.  Tires looked to be new, as they were supposed to be.  The side windows had some sticky substance on them - almost like a decal had been badly removed.  Nothing that would keep me from flying, but I noted it.

At the nose I looked inside the cowling.  It showed its age, but nothing stood out other than foam insulation around a line that was starting to break off a bit.  Running my hand along the propeller, I did find one issue, however.  On the trailing edge of the blade to my right while facing the airplane there was a dent near the tip fo the blade.  The dent was large enough that I decided that I would notify an A&P about it, but not so large that I thought it would ground the flight.  Still, the pre-buy said nothing of a dent, so this was a bit frustrating.  More on this later.

I went inside and sat in the airplane.  It was tight, and when I went to push the seat back, I soon realized that it was already back and this is where I would live.  So be it.  I hit the master and alt switch.  Much to my relief, she powered up, as the avionics fans came to life.  Running across the light panel, I turned them all on, though the lettering was such that I could barely make out what was what.  I also dropped the flaps and they came down as they should.  All lights checked out, including the beacon which had its switch fixed during the pre-buy MX work.  I shut it all down and did my external inspection.

On the external inspection, the only thing I noted was that the engine only had 3 quarts of oil in it.  It made me wonder how many had been in it when they tested the engine, but this was something I could resolve with the oil I had asked the A&P to leave in the plane for me.

Except there was no oil in the plane.  There was also no logbooks.  We had agreed once I let him know I was coming on Saturday morning to have the logs left in the plane, along with the key and two quarts of oil.  None were in the plane, nor was the required registration and airworthiness certs.  Great.  I e-mailed the A&P, but it was 6:45 in the morning on a Saturday, so I wasn't expecting a reply.  They were also closed on Saturdays which is why he was supposed to leave it in the plane.  I warapped up the rest of the pre-buy, set up the cockpit for my departure, and headed back to the FBO.

The FBO didn't re-open until 8am, so I wasn't getting off the ground anytime soon.  I called the after-hours number listed on the phone and reached someone from the Airport who gave me the A&Ps cell number.  I texted and then waited, grabbing a cup of coffee while I did.

After hours phone list for the Airport

Around 7:30am I received a reply from the A&P indicating that the logs were all supposed to be in the back of the plane.  I went back out again and confirmed their absence, to which the A&P let me know he'd head up to the airfield to figure out what was going on.  The FBO guy showed up around 7:45am and gave me three quarts of oil (the last he had!) so I could at least solve that problem.  It did, and I paid him for it while waiting for the A&P who showed up around 8:20am.  I met him at the airplane, where he pointed out to me that the airworthiness cert was in the glovebox.  I was horrified thinking that I had him drive in on a Saturday because I hadn't checked the glovebox, but he confirmed that the logs that should have been in it definitely were not.  A call to one of his guys confirmed that they hadn't made it to the plane, but were still in his safe.  He ran back to get it as I wrapped up a few final flight items, now eyeballing a departure closer to 9:00am.

In retrospect, I should have asked him about the dented prop here, but was in a hurry to get out.  An area of weather was of course behind me, and I wanted to at least get out of Indiana and avoid that, not to mention the build up that would come as I got closer to the mountains and NC.  So I shook his hand, secured items in the cockpit, and prepared to start up and get on the road.

The Sight Unseen Pre-Buy

The potential purchase of N704TV was complicated by the fact that I couldn't actually get up to Indiana to see the airplane.  This was primarily due to my wife's heavy summer vacation schedule for us, in addition to some work travel and other commitments.  As such, I was tasked with having a pre-buy inspection done by someone I didn't know, sight unseen.

I called a few shops in the area at different airports nearby, and none had availability to get the airplane in.  That left me with the uneasy option of using an A&P at the airfield where the airplane was being sold.  I was uneasy about this because I am sure that A&P and the broker have some type of relationship.  Whether that would influence their work was yet to be determined.  Adding to my concerns was that my local A&P friend mentioned having flown up to do inspections on a few aircraft from this broker, with none having materialized in a purchase.  Fun.

