Dave, As has been pointed out, you pay now or you pay later...and most 'Coupes are pushing 50. I paid a fair price for a fair 415-E in 1990. During my first couple of years with N94783 there were various problems common to a plane of this vintage and state of maintenance and pretty much an hour of minor (and occasionally not so minor) fixing for every 2-3 hours of flying...essentially this was me getting stuck with the "bill" for a number of preceding years of deferred maintenance by several previous owners. In 1994 I bit the bullet and put two years and more money than I should have into a total teardown followed by a complete "better than new" rebuild with many upgrades. Now I have an O-200 powered Ercoupe that has been absolutely trouble-free for 280 hours over 2 1/2 years. With new equipment (or built back to almost new condition), you can expect little or no problems for quite awhile. As it gets on, though, I do expect problems to start cropping up slowly. Aging equipment will, without an aggressive prevention-oriented maintenance schedule, start costing you more money and more downtime with every passing year; this is as true of a plane as it is of a tractor or a car or anything else. The Ercoupe is a terrific airplane for what is built to do...haul one or two people at a fairly good speed given the fuel economy, at a maximum of fun. Its handling and visibility are superb. Buy as much 'Coupe as you can afford in terms of good condition...have it thoroughly checked out by an AP/IA familiar with the type BEFORE you buy...and then fly it. Fix any major items immediately and do good preventive maintenance on an aggressive schedule...and your maintenance costs and downtime will be kept at a minimum.
There is no such thing as cheap flying...only degrees of expense ranging from expensive to obscene. A good 'Coupe is about as "cheap" as one can find a plane to own and operate...but it is still going to cost. Even if it costs a bit more than renting, it is always available and you know its maintenance and flying history (at least since you bought it). What price peace of mind, no? My costs (not including the rebuild and upgrade...makes me cry to think about what that ran) are realistically about $45 - 50 per hour. This is for Fuel/Insurance/Hanger/Engine Overhaul set aside/Annual set aside. Tie it up outside and the costs go down...but long-term maintenance costs will likely go up somewhat from additional exposure. Like everything, it is a tradeoff... Get a good 'Coupe and you won't regret it. John Olav Johnsen Ercoupe 415-E N94783 s/n 4894 Albuquerque, New Mexico -----Original Message----- From: Dave Marshall <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Monday, December 06, 1999 10:02 AM Subject: Buy Ercoupe? >After subscribing to the Ercoupe thread for several months, I would like >to get some opinions. My perception is that the Ercoupe and derivatives >are maintenance hogs, or hanger queens. Perhaps the only 'coupe owners >who are active on the thread are those having problems or enjoy >tinkering and the large majority are silently enjoying their coupes, >with no significant problems. Also, after checking Trade-A-Plane for >quite a few months, I find that there are only a few Ercoupes listed >each month versus a several pages of C-150/172's. Of the 5000-6000 >built, are they so popular no one wants to sell or are most of them >derelicts, beyond hope of redemption. > >I am retired AF and fly with the local military aero club where I can >rent C-172's and T-41's for $45-50 an hour. I'm getting really tired of >the scheduling conflicts and BS that goes with any military organization >so I'm looking for an alternative. If I can't own and fly an Ercoupe >cheaper than that, I'll stick with the aero club and perhaps build an >experimental. > >I hope my perception is wrong and these are simple, fun, inexpensive >planes to fly, and don't spend 99% of the time torn down in the hanger. > I'd sure like to know before I jump in with both feet and buy money >pit. > >Any comments, words of wisdom, etc. would be appreciated. >Thanks to all, >Dave in Alamogordo, NM
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