Sport Pilot Talk

eyeflygps wrote:although I seem to want an airplane less and less with each passing day.

Why is that? Are you just over it?

It's definitely a losing proposition financially. Like drag racing.

joey4420 wrote:From what I have read and understand from the Maintenance dept, it was cheap metal from China that was the issue. They didn't plan to have problems, but sometimes the cheapest bidder isn't always the best option.

Now there's a scary thought. If indeed that was the problem, then Cessna's decision to discontinue production is justified. A similar problem has been reported with certain Chinese manufactured motorcycles. Inferior materials used to reduce cost and weight resulted in premature failure of key components.

MrMorden wrote:

foresterpoole wrote:Well, I just checked online, there are 11 up for sale one one site, that's more than I remember seeing before they circular filed the spares. Looks like owners are a bit nervous about owning one without the spare parts hanging around. Prices for some are quite reasonable superficially speaking.

It's a metal airplane and fabricating parts should be an option. This would be a GREAT opportunity for somebody interested in going E-LSA and willing to do some of their own work and parts fabrication when needed. And then if the engines truly turn out to have problems, you could slap a Rotax 912 on it and instantly gain 75lb useful load. You might have to shift some weight around or put additional weight in the front to stay within acceptable CG limits though.

I'm seriously drooling over a well priced 162 in Little Rock. 30 hours TT and it's almost in my back yard. My only concern is I like wheel pants, and I can't find a skycatcher with them installed or spares for sale. I know it's minor, but if I own it I want it to be up to my standards and not able to find those simple aesthetic parts gives me some pause. Also, I like the fact it's all metal and they seem to be holding up well in flight school abuse. They are not the slickest looking planes, but they appear well made and could hold up to 10 years or so of abuse by a low hour student such as myself..

If the airplane is otherwise what you want, buy it and then find or make wheelpants.

Or . . . sell the wheel pants . . . for your ADS-B out solution.

I think it boils down to this. These airframes were not meant to stand the test of time. The one I trained in had a door open inflight and fly off on someone. Probably wasn't double latched, don't know for sure. Sheared the door right off its hinges. Less than a year after that, someone had a landing incident that collapsed the nose gear, resulting in a prop strike. Plane sold as salvage. My guess is there are less than 200 of these left in the wild today.

20 years from now they will probably be rare.

Who knows, they might even become collectible, in a Ford Pinto sort of way.

I'm with you on the Skycatcher; been a fan of the plane since my first ride. It's definitely not a tinker toy, and can take some serious abuse as a previous post of mine attested to. For someone not hindered by it's drawbacks I think it would be a reliable recreational LSA. Wheel pants? Good luck. Try calling Cessna direct, or put out a feeler and wait for some salvage to appear. Just be sure to get a thorough independent inspection and evaluation before you commit. The scuttlebutt says the Continental O-200 can have cylinder corrosion issues if not run regularly or properly stored.

Just saw the Trade A Plane listing. Looks good. I see it's the single PFD. Having flown both the PFD/MFD and the single PFD, I personally prefer the single. It allows me to get all the flight info I need right in front, and still focus on the outside. With the dual, I was always looking sideways for the moving map, or RPMs, trim position, or airport info. Tough with 65 year old eyesight. Good Luck!