The A&P at the field said that he could slide the aircraft into his schedule, and that he treated a pre-buy like the inspection portion of an annual.  If true, that was great to hear.  I had been through the existing logbooks and generally felt good about the airplane's maintenance history, with one exception.  During its time as a flight school plane, the 4TV was probably ridden hard - but the logbook entries show meticulous detail and many minor repairs, modifications, etc.  The only exception to this was the last two annuals in 2024 and 2025.  Those showed very little detail and few repairs.  Odd.

I "did my own" research by figuring out where the airplane had previously lived - a small airport in Tennessee, based on the previous owner's information and the location of the A&P that signed off on the then current annual.  Interestingly enough, a Google Maps photos from the road leading up to that airport showed 4TV tied up on the ramp.

I called the FBO to inquire about the airplane.  The FBO manager was happy to provide what he recalled, which was that the owner bought the plane for her son to get his PPL, but he ended up fizzling out on it.  As a result, the plane sat mostly unflown for 2-3 years.  That's reflected in the log times that show very little movement in the previous three years.  Not great, but not a deal breaker.  Also could explain some of the lack of logbook entries, as a plane that doens't move doesn't break a lot of parts.  

I then reached out to the A&P that signed off on the annual, and that was ... weird.  He recalled the aircraft, and told a similar story about the owner/son.  He then started to break down in tears, telling me that he had just lost his wife along with all of his equipment in an incident, and had been away from work for several months.  Blasted by this, and overcome with sadness for him, I thanked him for his time, and wished him the very best ... and then immediately went online to see if I could learn what happened to his wife.  After an hour of searching I found absolutely nothing.  No obituary, no reference to an accident/incident.  I'm a pretty good Internet slewth, but nothing came to fruition.  Was the guy lying?  If he was, it was well orchestrated, but if so, he should be acting instead of working on planes.

I authorized the A&P and the airfield where the plane was being sold to do the pre-buy, but also asked my buddy Hunter to sit in on the call with me and review the A&Ps notes.  Hunter is the aforementioned A&P, and I offered to pay him for his time (alhtough to date he hasn't billed me).

Results of the Pre-buy

Going through the list, here are the highlights of Page One of the pre-buy:

• The only known previous damage was a right aileron replaced last year.  When I spoke with the A&P he mentioned that debris sent flying from a lawnmover hit the aileron, which required the replacement.  Logs and a record check did not uncover any other known damage either.
• AD compliance was good (via the logs)
• Compression checks were good 1) 73/80; 2) 74/80; 3) 73/80; 4) 75/80 (although Hunter tells me this isn't the end all/be all measure of engine health people think it is.)
• Carb heat box - cracked at flange.
• Scat hoses - recommend replacing.
• Engine controls - recommend trimming/adjusting carb heat cable.
• Negine mounts - one sagging.
• Induction boots - showing signs of age.
• Spinner - has patches.
• Lights - Beacon inop (likely the switch).
• Pitot heat - Inop.

Page One of the Pre-Buy List

... and onto Page Two highights:

• Wings are good - just missing fuel placards and painted caps.
• Flaps - L & R flap pulley hardware not secure, several flap buttons missing.
• Hail damage - Miniscule.
• Paint condition - 4 out of 10.
• Cables and turn buckles: Recommend correcting right aileron turnbuckle safety wire.
• Doors and windows: Windshield good - side and rear windows are hazy.  Pilot door seal coming loose.
• Tires: Mains show wear, recommend replacement.
• Brake system: Both brake pads below minimum thickness - recommend replacement.
• Seats: Co-pilot seat belt frayed
• Carpet: Recommend replacement
• Side panels - No kick panels
• Cylinders - Boroscope showed no abnormalities.

Hunter and I had a call with the A&P who provided detail on each of these items.  The two things I was most concerned about were corrosion and the condition of the cylinders.  Reported corrosion was minimal in the areas expected given the age of the aircraft.  Of note, however, was that the previous annual indicated that CorrosionX treatment had been applied back in April.  The A&P said that there was no sign of CorrosionX having been applied, which would have been evident.  

For the cylinders I did specifically request a boroscope.  The results of that showed no abnormalities, and the A&P's overall engine comment was that it was a lot drier (i.e. less oily) than he would have thought - good signs.

Biggest concern for the A&P was the patching on the spinner, which both he and Hunter thought was both odd, and had the possibility of creating balance problems for the prop/spinner unit.  

All in price estimate to fix every item on the list ... about $8,000.  Of that $8K, I went through the itemized list and marked off anything that I didn't think was absolutely necessary to get it flying safely.  Two-thirds of that cost was replacing the windows, which I left off for the time being, and a large chunk of the rest owas the pitot heat and seat belt replacement.  That brought the estimate of must fix items to about $5K.

Citing the extra $5K, I told the broker it was too much, and I couldn't swallow that big an investment this early on.  One of the other concerns that Hunter and I both had was the fact that many of these items, while not serious, should have been picked up in the annual that was allegedlly done three months prior.  For example, the rotating beacon not working and the crack in the carb heat box.  Those didn't just happen.  I told the broker I was going to have to pass on the deal.  Which I did for two days until they offered to knock $3K off the price.

Obviously this would be a very short blog if I still walked away.  I didn't, and it (hopefully) won't be.

Impulse Finally Wins

I bought an airplane.  

More appropriately, I bought into the experience of owning an airplane, with its highs and its lows, its uncertainties and its lessons learned, its disappiontments and its momnets of exuberance.  It's often said that the best days in an aircraft owner's life are the day they buy it and the day they sell it.  This marks the prior.

Sales webpage photo of N704TV (white box is to cover the broker's name)

N704TV was cheap.  Not by pre-COVID standards, but by today's standards.  And when something is cheap in aviation, that's your first red flag.  It was listed by a large aircraft broker in Indiana, and caught my eye while I was on vacation, continuing a multi-year stretch of thinking about buying an airplane, but not actually doing it.  But 4TV (better name forthcoming perhaps), met my mission:

• Cheap to acquire with the option to customize to my preferences later.
• Cheap to eventually operate.
• Something that would allow me to finish my CFI and eventually train my son in.

In truth, I have two missions.  One is for a plane to carry my family of four and I on fun trips/adventures.  But the airplanes that meet that mission are too expensive.  It's not that I can't afford it -  it's that I don't want to.  I don't want to spend $120K on a clapped out Chickenhawk, and I certainly don't want to spend $300K on an older Cirrus.  I don't need to fly.  Nobody does.  It's nice, I love it, it makes me happy - it's definitely something I can put a value on, though, and no four place was going to hit that for me - at least not in the post-Pandemic works of used aircraft prices.  

My second mission, for which 4TV was purchased, was really just to get into the sky - something I wasn't doing a whole lot renting from flight schools or even as a member of a flying club.  More on that later.

The purpose of this blog is really three-fold.  First, I want a place to communicate all of the feelings mentioned above - for myself.  I like to write, I'm pretty good at it, and at some point it becomes cathartic.  

Second, if anyone buys 4TV off of me in the future, I want them to have the whole, honest to God story.  I don't have it in me to scam someone or hide anything.  That was done to me in some ways with this aircraft purchase, and I have too much dignity to do that to someone else.  Hopefully whomever buys 4TV in the future (if I sell it) gets sent this blog link from me and can get the complete picture of what they're stepping into.

Finally, I'm hoping to share my leanings along the way with anyone interested in listening.  Throwing the rope back down, so to speak, as in nearly three-decades of being a pilot (of some sort), I've certainly learned greatly from those willing to share their experiences.  So now I pay it forward.

More to come - welcome aboard.